Story Excerpts

The End of the Line
by William Paul Jones

The stars flow beneath my slippers. Each of my steps blots out a new part of the sparkling void; I am a carefree god treading on the secrets of heaven on my way from kitchen to table. Walking on the unblemished glass of our viewing floor gives most people vertigo at the very least or night terrors at worst, but this is my home and my sanctuary. I see only potential and plenty in the infinite.

The feeling is rubbing off on our guests. “I could not envision it before,” Charan says with that million-watt smile of his. “But this is why we research our roles, is it not? Rise of the Void Guard could well be the crown jewel of my career.” READ MORE

The Elegant Test
by David Horn

The control deck of the orbital station was windowless, its walls a patchwork of external feeds. Jupiter’s storms boiled across one screen; Europa’s cracked ice shimmered on another.

Dr. Lena Ortiz stood with her arms crossed, staring at the moon. Even here, kilometers of ice and substructure above the unbreachable ice shell, she felt it: the liquid below, dark and deep and restless, waiting.

Dr. Ortiz reversed her arms and stared at Europa. Behind her, Dr. Arun Sen scrolled through the mission brief. “You know the committee still doesn’t believe Europa is worth it, right?” he said. “Too deep. Too cold. Too long a shot.”

Ortiz didn’t look at him. “And yet here we are.” READ MORE