THE BASTION OF MIDNIGHT BELLS

“The bastion rose from the evening shadows, and Hiroki paused on the mountain path. A crevice separated the buildings from the rest of the peak, and only a narrow bridge led up to their entrance. Fog drifted through the windows and over the battlements, easing into the scars and pockmarks of a long-forgotten onslaught. This…

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DESCENT INTO THE ARCHIVES (Podcast)

“We require the Tirani correspondence from the archives. Do not open it. Do not read it. Bring it to us.” The instruction came from the fax machine line by line, accompanied by toneless buzzing. M. watched the paper, searching for a way to escape this assignment, but there was none. The instruction was in writing,…

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ITERATION 571

“Snow drifted through the hallways of the floating temple, and Tlachoatl shivered. His body was bloated from the fetuses inside it, his faith implants bristled with zeal. Iteration 569 was going well. Tlachoatl scanned the corridor and swung the hungry wood in his hands. The handle chafed his skin, and its obsidian eyes blinking darkly.…

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PHOBOSTEUS

“The curtain rose, and the first act began. Falb stood in one of the claustrophobic hallways of the cruiser, surrounded by other soldiers. The projection screens in the walls had come alive and commanded everyone’s attention. Falb took a deep breath and clenched his teeth. Until a moment ago, the screens had only shown star-speckled…

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THE KINGDOM OF VOICES

“A man called Sefu marches along a rural trail. He carries a sword on his back, and when he sees his shadow, he remembers its age. Impatience pulses in his step, a barely contained force like a spring that is wound up too tight. Mineshafts burrow through the earth beneath shanties towns, somewhere in the…

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WEAPONS OF MASS ENTANGLEMENT

“One day, Panduranga Mohan found a strange plant growing next to her door. It hadn’t been there when she went to sleep, but it was already waist-high, with a big, closed bud at its top. Panduranga shrugged and drove to work in the tourist town. When she returned in the evening, the bud had grown…

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HALLS OF SILT AND SEAWATER (Podcast)

“At night, Ben dreamt of the waves pushing him up, making him feel weightless for a moment and crashing down with him again, a constant up and down, just a feeling of movement that enveloped him in his sleep. When he swallowed, he tasted salt, even though he had eaten, drank and brushed his teeth,…

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UN COMMUNICADOR CON OBJETOS ANIMADOS (A COMMUNICATOR WITH ANIMATE OBJECTS)

“Pocas personas han hecho todo el viaje desde la Tierra en aquellos días, desde la superficie a través de la atmósfera y directamente al espacio: por el precio correcto, Hakon Ambrose era uno de ellos.” Published in: El futuro del ayer, hoy, Año 3, Número 1 (July 2020)

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LEMURA

“Aleksandra!” The path snaked up the hill, vanishing into the treeline some distance above them. Clouds diluted the waning moon and rendered Aleksandra’s flashlight clearly visible to Petko. “Wait! Where are you going?” Petko could hear Aleksandra’s laughter and saw her light dancing further along the path, as if she wanted to lead him somewhere.…

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DESCENT INTO THE ARCHIVES

“We require the Tirani correspondence from the archives. Do not open it. Do not read it. Bring it to us.” The instruction came from the fax machine line by line, accompanied by toneless buzzing. M. watched the paper, searching for a way to escape this assignment, but there was none. The instruction was in writing,…

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