Speculative Fiction and Poetry
Episode Two: Inside the Bunker
Daylight from the open doorway illuminated a few feet of the interior. Something whirled, making a ratchet-like noise and he jumped, and then looked around. Rows and rows of tiny round, lights covered one wall. Hundreds of them, some blinking, some emitting a steady…
Episode 1: On the Killing Field
Simple. That’s what they claimed, but they — Darius and Carson and Debs, and many others – were dead, and Collin didn’t believe that the robots in the sky simply fired blindly at anyone running across the boulder-strewn killing field. They defended a specific…
My Summer Vacation in the Wave State by Kendall Evans and David C. Kopaska-Merkel
My Summer Vacation in the Wave State Kendall Evans David C. Kopaska-Merkel
Planet Faraway by David Castlewitz
Planet Faraway David Castlewitz Nobody in Phil Stone’s Faraway appreciation group knew why news of the distant planet disappeared from every site that covered events out there. No artist renditions of the giant warships derived from fuzzy photographs sent back to Earth by Big…
The Higher We Rise, The Further We Fall by Melissa R. Mendelson
The Higher We Rise, The Further We Fall Melissa R. Mendelson Kicking at the dirt and leaves in front of him, Tommy trailed behind his friends, Billy and David. He paused for a moment to look back at the town. The laughter of his…
Office Business by David Castlewitz
Office Business David Castlewitz Any day Jeff Ruskin spent with Uncle Marty was a great day, a day of adventure and fun, and only a subway ride away. Now that summer had come, his high school sophomore year finally at an end, he could…
A Night In, Shining Armour by David Barber
A Night In, Shining Armour David Barber It appeared in the Throne Room apparently, announced by unseen choirs and blinding light, and they say there was the purest scent too, of goodness and innocence, like the smells of childhood or clean linen perhaps, and…
Means of Escape by J. David Harper
Means of Escape J. David Harper Margie found the bottle in the wall of an old house when she hammered through the drywall to make room for a new door. She looked around for her brother, but he was sawing off plywood in the…
Ghosts In The Machine by David Barber
Ghosts In The Machine David Barber They were my first visitors since arriving here; what pass for priests in this benighted world. I am writing down what happened, with its guilty conclusion, before the sense of it escapes me. The smaller, squatter of the…
Bus Stop 126 by David Wright
Bus Stop 126 David Wright A scruffy man in a brown toque sat at bus stop 126, waiting. From time to time, he looked at his watch, out across the empty intersection and up at the bus stop billboard. The woman in the ad…
The Settee & The Stairs by David Barber
The Settee & The Stairs David Barber Author Sea Chart, insisted the old chap, a stroke making words slippery as soap, though we had come to an understanding, like a glimpse of sky through forest canopy: a séance friction writer from his youth, famous…
Runaway Greenhouse Effect by David C. Kopaska-Merkel
Runaway Greenhouse Effect David C. Kopaska-Merkel Pastel pink saucers and their precious cargo: tiny round-cheeked critters and their mysterious heat-sucking tech drive a surprisingly hard bargain we got to keep Zanzibar and grateful for that
Old Venus by David Barber
Old Venus David Barber Fuel gauge tapping empty, the rocket skims leviathans awash in steaming seas, before it sinks into the wet and suck of lush swamps. A hero makes his own luck. In the pulps, the feisty blond reporter has to be rescued…
Morgan And The Wildfire Meme by David Barber
Morgan And The Wildfire Meme David Barber Morgan was flying. He flew as a bird, some ill-defined species of raptor with enormous wingspan, cruel beak and black gleaming eye. Lesser passerines and seabirds also flew the Airs, but it was Morgan, and none of…
The Bellatrix by David Barber
The Bellatrix David Barber All Martians know the works of Jammes Bek. They read them at school. Everyone else finds them too gloomy, too full of regret. This is a story about Bek before he was famous, and the woman of the Bellatrix who…
Anglish, Late Flowering, Fictional Mode by David Barber
Anglish, Late Flowering, Fictional Mode David Barber Haydn Jan was famed for having read all the books; Bruss, the outworlder from Hellhole who saved him, was not even well-known on Hellhole. This is how they met. Prised out of retirement to represent the Museum…
Fire & Ice by David Barber
Fire & Ice David Barber To wreck a planet, first choose a suitable asteroid. After mounting fusion drivers, pinch the plasma and tune the mix until the jets burn invisibly. Such vast tonnage is not easily swayed, but sensitive instruments will register a change….
Third Planet from Nowhere by David C Kopaska-Merkel
Third Planet from Nowhere David C Kopaska-Merkel The water bill’s through the roof The local pawnshop won’t take Ultrapure gold anymore FBI and IRS have both been by (Thank Tech for the Memory-Erasing Ray!) The basement lab uses SO MUCH water Even 90% effluent…
Tuesdays In Heaven by David Barber
Tuesdays In Heaven David Barber Chet hovered in the foyer of Total Immersion Software, radiating unease until a salesman detached himself from the front desk. Professionals paid for people, not virtuals. “Help you?” The salesman sported fashionable periodwear, tight dark suit and tie, with…
The Keepsaker by David Batteiger
The Keepsaker David Batteiger Emily stood tip-toe on a wobbly stool, fingertips grazing the edge of something at the back of a high, dusty shelf. Straining further, the stool tilting on two legs, she urged the object closer. Her fingers wrapped around it and…
Leviathan by David Barber
Leviathan David Barber Out of nowhere. Surfacing with a surge and suck of gravity that made the Earth flex in torment. No time to explain. It raced the wavefront of catastrophe, but sniffing a waterworld and with true sentience so precious, it snatched at…
Area 51 by David Barber
Area 51 David Barber Even with the device turned off and tombed in concrete, we are still haunted by ghosts of histories that are not our own, remembering cosmonauts fêted through New York in blizzards of ticker-tape; or the launching of Apollo 20 on…
Hail to the Vestal by David Powell
Hail to the Vestal David Powell Hail to the Vestal New slang couldn’t be ignored. Slang had a way of sticking in the public mind. A joke could become a medical diagnosis, or a spiritual doctrine, or a revolutionary slogan. Birun flipped to record…
In the Future, Maury Povich is In Charge by David Schwab
In the Future, Maury Povich is In Charge David Schwab …and so he asks: “How many bastards born today?” “Twenty-three per second, sir”. The host hung his head. …
A Conversation with David Robbins by Eric S. Brown
AR: How did you get into writing? Dave: I wanted to write from an early age. My childhood was unusually traumatic. So much so, I sought refuge, if you will, in fiction. The works of Edgar Rice Burroughs were a particular fave. But I…
A Voyage to the Moon by David C. Kopaska-Merkel
A Voyage to the Moon David C. Kopaska-Merkel The open window welcomes the night: a cornucopia of urgency, noises sharp and subtle, night’s warm breath framed by southern oak. I read now by moonlight, alone, ensconced in the window seat, the pages brimming with…
Ragnarock by David Barber
Ragnarock David Barber Rona Lal was not the oldest woman alive, but certainly the oldest with the brain she was born with. Rona no longer remembered her exact age, but the entelechy did, and arranged a surprise for her birthday. There would be a…
Land Sharks by David C. Kopaska-Merkel
Land Sharks David C. Kopaska-Merkel A second chance crawling out of the sea , Bewildered by what they found, And didn’t find, But lobe-finned sharks quickly got a handle On the whole terrestrial thing, They diversified, filled empty niches , Eventually a few began…
A Conversation with David Drake by Eric S Brown
A Conversation with David Drake Eric S Brown Most people recognize David Drake’s name from his Hammer’s Slammer or RCN Military SF series but his career actually began in the horror genre. His first sale was made to August Derleth, editor of Arkham House….
Swallowing It All Whole by Kendall Evans and David C. Kopaska-Merkel
Swallowing It All Whole Kendall Evans and David C. Kopaska-Merkel These are the longitudes and latitudes On the split/curved landscape separating fact from fiction. Beyond these easy curves—who can say? Here, expressed like a Monopoly board, A map of realms demarcating the boundary between…
Bring Me Moa by David C. Kopaska-Merkel
Bring Me Moa David C. Kopaska-Merkel Look at it 12 feet tall quarter of a ton that’s a gol durn dinosaur why did it take Cretaceous feathers for us to see? Ponderous tread Earth shook when those giant 3-toed feet struck the ground. Bring…
Winner Winner by David Castlewitz
Winner Winner by David Castlewitz Dinner with the star of Madam Murder didn’t meet Tony Pink’s expectations. When he complained to the director, he got back a long stare followed by a mild chuckle. “She’s not real, you know. She’s a cartoon.” The cast…
Love Letters of Old by David Russell
Love Letters of Old David Russell My love was stifled Between the gum and the paper – The sealed envelope was lumpy
Mid-Life by David Russell
Mid-Life David Russell So much happened; So much didn’t – So nice to remember; So painful to recall Now nothing is all, The power to recall Is an anaesthetic – Past strength Is pathetic. In the middle, What’s kept still here What was and…
Communication by David Russell
Communication David Russell He handled his language as he fried his eggs: There was tension between the respective softnesses Of his egg and the cooking fat – Dependent on extreme alternation of heat and cold, Confinement in shell melting out of shape Solid outside…
Work out of Progress by David Russell
Work out of Progress David Russell I suppose it must all go on indefinitely – Just when I thought it had all been played out, All become superfluous. I am at the stage of universal discarding; I suppose that many people see, through several…
Common Sense by David Russell
Common Sense David Russell The sea turns sound to touch The wind blows touch to smell The sun turns sight to touch The grasses smell taste to touch The animals taste smell to see The setting of sets charge to five together Yet there…
Electro-Magnetic Love by David Russell
Electro-Magnetic Love David Russell She said – you are my current, my three-pointed plug Yet I am the wound flex; the wiring behind the walls is mine – When I say ‘Halt!’ go no further; the wiring is dislocated from you The very suggestion…
In Transit by David Russell
In Transit David Russell Unemployed’s tube journey: For those safe, definable few minutes there is the duality Of oneself and the comfort of the seat – the circle; Seal; it chops perfectly, crossing the antilinear. It induces connexity; the most complete awareness of the…
Panic by David Russell
Panic David Russell A search for some trivial object in the midst of disordered furniture Seized upon just at that moment, giving birth to consternation Repulsion from travelling delayed by this selection; Travelling light, splitting energy-wholes into petty onenesses – At one with invisibility…
Early to Rise by David Russell
Early to Rise David Russell In vigour, he did the splits in freedom In free vigour, he did the splits Freely, he did the splits in vigour, With vigour, he did the splits freely Vigorously, he did the free splits – He split vigorously…
Carnival by David Russell
Carnival David Russell That peacock opulence, Swarming on strutting grime; That massed ecstasy, squeezing itself, Short-breathed, near suffocation; That sound-abandonment, seeming to plunge To deafness’s peace; Yet keeping those maimed faculties alive, Ever denying their last fulfilment. Maybe it’s only I and it,…
Computer Virus by David Russell
Computer Virus David Russell Gulleted in spark glint veins Flabbering circuits in floppies Print-out piled high, choking, crimped; Programme busy; not applied; Insufficient memory. Germs swallowed ink; Myopic suction Greek symbol coffee grounds The winking green a vaccine The quantum got under the mouse…
Discourse by David Russell
Discourse David Russell He was the foam on the backwash of conversation, Repelled by the safety-pier; Seeming to crave a knife to answer The upward wave-choppings, He felt as if there were an invisible plastic partition Segmenting the round, globular flatness Of all within…
Disintegration by David Russell
Disintegration David Russell The bottom fell out And all things gathered, Reverted to their origins In skips, on pavements, Fell to casual hands. But at the pit Of all exhaustion, The bottom of grip’s loss Are seeds and roots Of restoration Which in throbbing…
Checkpoint by David Russell
Checkpoint David Russell Lurching, they bluster – ghouls into the chasm. Fierce lava, blowing, nullifies their fall And dissipates harsh gravity’s concussion, Forces a seething screen of phoenix cowardice, Leaping to swell Into a fresh, mendacious crust, Tripping and throttling the led Into…
Scorpion by David Russell
Scorpion David Russell I touched a scorpion; it struck. It was my fault; I had been warned – But for one split second Its beauty-fascination wrenched me From reason’s ice. I don’t think anyone could find a scorpion ugly, They shine too. Writhing and…
With Respect to the Whale by David Russell
With Respect to the Whale David Russell Oh, man – foul carnivore! Gorging beyond all need for sustenance, Gorging beyond even your body’s bounds! And is this a fixation on your prey, A lust for prey-communion? Willing your own, final annihilation By…
Clouds by David Russell
Clouds David Russell In chroniclers’ minds Past wars all went full circle Making great urban filth destroy itself So that the finest flowers and shrubs Could sprout at random. And birds, in exultation Or happy in their ignorance Made rills of melody Now man…
Earthquake by David Russell
Earthquake David Russell What happened? There was a fault. What’s a fault? It’s when one piece of the earth juts above another. Why does that happen? Because the explosion down below Goes on forever. But was that fault anybody’s? It was the earth’s; it’s…
Fast Lane by David Russell
Fast Lane David Russell Let’s get in the fast lane – Rip off the doors and slice the breezes; Let’s get in the fast lane – Thread the highway through a needle. We can loop the date-line In a coral reef-knot; Turn our jet-lag…
Space Capsule Volunteer by David Russell
Space Capsule Volunteer David Russell The final pull of severance will magnify you The downward controls make you equal to the general gravitation You are higher than the air, and so you leave, You are bigger than the air, and so you breathe…
Power Kernels by David Russell
Power Kernels David Russell Break down the elements, split them To non-existence; Then shatter all solidity’s illusions, Free impulses Beyond the viscous mind, still feeling hard By vanity’s gas upholstered. And then, for happiness’s definition, Shut the door; Relax, and don’t be squeamish; For…
In Orbital Mirrors by David C. Kopaska-Merkel and Kendall Evans
In Orbital Mirrors David C. Kopaska-Merkel Kendall Evans I swallowed the mercurial net, my veins a tree, mandrake-forked. Listen! I hear my buds unfolding & the sound echoes echoes in orbital mirrors. four or five synchronous satellites broadcast the dreams of ancient mariners;…
Beyond the Mad/Funhouse by David C. Kopaska-Merkel and Kendal Evans
Beyond the Mad/Funhouse David C. Kopaska-Merkel Kendall Evans She is underlit There atop the cathedral madhouse As if by the floor lights of a stage Illumination ascending, spotlighting mercilessly Casting crowraven shadows of features and form All in…
Recursion by David C. Kopaska-Merkel and Kendall Evans
Recursion David C. Kopaska-Merkel Kendall Evans Where’s this starship been Resembling a pretzel Infinite figure 8 Maybe a moebius Nor-easterlies, or their 4D equivalent From another universe Might be responsible Or some minor deity’s Momentary inattention Its unscarred surface Belies the great age That…
The Station Master by David C. Kopaska-Merkel and Kendall Evans
The Station Master Nearly Always Runs the Trains on Time David C. Kopaska-Merkel Kendall Evans In the morning’s roaring rain The driving outrageous migraine pain I disobeyed the Station Master’s instructions Despite his threats of Post-mortem punishments And repercussions yet more dire I never…
Corrected Maps of your City by David C. Kopaska-Merkel and Kendall Evans
Corrected Maps of your City David C. Kopaska-Merkel Kendall Evans Every convenience store has them: So shiny and bright, Each street name legible, They fold and refold perfectly (Your first clue they are alien technology) Behind your building, no-name alley, You know, the one…
Robot/Worker
Robot/Worker David C. Kopaska-Merkel Limestone opens eroding eyes / kudzu drags a gray shack Into a verdant mound / while skulls peep back at stony eyes Groaning into a world of glades, And ghosts, and raddled condominia_ Eyes rotate, focus, scan for human survivors…
Robo-Cat by David C. Kopaska-Merkel
Robo-Cat® David C. Kopaska-Merkel No messy hairballs with Robo-Cat® Pet is pre-programmed and pre-trained, but be forewarned: Though great to have around the house, Robo-Cat® Is extremely playful; be sure to secure your computer mouses This is one high-maintenance mechanical pet Picking mouse gears…
Wicked child! by David C. Kopaska-Merkel and Kendall Evans
Wicked child!David C. Kopaska-MerkelKendall Evans Momshealwaysembarrassedyou when she was withyou remember when she wrote inthe sky “surrender Dorothy!” you thought that was sorude you wanted to drift awayyou rid yourself of her but you’rejust likethat witch The end
I Am He As You Are They And We Are All Together by
I Am He As You Are They And We Are All TogetherDavid C. Kopaska-MerkelKendall Evans In the beginning the word was, I’m told,We all wanted to be a part of something biggerWe sacrificed mobility but gained collective strength,Our numbers covering a great deal of…
The Third Planet by David C. Kopaska-Merkel and Kendall Evans
The Third Planetor, Something Had to be Done David C. Kopaska-MerkelKendall Evans The blues of seas, the aquamarinesWhite whorls of cloudThe sun-struck tans and brownsOf continents with tailsAnd trailing islandsAs if the Coriolis force affects them too–The third planet: thin-skinned, touchy,Not a particularly good…
Dragon’s Teeth by David C. Kopaska-Merkel and Kendall Evans
Dragon’s TeethDavid C. Kopaska-Merkel and Kendall Evans Our teeth fell out like seedsThe new children of Medea Canines:Extinct species resurrecting,White-feathered dinosaurs,Albino Dire Wolves and Deadly ManticoresProwling the arctic’s equatorial islands Incisors:Our own ancestors,Giant rats,Camels like giraffes Bicuspids:Rhinos 11 feet high at the shoulderSabred…
Grant Wilson Art
