In the uncharted depths of space, 250 light years from Earth, Frank ‘Cooter’ Ross and his sharp-witted mechanic, Cathy Sorenson, pilot the Hootie Bird—a scrappy, two-person scouting vessel built for the stars. Tasked with spying on a secretive UTAN colony, they stumble across a chilling transmission hinting at alien contact. As Cooter digs through his […]
In a world where power is a family affair, Mark Mason seizes control of K‑Systems. Over a tense dinner, old wounds and bitter rivalries resurface, as Morris probes his son’s motives with a mix of mockery and menace. Mark, scarred by his father’s past betrayals, stands determined to forge his own path in the cutthroat […]
In a future where humanity’s ambitions stretch beyond Earth, Mark Mason, visionary founder of Selene Corp, battles to steer his company toward a daring new frontier. Stationed in the microgravity of an L5 office, Mark rejects the allure of Mars—a planet he deems a seductive trap, doomed by its thin atmosphere, lack of magnetic field, […]
In a high-stakes game of deception and betrayal, Milton has stolen priceless artifacts from his dangerous brother, Morris, and hidden them where no one would dare look—on the Moon. Under a false identity, Milton navigates a web of family grudges and cosmic ambition, with his sister Mary as his wary ally. As they plot to […]
Stranded on an uncharted island after a brutal hurricane wrecks their ship, a group of castaways clings to hope fifty-three miles from Bermuda. Sent to find help, one survivor treks along the endless beach, GPS in hand, only to discover a chilling anomaly: no matter how far he walks, the coordinates refuse to change. As […]
In the frigid, uncharted expanse of the Kuiper Belt, where the Sun is but a distant pinprick in an endless void, Ian Baird stands alone—a solitary caretaker of a deep-space radio telescope array, tasked with listening for whispers of alien life. But the darkness here is more than just the absence of light; it’s a […]
When does instant communications become a liability? Check out this new Vignette. Torn MacAlester’s Fabulae Lunae The Lunadyne Incident and Other Stories (buy now)
This article is the first follow-on to a series on first contact. This is part of a series of articles about science fiction world building: From the moment the first experiments with radio began, the possibility of detecting alien transmissions became real. If there was an advanced civilization on Mars, it would be […]
In the sub-genre of hard science fiction, an attempt is made to ensure that the science in the story is somewhat correct. One issue that I have been following is the possibility of life on exoplanets. Anton gives a wonderful update on the DMS possibility on K2-18b. — Even though the detection has been questioned. […]
A near future science fiction vignette by Torn MacAlester Torn MacAlester’s Fabulae Lunae The Lunadyne Incident and Other Stories (buy now)