Mr. Hal Bender was always told he had a wire loose somewhere in that mathematically gifted, bad comb-over head of his. His fellow bean counters at the accounting firm of Gort, Kitt, and Servo voted Hal most likely to mate with a computer. And if Mr. Bender ever did get married, he’d somehow manage to meet the national household population average of two-point five-four. One spring morning in late April, the middle-aged ge...

“He’s late,” Monica urged as a wintry wind hastily picked up out of the north. “Sam, we should go,” She insisted. As the wind rushed past, her shoulder length hair gently swayed. Her teeth chattered quietly. “But we came all this way to see it. Just ten more minutes, that’s all I ask,” Sam pleaded with just a hint of a smile. Through his half-glasses he remained in a permanent state of awe of his lifelong dream standing m...

Staring out into the falling sun I was reminded of the colors that it used to hold. Such reds, yellows, and smears of the infinite shades that lie between. I often imagine them at all times of the day, not just at this one, when the sun lowers itself somewhere it can hide for the night. I only wish that I could do the same. The nighttime is when the Mysteries come out. I think that they do. We are always told to never loo...

Chapter 64 To Save a Loved One I get up, and scratch the crumbling wall of the office to distract the angry green-eyed man. “Your walls seem rather thin and unreliable!” “These “peaceful rallies” of Flingers are beginning to piss me off. This damage is more of a reflection of their volatile state of mind, than the thickness of our walls!” Fern rolls his eyes. “… or the reason they are so volatile is because we are so unre...

For the past decade now, it seems my life has come to a stand-still; day after day I perform the same routine while fearing my turn for mortality to strike. However, as of late, as the monotony molds my recent acts of madness, I am more looking forward to my eventual death rather than fearing it. To define an "act of madness" - ordering a tall as opposed to a venti; lacing my right shoe first instead of my left; displayin...

Chapter 63 The Friendly Assault Strange objects hang in the skies above the forest we’re in. The screeching seems to be coming from them. Come to think of it, it is more melodic than annoying. It feels like they are talking to each other. The objects hang low enough to discern what these things are. Well, I don’t know what they are, but I can see that they are oval and colorful. There are long flags, or banners hanging fr...

Chapter 15 by Kari and Rascal Jason holds up a hand. "We're not going anywhere near him until we get word back from the crew about the search. Donny's going over Angel with a fine-toothed comb and we're going to sit tight until he reports to us. Zlanta's got Victor in the airlock right now. One push on the control and he goes for a very long walk with no oxygen. She's not talking to him or letting him talk. Nice when you...

Chapter14 by Kari and Rascal On the bridge, Jason heard Victor enter the common room. His boots made a sound distinct from Sive's light footsteps. Fingers drumming absently on the console, Jason listened to their conversation. Sive looked up when she heard heavy footsteps. Smiling, she said, “Hi Victor, glad to see you're on time. Have a seat, let's get to know one another before I take you on a tour. Oh, and if you want...

Chapter 62 Lierance TENSARTIS. I hold my breath and do not open my eyes. This might be liquid nitrogen. In this case my eyes will be burned. I must rely on my biosonar. Somehow my creator put in that feature – me being able to survive in liquid nitrogen. It is sian’s native environment, so I carry his nostalgia. Figures. It is just waves and waves on the biosonar. I have no idea of the difference between water and liquid...

Chapter 61 The Labyrinth So I grab Alare and drag him to the opening. He frowns and begins to resist, when I jump. The rest of the headquarters explodes fiercely behind us. Hopelessness and fear grip my heart. We fall for a long, excruciating minute with aurora borealis all around us, flaming in long, purple curtains. I squeeze Alare, and he is thin and fragile in my arms. I can feel his body close to mine. The fresh air...

Chapter13 by Kari and Rascal Jason was about to protest his innocence when she suddenly calmed down, smiled, and seemed to roll with the situation. He watched her gather the shreds of dignity around her as she announced she was off to see to her duties. After she left, Jason looked at Donny. "How are the rest of the crew taking this? I...I like Sive. I'd like this to be...more like what the two of you have. But I don't wa...

Chapter12 By Kari and RascalOnce Sive was finished showering she stepped out of the stall, reaching for a clean towel to dry off with. She kept wondering where Jason had gotten to. Having nothing to put on but the towel, she wrapped it around herself and headed back to her quarters. Once dressed again she decided to locate Jason and find out why he hadn't joined her in the shower. Since it was late she figured to try his...

Chapter 60 Aurora Borealis I hope he did not hear us… Let’s hope… He gave the order to send the ship here. As of yet I do not know of its intentions, but nothing good can come out of the mere intimidation tactics, let alone the actual use of force. “If I see you fraternizing with this animal one more time, you will end up in prison.” He snaps at Levir. “And you, a useless failed cross of a monkey and a piece of space debr...

Chapter 59 The Important Information The “office” is a regular ederi dwelling in the middle of the forest of duhis. It is a big whitish dome as if made of tree roots with a fabric stretched over it. I feel no fear entering it. Fern is surely within, wanting to know if I brought Moro. Nope, I did not. What am I going to tell him? Whatever lie I want. Leot is wise. He made his dream come true, and gave Fern a killing machin...

In five seconds, the boosters shut down, the computer and console went dark, the artificial gravity disappeared, and the main lighting deactivated. Within moments, the pair of emergency lights providing dim illumination flickered and quit. At the same time, I felt a tingling sensation moving along my skin, I became nauseated, and I saw lights flashing where no lights existed. I heard Loflin exclaim, “EMP!” Then our little...