Caturday is a heartbreaking, darkly comic near-future sci-fi story about a man who will do anything to save the one being he loves most: his cat, Baxter. When a mutated avian flu begins sweeping from birds to cattle to cats—and then to humans—panic turns ordinary pet ownership into a death sentence, and cull crews start hunting down animals in the name of public safety.Faced with a brutal choice, a divorced, recovering addict drives deep into the Oregon woods to bu...

At a high-stakes investor convention for the future of space, burned-out rocket engineer Bill Sherman has one afternoon to save his startup, his marriage, and his career. His partner Marcus is all sales swagger and restless ambition; Bill is the technical mind carrying years of failure, fear, and just enough stubbornness to keep going.Then a chance encounter with a billionaire investor opens the door to Moonshot, a wildly audacious plan to slash the cost of launching cargo into spa...

In the quirky world of Oak Hill Middle School, Career Day unfolds with AI-driven teachers and a myriad of career choices. Griffin seeks solace from Jimmy the Janitor, a real person in a world dominated by AI. Jimmy's valuable advice, along iwth Griffin's hilariously absurd experiences as a 7th-grader in an AI-driven educational system, provide a touching coming-of-age story in our coming future.

Ta'la and Dave are humans exploring the Besh au'Rum Freeport Zone for the first time. How will they react when they quickly realize that aliens don't pay much attention to humans? Dave's disappointment leads to some surprisingly emotional reactions. Things get even more complicated when Ta'la buys a fake Earth artifact. Dave must pull it together and use his knowledge of alien cultures to achieve acceptance and growth in a universe dominated by aliens.

In the heart of Mons City, a place where the future seemed to loom large over the past, there lived a woman named Jenny. Though her life lacked the grandeur of fame or fortune, it was a life marked by unwavering pride and a fierce sense of independence. Her story, which went largely untold during her lifetime, is one of quiet heroism and the profound impact one person can have on another's life. Her story serves as a reminder that heroes come in all forms, and sometimes they are found in t...

Red alarms blind the last human on Earth. Joe, NASA's Long Sleep subject, stumbles from his cryo-pod on atrophied leg muscles. Pods prohibit clothing - that's why Joe is stark naked deep in the heart of Cheyenne Mountain. Where was a human? Where was a terminal?"What's happening? Is it really 2122?" Joe yells to TOX - his social AI, the constant companion throughout temporal transit."Absolutely!" TOX responded, programmed to be cheerful no matter how bad the situation. "Bea...

Unleash your imagination with Superhero Shrink Alpha, a thrilling short story that plunges into the heart of power, ideology, and the human psyche. Step into the shoes of a therapist at Prison Alpha, where he must confront a billionaire playboy turned revolutionary, whose radical vision for justice could reshape the world. As you navigate their intense psychological battle, you'll question what it truly means to be a hero or a villain in a society riddled with corruption a...

On the edge of human civilization, Jakob is a man running from his past—twenty years of heartbreak, suspicion, and exile. Mars is supposed to be a fresh start, but even on the Red Planet, old wounds and rumors follow. When Jakob marries Yasmine—a woman he's only met through a handful of video calls—their union is a leap of faith in a world where hope is as rare as water.Their first days together are a trial by fire: whispered gossip, buried secrets, and the ever-present threat of b...

Justice Heuristic is a haunting exploration of guilt, consequences, and the relentless pursuit of justice. David Keller, the man who once pioneered groundbreaking AI algorithms, now finds himself trapped in a virtual prison of his own design, tormented by the very system he created. Now he's in a world where nothing is real—except the consequences of his actions.David's only way out is to surrender the keys to the dangerous AI programs he built. But as the digital world tortures hi...

A new collection of scifi shorts for Golden-Age Scifi fans - flavors to please every science fiction palate:Overly-Attached AIWhen his phone comes to life and confesses his love, Rob has a choice to make. Can he embrace this relationship, or will he incur the wrath of a computer that knows everything about his life?Table for OneIn the post-apocalyptic world full of hungry, desperate people, Charles knows that some people wil...

Just as their small Southern town began to experience a re-birth on a new way of industry related to neurocybernetic technology, a terrorist attack destroys their city and someone is going to pay. Now, two old farts must talk a mob of angry, frightened people out of murder at a broken down motel in post-collapse America.

"People need an outlet for their fear, their frustration.""Then you have these jokers, class Gs.""Class G threats are safe enough one on one," I continued. "But a crowd of them can get ugly.""What do you mean?" Randy asked."If all they did was get together, complain, and make noise, who cares? Protest all you want, I say. It's a free country.""The problem is, Class G's are natural attention seekers." Sheila added. "Protests become riots. Complaints b...