ESA only sent married couples into space for these kinds of missions. Something about for better or for worse. Something about ‘til death do us part. We held the fate of the Earth in our hands. Our vow was not only to each other but to humankind as well. Paz and I traveled 91 million miles to get here, so far from Earth that it took eight minutes for a radio signal to reach there. We were suspended a ridiculous 315 miles...

They say that space is truly silent, and in space, nobody hears you cry when you die. By the [human] 20th century, the know-to-them spacefaring races had settled into a form of stasis: some were on the up, some on the down, some were boots, some under the boot. But the Second Force of the Universe: Self-Interest and the Third: Apathy had collided and depleted the urge for vigorous conquest, and so, the Fourth: Stasis had...

The klaxon alarm that heralded the evacuation of Terra Prime still haunts my dreams. Even though I am a safe colonist on Lunar Prime. The desolate floating of everything on this rock feels like the primal birth of something voidal, gaping, and incessant. Like a fly buzzing just on the outside of your perception barrier. Taunting and also easy to dismiss with enough distraction. The trouble is, distractions like food ratio...

I sat with my dad on the verge of the road, near the car. The night was cold and clear and the stars were falling like rain. "I wonder if there are other worlds," said dad, "Or if this is the only one?" The next day we visited the observatory. We stood in line and, one by one, were allowed to look through the giant telescope. "The planet you can see now is four million light years away," said the guide, "We believe it is...

  Nadska knew he was in trouble. He’d had the misfortune to be planet-side when the first of the Star Destroyers emerged from hyperspace above Kashyyyk, now everyone on the jungle world was trapped. The imperials had already jammed global communications and were commencing a well orchestrated assault on the planetary defences. That was all Nadska knew, he honestly didn’t care what the Empire wanted with Kashyyyk. He just...

  Characters:   Ellie Carmichael Early thirties, Information Systems Technician Tom Carmichael Late thirties, Life Support Systems Engineer Yinzi Chen Mid-forties, Project Manager Joe Green Late-twenties, Communication Officer Liz D’Souza Late-twenties, Supplies Officer Tyrone Symonds Mid-thirties, Construction Manager Sophie Carmichael Five years old   SCENE ONE   Lights up DSR. Ellie peers through a large telescope faci...

“Let’s call this class to order, shall we?” The Professor looked as aged as the two-century-old building he was teaching in. Dressed smartly for his age though, he had the physical presence that outstanding educators naturally possess. Selecting a book on the wooden table in front of him, he opened to the marked page. “The great Albert Einstein said: The only reason for Time is so that everything does not happen at once.”...

Let your mind wander, let my mind go too, Together our heads, simply make two. Two little thoughts, drift in the wind, Like a couple of leaves, carrying currents run thin. A momentary look, a rustle here and there, Browning and wearing, who saw… who cared? Slowly decomposing, now beginning to rot, Back into the soil, food for the plot. From the earth to the heavens, the story still stands, If you think far further, beyond...

“Oh, what the hell? What the freak just happened and why does it feel like I just got ran over by a bus?” saying out loud and holding my head trying hard to open my eyes and sit up. After what seemed like several minutes but was only seconds, my eyes opened and adjusted to the light. Not quite able to sit up yet, I lay on my back holding my head and try to look around. Something didn’t seem quite right about the light, an...

Last night, when I was saying my prayers, I asked God to make outer space a little bit smaller and to make everything in it a little bit closer, so we could visit some of those places without having to use, like, a trillion gallons of gasoline. That seems like a waste to me. I don’t understand why galaxies are so far away from each other. Talk about sprawl.♦ As I’ve said, my paperboy Randy Thoughts is one of the smartest...

Randy Thoughts is my paperboy. He may just be the smartest person I know. You wouldn’t think that someone as smart as Randy Thoughts would be content delivering newspapers for a living. But you don’t know Randy.Like, one day several months ago. Randy and I were just laying on our backs in my front yard, looking up at the stars. Randy was chewing on a blade of grass. Since it was February, I had hypothermia.“Mr. Zee,” said...

Chapter 7 a simple repair done badly.Scrotum looked out of the window to the airlock. He knew there were many ways to die out there in the cold vacuum of space. He couldn’t understand why the engine was overheating. It was so cold out there someone would freeze to death within a minute, if not for the protective forcefields.Scrotum slipped on his magnetic boots, then his force field belt, bracelets, leg bands and headband...

Chapter sex, er, six. The HunterGeneral Knob limped out of the lower shuttle and storage area. He was looking for the owner of the station, intending to get information on this Captain Scrot and the woman on the Thrust. When Scrot had dropped him he had landed on his Simons, breaking his fall but braking Simons arm. Still, it had hurt, but not as mush as his balls hurt. That woman had kneed him just right.He left the thre...

Reader discretion advised.The story you are about to read contains mature content that some may find offensive. By choosing to read this piece, you agree that you are 18 or older and do not object to content of a sexual nature.Chapter 5 Undignified DepartureScrotum had a look in the cargo bay. Fortunately, there was no one there. He wandered over to the naked, blue woman portrait and pressed his hands on her breasts, open...

Reader discretion advised.The story you are about to read contains mature content that some may find offensive. By choosing to read this piece, you agree that you are 18 or older and do not object to content of a sexual nature.Chapter4 A Massive Knob.General Knob sat in his hover pod. This was a waste of time. No one would be stupid enough to access the biorecognition for a dead body except the law. From his experiences,...