As for why they needed an Egyptologist on bloody Mars of all places, I couldn’t tell. And no, it was not for the sake of the supposed ‘pyramid’ that people were losing their minds […]

I spotted the tourists before they even fully entered the bar, as they bounded too high in the Lunar gravity. One bumped his head on the entrance. Moments later I heard laughter. I pitched an ear […]

  Truthfully, it started off as a joke. One shared between Gretchen, Annie, TJ, and I around a mess table on the lunar base, drinking in celebration of Gretchen’s daughter’s college graduation. Drinking too heavily, […]

  “Knowledge and imagination are the life buoy and the extra lung for breathing outside the walls of a tainted reality.” Hassan Blasim   Rob cursed at himself, loudly and long and with great creativity. He […]

Terrance dug a groove into a slab of limestone, stenciling an ideograph into a large flat surface. It proved delicate work. The soft rock tended to chip and crack at the slightest application of horn, […]

Patrons of the Bar-Soom fall into three classes. Some people believe the whole “Coldest Beer on Mars” thing. Some come for the view of Hellas Lake. But mostly, they come to hear the owner, Dave […]

Finally, he had been chosen. He’d spent twelve years working the Kuiper belt, refining the processes and approaches for unmanned ships containing robot miners. He was one of the Company’s best engineers, and he was […]

    Mars. The red planet. Imagine dust, rocks, sand, and wind. You’d be ninety-eight percent right. ‘Only ninety-eight percent?’ I hear you all asking. If you’re wondering where you lost that two percent, don’t […]

Captain Takktun Kantari slid the bubble helmet over his head and locked it into place with a reassuring click before triple-checking the joint seals on each of his suit’s four legs and three arms. Several […]

Journal Entry for Sakura Jovanović: Entry for Day 35, Year 2253, Cilix Station It’s cold here. Papa needs a suit, but I don’t need one, though Mama still makes me wear it. We live at […]

This week’s free science fiction story is by C.J. Peterson and introduces new challenges in diplomacy! Please enjoy the story as read by the author in audio or read the story below. In the viewport, […]