Test of Science

Science claims it’s more likely we’re a simulation than that this is reality. You can look the details up online. Or you can join me in proving it’s wrong. One suicide, hundreds even, won’t achieve anything. But if enough of us do, that makes the simulation worthless; and the “scientists” running it will react. Whoever’s …

Getting Warmer

James wound the recording back a few seconds. “—llo, I’m calling fro—” This time the ‘c’ felt slightly lighter. Was she emphasising ‘call’ or ‘all’? Mustn’t judge. Let the message create itself. Unless... what if cabal agents somehow heard both words at the same time. He typed both into the database. Work out a proper …

Among Decent Folk

*Gling* Jake turned, shoulders tense. “Morning, Jacob.” Sheriff Marcus strode into the shop, fragments of eggshell crunching beneath his boots. “Thank God you’re here. We’ve been...” Jake waved an arm at ‘Blasphemer’ scrawled across the window. Marcus sighed, then held out a letter. “Council’s withdrawn your business license.” “What! But I’m the—” “Listen. Maybe it’s …

Before the Harvest

It’s dark when I slip out, yet neighbours already fill the streets. Letting myself awaken naturally was always a risk: but someone hearing my alarm and realising I meant to run seemed worse. Only fields lie between me and the forest. If I sprint, they might hear me, but I’ll make it before sunrise. Moments …

The Cost of Truth

Following Jeremy Corbyn’s reinvigoration of the Labour Party (a failed party similar to the anti-truth Equal Rights Cabal) in the early 2000’s, the Conservative Party (a failed party similar to the anti-truth Moral Choice Alliance) adopted New Austerity. Their headline policy was a requirement that all public services were either profitable or revenue neutral. This …

You Probably Die Twice

Basildon Watt glanced down. Brass jaws snapped shut inches below as the clockwork alligators strained for his feet. Maybe not the best day to show off his new hand-stitched brogues after all. Not that he’d notice their demise. The scrolling laser would reach him well before one of the mechanical lizards got around to standing …

Hunters of the Free Tsar

T’kjun pressed his flippers to the ice, shooting forward to the base of the berg. Harpoon cinched tight, he clambered up. The five heads that had shattered the ice had gone—for now. The tribe relied on him to find the bounty exposed by the breaking and to give warning if the five heads returned. He …

All the Time in the World

Plastic shards spray across the room. Suddenly, the hammer reappears in my hand. I slump down, another idea defeated. Building the tachyon bridge was my greatest moment. Portable time travel. Only a few seconds. But still time travel. Each moment of error could be erased as if it had never been. But some consequences are …

Die Noon

You join us in Budapest as Professor Carl Dau oversees the alignment of the final panel in the Dyson-Dau sphere. Started three years ago, the Dyson-Dau sphere surrounds the Earth with specially treated glass designed to replace the ozone layer. Dau is stepping back from the console. He’s smiling. The globe is sealed. He’s whispering …

Earth Moves

John wheeled himself closer to the edge. The windows’d gone in the last quake. People were always on about being careful, but what did it matter now? The world was literally falling apart. Might as well have a good view. Grit crunched behind him. He spun. Sarah Jenks, the fittest bird in the block. “What …