Science Fiction Archives - Page 67 of 77

Lightspeed Magazine
Nightmare Magazine

Science Fiction

The Sweet Spot

“I’m gonna visit Dad.” Matt is curled in the passenger seat of their antique minivan, scowling as offworlders tromp and slither past their front bumper. Shooting a glance at Ruthie through long, pretty eyelashes, he flips down the visor to check the mirror.

In July 2012 (Issue 26)

Four Short Novels

by Joe Haldeman

Author spotlight

Eventually it came to pass that no one ever had to die, unless they ran out of money. When you started to feel the little aches and twinges that meant your body was running down, you just got in line at Immortality, Incorporated, and handed them your credit card. As long as you had at least a million bucks—and eventually everybody did—they would reset you to whatever age you liked.

In July 2012 (Issue 26)

Requiem in the Key of Prose

by Jake Kerr

Author spotlight

There is such a thing as an antifuse. This device is used to maintain the ongoing flow of electricity when there is local failure. The antifuse works similarly to a fuse in that it is designed to be sacrificed for a specific goal. But while a fuse is sacrificed to stop electricity from flowing, an antifuse is sacrificed to guarantee that the electricity does not stop.

In July 2012 (Issue 26)

The Way of Cross and Dragon

by George R.R. Martin

“Heresy,” he told me. The brackish waters of his pool sloshed gently.

“Another one?” I said wearily. “There are so many these days.”

In June 2012 (Issue 25)

A Plague of Zhe

by Maggie Clark

Author spotlight

My inquisitor wore a hangdog look more than earned by the absurdity of this official interview. Had I the ability to be annoyed, I didn’t even imagine I would have been. Amused? Possibly: The incompetence of these proceedings was palpable enough.

In June 2012 (Issue 25)

Contact

by Eileen Gunn

Author spotlight

The Desert of Winds was inland, a four-day flight from the eyries along the coastal mountains. After the eight-day fast, it was a long journey, even for the strongest-winged. But when they felt the high, hot desert wind lift them like dry leaves, even the most exhausted stretched their wings to the fullest and surrendered to the euphoria of approaching death.

In June 2012 (Issue 25)

The Cristóbal Effect

by Simon McCaffery

Author spotlight

The wooden detour barricade is barely in place when I spot the car closing fast from the east. Just a glint of light against the desert hills, yet I know it is his car. I ignite the last flare and toss it onto the centerline of the lonely rural two-lane highway.

In June 2012 (Issue 25)

Different Kinds of Darkness

by David Langford

Author spotlight

It was always dark outside the windows. Parents and teachers sometimes said vaguely that this was all because of Deep Green terrorists, but Jonathan thought there was more to the story. The other members of the Shudder Club agreed. The dark beyond the window-glass at home, at school, and on the school bus was the second kind of darkness.

In May 2012 (Issue 24)

The Cross-Time Accountants Fail To Kill Hitler Because Chuck Berry Does The Twist

by C.C. Finlay

Author spotlight

Mabel blurred through the Doorway and stumbled into a wall. She groped for a fingerhold, anything to prop herself up until the gut-twisting vertigo passed. Every time she experienced the blur it got a little worse. All that worse added up to worst because she had made hundreds of auditing trips to the past during her thirty-nine year career in cross-time accounting.

In May 2012 (Issue 24)

Song of Bullfrogs, Cry of Geese

by Nicola Griffith

Author spotlight

I sat by the side of the road in the afternoon sun and watched the cranefly struggle. A breeze, hot and heavy as a tired dog’s breath, coated the web and fly with dust. I shaded my eyes and squinted down the road. Empty. As usual. It was almost two years since I’d seen anything but Jud’s truck on Peachtree.

In May 2012 (Issue 24)