Science Fiction Archives - Page 62 of 75

Lightspeed Magazine
Nightmare Magazine

Science Fiction

Water Finds Its Level

When people asked where I met Roger, I always told the truth. “We met in the Collision,” I’d say. Then they’d give me that look that people used to give you when you told them you met somebody online. The look that said you must be reckless or naive or desperate, and that no good would come of it.

In May 2013 (Issue 36)

The Traditional

by Maria Dahvana Headley

Author spotlight

By your first anniversary, the world’s stopped making paper, and so you can’t give your boyfriend the traditional gift. You never would have anyway, regardless of circumstances. You’re not that kind of girl. You pride yourself on your original sin. It’s the hot you trade in.

In May 2013 (Issue 36)

Deep Blood Kettle

by Hugh Howey

Author spotlight

They say the sky will fill with dust in a bad way if we don’t do something soon. My teacher Mrs. Sandy says that if the meteor hits, it’ll put up enough dirt to block the sun, and everything will turn cold for a long, long while. When I came home and told Pa about this, he got angry. He called Mrs. Sandy a bad word, said she was teaching us nonsense. I told him the dinosaurs died because of dust in the sky. Pa said there weren’t no such thing as dinosaurs.

In Apr. 2013 (Issue 35)

A Love Supreme

by Kathleen Ann Goonan

Author spotlight

Ellie Santos-Smith grabs a clean white coat as spring dawn brightens her worn Oriental rug and streaks with sun her only luxury, a grand piano. She runs a comb through her jet-black hair, cut short because she thinks that makes her look older. Her smooth skin glows with 20-ish health, though she is 47.

In Apr. 2013 (Issue 35)

Deus Ex Arca

by Desirina Boskovich

Author spotlight

It was a crystalline morning in early June, and the sky was wide as a saucer. It was a beautiful day for the arrival of the box.

In Apr. 2013 (Issue 35)

The Sense of the Circle

by Angélica Gorodischer
Translated by Amalia Gladhart

Author spotlight

Have you seen those houses on Oroño Boulevard, especially the ones that face east, those dry, cold, serious, heavy houses, with grilles but without gardens, maybe at the most a tile patio paved like the sidewalk? In one of those houses lives Ciro Vázquez Leiva, Cirito.

In Mar. 2013 (Issue 34)

Let’s Take This Viral

by Rich Larson

Author spotlight

Default hadn’t been down in the nocturns for some time, probably half an orbit, but he had just dissolved the geneshare contract with his now-ex-lover and needed to get completely fucking perforated to take his mind off things. His lift was full of revelers all laughing and widecasting the same synthesized whalesong from Old Old Earth.

In Mar. 2013 (Issue 34)

Three Days of Rain

by Holly Phillips

Author spotlight

They came down out of the buildings’ shade into the glare of the lakeside afternoon. Seen through the sting of sun-tears, the bridge between Asuada and Maldino Islands wavered in the heat, white cement floating over white dust, its shadow a black sword-cut against the ground.

In Mar. 2013 (Issue 34)

Biographical Fragments of the Life of Julian Prince

by Jake Kerr

Author spotlight

Julian Samuel Prince (March 18, 1989 – August 20, 2057) was an American novelist, essayist, journalist, and political activist. His best works are widely considered to be the post-Impact novels The Grey Sunset (2027) and Rhythms of Decline (2029), both of which won the Pulitzer Prize. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2031.

In Mar. 2013 (Issue 34)

PauseTime

by Mary Soon Lee

Author spotlight

Twenty minutes into the transatlantic flight, Connor started wailing. Pauline cradled him in her arms. Then she rocked him, she offered him her breast, she sang to him; Connor continued to cry. The man sitting on her right gave her a thin smile. “Did you forget the baby’s pauser code?”

In Feb. 2013 (Issue 33)