Sci Fi

A Partnership for the Future of Work
In a bustling city filled with towering high rises and never-ending activity, there lived a man named Rishad, a venture director at a developing tech company. His days were long and filled with steady gatherings, due dates, and a never-ending stream of emails. Despite his success, Rishad frequently felt overpowered by the weight of obligation that came with overseeing groups and guaranteeing projects ran smoothly.
By Nafees Salman2 years ago in Fiction
Lilith's Blessing 18
18. “You show yourself now? You let your son die. But you saved that?” Akor pointed his white sword at Memet. Xia’s eyes widened, her mana sufficient for her to perceive Memet’s true form. She glared like she saw right through him. Long, dark dread hung from his cheeks, down to his stomach. Dark black skin, his greying beard covered most of his face. But his cold eyes, visible, stared back at the couple.
By Travis J. H. 2 years ago in Fiction
Lilith's Blessing 16
Akor opened his eyes, a familiar place surrounded him. It’s light, warm, filled with the smell of cannabis. He’d been there before. Like an adult revisiting a long-lost relative he had not seen since childhood. His eyes widened when he saw her. The owner of the golden eyes that haunted him. They belonged to an angry face. Her mouth didn’t move, but she spoke. Her words bypassed his ears.
By Travis J. H. 2 years ago in Fiction
Waking Dogs, Part 3: War Hounds
(The first two parts of this story, Waking Dogs and Broken Chains can also be found on Vocal.) The Cage rang with the bellows of battle, the clash of steel, and the howls of those lost to frenzy. The space was lit by pyres of bodies stacked at either end of the arena, the burning dead filling the air with the smell of charred flesh and bubbling blood. Men and women fought and died, wielding bloody axes and spears, swords, mauls, and other brutal weapons. Some sparked with power fields, and others roared with ripping chain teeth, but others were older, cruder things. It didn’t matter in the end, for they all broke bones and rent flesh, letting out the rushing, spurting fluids that ran in rivers along the deck plates, dripping through rotting drains that seemed to greedily drink the offerings given to them.
By Neal Litherland2 years ago in Fiction
The teddy that talked back
The bond between Mim and Teddy grew even closer over the following few days. Every night, when Mim fell asleep, Teddy would take her to new realms of imagination. Sometimes they would ride on flying carpets, drift on clouds like rafts, and other times they would dive deep into the ocean to find lost treasures. With Teddy, Mim had many adventures in her young life. "Tonight, we're going to a place where rainbows play," Teddy told Mim one night. Mim was very excited. Riding on Teddy's back, they flew into the sky. When they got to the cloud kingdom, they realized that a rainbow fair was actually going on. The sky shimmered with lights of different colors, and strange creatures walked on the rainbow bridges.
By Durjoy Kumar Das2 years ago in Fiction
Scientists Uncover Hidden Magma Cap Beneath Yellowstone Supervolcano"
Yellowstone National Park, WY — A groundbreaking geological discovery has revealed a previously undetected magma cap lurking beneath Yellowstone National Park, offering new insight into the inner workings of one of the world’s most closely monitored supervolcanoes.
By siddi islam2 years ago in Fiction
The Silence Algorithm: When Speaking Became a Crime
They said it was for our safety. That was the line they used when The Silence Algorithm rolled out across every digital education platform. It filtered “harmful speech,” “misinformation,” and “emotional volatility.” At first, no one questioned it. Teachers were exhausted, parents overwhelmed, and students… we were already used to being watched. I was thirteen when it flagged me for the first time. I’d asked a question—out loud—in a virtual ethics class. “Why did the protests stop after the Learning Rights Act was passed? Didn’t people still disagree with it?” My screen flickered. Then froze. A red message: Unverified Historical Reference – Statement Flagged for Review. Within an hour, my access was suspended. My question was deleted from the transcript. I never got an answer. I didn’t ask again. That was three years ago. Now, I’m sixteen. And I speak only when required. I write only what’s safe. I think louder than I talk. But last week, something changed. It started with a package—a small, unmarked envelope left at my door. Inside was a flash drive and a note written in careful, slanted handwriting: “Don’t forget how to ask. —K” The flash drive was ancient tech, practically illegal now. I waited until midnight, then plugged it into my offline tablet. No network. No surveillance. The file was a recording. I recognized the voice instantly. My brother’s. “Kian, Age 17. Recorded 6 years ago.” Kian disappeared when I was ten. They said he’d been relocated for “retraining” after violating education protocols. That’s all we were told. We weren’t even allowed to ask. But here he was—his voice, raw and unfiltered. “They’ve made silence a virtue,” he said. “They say it’s peace, but it’s really fear dressed in politeness. In our schools, in our homes, even in our minds—we’re learning not to question. That’s not education. That’s programming.” I felt my breath catch. His voice was shaky, but bold. “I tried to speak up. I asked about funding cuts, disappearing teachers, the ‘voluntary relocations.’ I asked why students were disappearing from class lists. I asked too much. So they erased me.” Then came static. And then: “If you’re hearing this, it means you still can. Please—don’t let the algorithm finish its job. Speak. Even if it’s just to whisper.” I played it three times. Each time, my throat tightened. Kian wasn’t just trying to warn me—he was trying to wake me. The next day, in our virtual history class, the teacher asked: “What event led to the Global Education Restructure in 2098?” The “correct” answer was a natural disaster. A flood that destroyed hundreds of schools. But that’s not the whole truth. Kian told me the protests started before the flood. The flood just gave them an excuse. So I raised my hand. And I said, “It wasn’t just the flood. People were already marching—because their schools were closing, their teachers were fired, and they were being told to trust machines instead of humans.” The silence after I spoke was louder than any alarm. My teacher stared at the screen. The algorithm didn’t even wait this time. A red box pulsed on my interface: Verbal Misinformation – Session Terminated. I was kicked out of class. Later that night, a message appeared in my inbox. Anonymous sender. It read: “We heard you. You’re not alone. Keep asking.” There was no signature, but I knew. Somewhere, somehow, Kian was still alive—or at least his words were. And maybe that’s what they fear most. Not rebellion. Not riots. Just… questions. Because every question is a crack. And every crack lets in light. So I write this now in the same way he did—offline, in the dark, afraid. But also hopeful. If you’re reading this, maybe you’ve been silent too. Maybe you’ve felt the weight of invisible eyes watching your words, measuring your tone. Maybe you’ve started to believe that silence is safer. But remember this: silence is not safety. It’s surrender. They call it The Silence Algorithm. But we can rewrite it. With voices. With questions. With truth. —Lina, Sector A-9, Virtual Learning Zone Age 16. Still asking.
By Floki2 years ago in Fiction
Happy 35th, Hubble! A Legacy of Cosmic Wonder and Mind-Blowing Discoveries
It’s hard to believe that the Hubble Space Telescope has been peering into the depths of the universe for 35 years. The telescope, which was famously launched with a broken mirror on April 24, 1990, had a rough start but went on to become one of the most transformative scientific instruments ever. It was launched on the Space Shuttle Discovery. Orbiting Earth roughly 340 miles above the surface, Hubble has given humanity front-row seats to the cosmos, capturing images of galaxies, nebulae, and phenomena previously unimaginable. On its 35th birthday, we look back at 10 awe-inspiring moments when Hubble reshaped our understanding of space.
By Rakesh Kanti Mondal 2 years ago in Fiction
The Last Classroom: A Letter from the Future About What We Lost
To whoever finds this— I hope this message reaches a time when you still know what a “classroom” is. My name is Nilo. I’m seventeen years old, and I’ve never seen a real school.
By Floki2 years ago in Fiction
The Reflection That Stole My Life
Chapter 1: The Garage Sale Haul The mirror was tucked between a stack of National Geographic magazines and a rusty lawnmower, its gilded frame tarnished but oddly captivating. The old woman running the sale eyed me as I traced the intricate carvings—serpents swallowing their tails, thorned vines twisting into words I couldn’t read.
By Wiki Rjm2 years ago in Fiction
The Silence Algorithm
The city smelled like sterilized jasmine. Too sweet. Like the air-filters were overcompensating. Above, the sky glowed that fake-gold hue the government called “Eternal Sunrise™”—though Rivaan privately thought it looked more like jaundice. Solar pathways lit the streets, herding citizens in synchronized lines. No chaos. No laughter spilling from tea stalls. No arguments over cricket matches. Just… curated silence.
By Motiur Rehman2 years ago in Fiction
The Teddy That Talked Back
Mim was the name of a young girl. Mim had a teddy bear named Teddy. One night, when Mim fell asleep, Teddy started talking. "Let's go out tonight," Teddy told Mim. Mim concurred. They both went to the garden after leaving the house. The garden had a lot of beautiful flowers. Teddy and Mim played with the butterflies and talked to the flowers. After that, they visited a spring. The moon was shining in the spring water. Mim liked it very much. Then Teddy started flying with Mim on his back. They reached a strange land after flying over the clouds. There, everything was different. The trees were talking, and the birds were singing. Mim and Teddy had a lot of fun there. When it was morning, Teddy brought Mim back to their garden. Mim saw that she was lying on her own bed. She thought, "Was it a dream?" However, Teddy was jokingly sitting next to her. Mim realized that it was not a dream, it was real. She gave Teddy a big hug and told him, "You are my best friend." Then Mim fell asleep again, and Teddy started guarding her.
By Durjoy Kumar Das2 years ago in Fiction