Gortan Peter Mephet-Galleho stood outside the Lunar Space Administration Building, staring up at its aluminate and plastic spires, admiring their smooth and shapeless beauty. It reminded him of his forefathers as he looked up at the floating energy globes hovering in the dark, starless expanse over the dome of the Administration and realized that his…

There was a knock on the door as Pascal Weber was folding the white shirt with the small blue and red stripes. He placed it with great care into the drawer of the oak dresser and, sliding the drawer shut, set the laundry basket aside. The knocking at the door became more insistent, but he…

I’ve been here a long time. And I don’t like it here. Most of the time it’s real cold and dark and lonely. It’s hardly ever bright enough to get light where I am. The water’s kind of dirty and down on the bottom all the light is blocked out. I don’t like it, though,…

“So, do you like working in a bank?” he asked, biting into one of the particularly hard breadsticks that the Italian restaurant offered to every patron, probably in the hopes of getting rid of the stale, tasteless things. She smiled slightly, running her hand up over her forehead and through her thin blonde hair, teasing…

It was somewhere on 34th Street, in the midst of Chinatown, when the rickshaw finally tipped over. It had been careening on for some time, the driver had been going far too fast, an unbelievable accusation, but true, and its lurching, jumping wooden frame could no longer stay upright in its current condition. The passengers,…

The outside of the Jablonski house, a small ranch-style domicile, was lit with Christmas cheer. Glowing plastic Santa’s and snowmen lined the yard, lights hung from every tree, and a small manger scene stood next to the street. The Christmas shrine was only punctuated by the small wooden garden gnomes casually placed throughout the yard,…

In the seemingly endless span of existence since life peeked its sneering head into our universe, things have happened. Great things, with great battles and feuds, so legendary that they will always exist in the cultural memory of those who witness them. And so, too, it is with those thoughtless and impulsive beasts, who by…

Old Johnny Watson was sitting on the curb, hand outstretched, as the businessman in the Armani suit walked by. “Hey, buddy, could you spare a dime for a fella that’s down on his luck?” The man sneered and averted his gaze. “Sorry, I’ve got nothing…”   Johnny had been there, on that curb, for four…

“Thanks for your time, Dr. Hutchins.” Marty shuffled through the papers in his bag. The doctor glanced up from the notebook that he was looking through, sliding his glasses down to look at Marty. “It’s no problem at all, son. There’s not enough time in the day for me to talk about myself and my…

Walto Haggerty was working his field. He strained away under the hot sun, trying to attach a plow to the rear of his tractor. He paused momentarily to look questioningly at the sun and wipe his brow with an old handkerchief. “Damn it all,” he muttered. It was one of the hottest springs in state…