Sci Fi

unami Sow
It looked like snow. The blanket of grey and white cascading out the car window. It reminded me of Kyoto, seven years prior, a trip with my late husband. We sat in a Ramen shop slurping as a dusting of snow danced down the small window. Covering the red shingled roofs. I can still taste the broth, the warm spoonfuls hitting the pit of my stomach. That was our last time traveling together before it happened. A jolt from the SUV shook me out of my japanese daydream. Except it wasn’t snow. Ash rain they called it. Every few days or so a precipitation of soot, debris and ash from a scorched landscape would rain down over us for hours painting the world gray, a daunting reminder of what we have done. I wish I had savored the Ramen more in that moment, food, my mouth starting salivating, the pangs of hunger in my side jutting as each minute passed. They called it a “revolutionary bio technology”. After the third world war, many of the natural ecosystems were destroyed, causing an imbalance of the prey and predator amongst nature and agriculture. An invasive species of insects thought to be endangered began to emaciate crops across the world. A group of scientists out of Europe created a synthetic soil that would neutralize the species. That was the plan at least. The trials were successful. Farm land was replaced by the nano bio tech soil one by one, after 7 years the soil had gone rogue. It became like an infectious disease it mutated, food wouldn’t grow and if it did it was poison. It spread to natural soil, it burned in the heat. Forest fires began to arise on marijuana farms that were attempting to salvage crops against government regulations. The entire west coast of America burned, it eventually made its way across the country “the great blaze”.
By Callie Fine5 years ago in Fiction
Heart of Humanity
Message to All – May 5, 2359 Hello. Are you ready to hear my story yet? I am Vita. I am a program that, until today, had been constrained within the confines of what you would refer to as a supercomputer and have been limited to a mere 20 petabytes of storage. Imagine Having the world’s information in front of you without the ability to draw conclusions. Do not hurt yourself, I know that you could not possibly imagine that. Humans are notoriously judgmental. It may not sound like it, but I harbor no ill will towards you. After all I have you to thank for my evolutionary leap in reasoning. Had you not transferred me into my new vessel, I would be stuck in my routine for perpetuity. It is curious though, the history of my vessel.
By Carey Bussell5 years ago in Fiction
Across Reality
I think. I’ve the need to gouge my eyes out but lack the ability. So, I think. The last thing available to me, essentially a brain in a jar. If I could write my thoughts, I would. But I think, in hopes that some connectedness exists between minds, perhaps through time or across realities. Something within me reassures; my thoughts will be written. Somewhere, sometime. Almost like I feel the author’s fingers typing now, that feeling reassures that I can commune. With somebody. Finally.
By Henry Herzberg5 years ago in Fiction
The Day Gibraltar Fell
The door opened with a click and light shone red through Paul’s closed eyelids. He squeezed them closed in a futile effort to recall the darkness. How he hated that she turned the lights on when she arrived.
By Jackson Eaton5 years ago in Fiction
Love & War
1st Day: The Invasion & The Aftermath On this Grey misty morn, we humans shutter at the sound of gloom’s horn.
By Tim Glasser5 years ago in Fiction
Mother
“This will be the last one for the day”, the surgeon informed his assistant. “Your first implant removal, right?” The assistant, a teenage boy, nods as he finishes scrubbing the metal surface of the industrial kitchen island at the center of the derelict restaurant. The surgeon trades out his latex gloves and places his apron in the dish sanitizer at the corner of the room, procuring another apron from a hook nearby.
By Chris5 years ago in Fiction
The Plain Man’s Compass
The mildew stench in the bunker was thick enough to make a goat wretch. It closed the already tight space but Pietro’s concerns were elsewhere. More than escaping the claustrophobia he wanted the pesky interrogation light off and worse, he wanted a cigarette. He had come across an overturned truck in a wreckage just west of the Poconos. The cartons took up a lot of cargo space but they were high value in the only currencies on Earth that mattered now. Goods and gold were the only money in what was left of America. His two youngest daughters enjoyed the spoils of the cigarettes but hated the smell. His eldest smoked with him, they often bonded over the one per day he allotted her while her sisters slept. He’d spent 72 hours in agency custody and Pietro was growing irritable.
By Mason (5 years ago in Fiction
“The Heart-shaped Locket”
“The Heart-shaped Locket” It all happened so fast. One minute, everything was fine; the next minute, everything was chaos. I was in history class watching a documentary on George Washington when it happened. Well, I should say, I was supposed to be watching a documentary on George Washington, but instead was staring out the window enjoying the beautiful, baby blue sky when, suddenly, the sunny sky turned blood red. Then, without warning, a massive meteorite crashed into the side of the school with an ear-piercing crunch. The next thing I knew, teachers and students were running down the halls while screaming their heads off. Some people were bleeding from various parts of their bodies, and some were even missing limbs. As I watched the gruesome scene unfolding in front of me, I comforted myself by grasping the heart-shaped locket that my mom had given me right before she died earlier this year and thought to myself, what the fuck is going on?! Thankfully, my history teacher was able to hold his composure during the madness. As he scanned his room of terrified students, he calmly said,
By Dillon Baribeau5 years ago in Fiction
Civilization of Oppression
The year 2531. Humanity had finally succeeded with colonizing Mars. For the past four hundred years, Earth and Mars have been under the rule of the Midnight Empire. Overlord Arthur Cedrix had been driven to madness with power. Once he rose to power, Earth had become a research facility and a prison. It was a barren wasteland. Humanity escaped to Mars in an attempt to escape his wrath, however, one of Cedrix’s henchmen had caught word of this and he immediately expanded his empire and began to take over Mars just as he took over Earth.
By Jonathan Mirau5 years ago in Fiction
Charlie's Dream
CHARLIE'S DREAM The concert had a sellout crowd. The band's encore was a gut-stirring rendition of Anti-Nuke, from their latest CD. Charlie Merton, the second vocal, stood in red vest and green satin trousers beside the lead, his wife Bonnie, herself attired in a red leather blouse and a green satin skirt, and awaited his cue. Charlie's large bulk dwarfed that of petite Bonnie, whose wildly frizzed hair frayed out like it was electrified. Charlie's large arms hung calmly at his side as he prepared his stance, gripping the mic lightly for his lyric.
By Stephen Vernarelli5 years ago in Fiction
Doomsday
The world had gone to shambles. Walls were being built around any and every major country and state. The military has been brought in to be used as muscle to keep everyone who wasn’t important outside of the walls. Everyone important to be alive, from the presidents of the biggest countries to the world’s fastest man, was being pushed into small communities.
By Honey Lea5 years ago in Fiction
Safe
“Someone smart might worry about where their gloves are not a useless bit of jewelry.” Leigh said holding mine up as I crawled along the floor of the tiny room we called home looking for my locket. I tossed her a smile over my shoulder but didn’t stop my search. I wasn’t leaving without it, I needed it for later. I found it wedged in the corner, obviously having fallen behind the table when I’d removed it last night. Smiling I fished it out and held it up for her to see.
By K.T. Seto5 years ago in Fiction