THE WRITERS AND THEIR STORIES

An Essay in Favor of the Destruction of Mars One - Kara Race-Moore

Last week, the sophomore class of James E. Webb High School visited the ruins of Mars One. This trip took place despite the fact nearly every member of our class had been dragged to see this nearby historical site numerous times on multiple field trips throughout our school years. There, yet again, we saw firsthand the consequences of Anne Kennedy’s decision. The twisted metal supporting beams and cracked concrete foundations sitting empty in a lonely patch of desert are all that remains of humanity’s first home on Mars. The work of years spent growing the community and decades of planning before humans even got to Mars was all destroyed in an instant when Anne Kennedy gave the order to set off the bombs. Despite this being an act of wanton destruction, I believe Anne Kennedy made the right decision to destroy Mars One. 

At ‘Plane Sight’ – Diana Parrilla Hernández

The plane shuddered, its engines sputtering as the cabin shook like a rag doll. Red emergency lights flashed, a chaotic melody of screams filling the air. The captain wrestled with the controls, but it was clear—the bird was going down.

At the Top of the Martian World – Mary Jo Rabe

Mike Menner hopped expertly through the unfortunately silent reception area. As always, a surely temporary lack of customers had no power to spoil his mood, which was as bright as the lights under the expertly scrubbed transparent dome.

A Bear In Winter – Jacob Jones-Goldstein

California sat on the creaky wooden deck and watched the condensation patterns his breath made in the cold air. The sun had only just begun its journey for the day, but it was enough to illuminate the field that stretched out beyond the cabin. During the summer it was flush with wildflowers and tall grass, but here in late winter it was covered in almost a foot of snow. The tall pines that ringed the field also wore a fresh coat of powder from the previous night’s storm. 

Galaxy Music – Jay T. Levy

Alto opened his eyes and looked across the room through the glass of his hibernation chamber, into the chamber of Jazz, his friend and fellow long-range communications engineer. Fast beats and electronic rhythms played in Al’s headphones, mixed with crashing ocean waves which energized his body and spirit. Along with the music, citrus scents blended into the chamber air around him. Though he’d just been unconscious, Al’s mind felt invigorated and ready. 

Isaac Geary’s Instant Utopia – Phil Giunta

It took only a day to grow the first snow-capped mountains. The entire range had erupted from the surface on the other side of the world, far enough away that the shockwave barely registered at Terraform Control. By the following afternoon, several kilometers of barren gray flatlands were transformed into lush fields of colorful wildflowers and deep green grass bordered by a rushing river on one side and a dense forest on the other.

Launch Day – Brian Gibson

“It’s Launch Day!”

           The exclamation, declared in the sonorous, feminine voice of the Annie Jump station’s sentience Cannon, sounded in Doctor Bartholomew Simms’ head and roused him from his sleep. It was followed immediately by the first of his Launch Day musical selections, ensuring that he wouldn’t simply drift back away into dreams. He tried to issue the mental command that would silence the bombastic tones ringing through his head, before remembering that he’d set it so that he’d have to physically touch the command screen on the opposite side of the sleep chamber. It was his way of making sure he actually got up.

Little Ghosts by Esos Ridley – Glenn Dungan

At first glance, it appears that Dr. Autotina is more of a botanist than anything else. 

               She greets me in front of her workshop, buried deep within the Red Rock Mountain range in Denver, Colorado. The workshop is covered in astrological runes that glitter gold against a brutalist cement façade. This alien appearing non-alien plateau is manicured in a variety of large and beautiful flowers, some from Earth and surviving without ventilators, others in vials with precise calibration, achieved on the famous interstellar expeditions to Mars with her late husband, Dr. Ronald Folsom. There is an element of nature fused with classic science-fiction on the way to a flower laden door.

Little House on the Ecliptic – Zachary Taylor Branch

Lara was taking twenty-foot leaps along the edge of a frozen iron-lava waterfall, and the voice coming over the comms was making it hard to concentrate. 

“You can’t turn them down again, Lara. This could be your last chance.”

Nahib – Paul Weissman

Once upon a time, there was a girl. She was shy and lived at the edge of the woods in a quaint, little house with her mother and her father. They were away for long periods of time. The girl, whose name was Leila, did not know why. When she asked, they smiled, patted her head and said, “big people things”. That made Leila feel smaller than she already felt. When her parents were gone, she would feed the chickens and the goats, tend the garden and keep the house tidy. Even though she was lonely, she felt safe.

Star Angel – Rose Strickman

“Are you sure you won’t come, Elena?” Reclining in his float-chair, Vikram’s face was creased into papery wrinkles of concern.

           “Quite sure,” said Elena. “You know my old bones can’t deal with planetary gravity anymore.” The two friends were in the waiting lobby of one of Astrophil Retirement Center’s space docks. Nearby, a line was forming, residents preparing to board one of the shuttles down to the planet.

The Biodecks – Erin Cullen

Jaden was fifteen years old the first time the Computer betrayed him. 

The main Computer, the one that ran Sunrise Station from the interior mechanical ring to the life-sustaining ocean that filled the station’s bottom level, had always picked Jaden’s educational modules, like it did for all the kids. It had never steered him wrong before. But today, the Computer had decided that Jaden would receive a spot in a group of teenagers visiting the biodecks, the fragile habitats of plants, animals, and microorganisms that the humans on the station relied upon for environmental regulation. 

The First Smile on Ogma 5 - Nicholas Leamy

Sitting in the crabapple tree, Hazel sat with her arms wrapped tightly around her, a frown scrunching her face. Looking up, she plucked one of the flowers off the branch, and began to rip it apart in clumps. Tossing the shredded remains to the ground, she snatched another. Her fingers grabbed a petal and then paused. She rubbed it between her fingers, tracing the lines and taking in all the subtleties of the texture. Raising the flower to her nose, she breathed in deeply, and fresh tears began to fall down her face.

The Green Flare – Randall Hayes

The barmaid, Beryl, spoke into the microphone with a clipped British accent. “The next section of tonight’s Old Toad pub quiz concerns the works of science fiction pioneer Jules Verne. We’ll be accepting answers in English, but with bonus points for French.” She had done this many times, and knew to hold the microphone far enough from her mouth that the consonants wouldn’t pop.

The Legend of the Elgrull – Murray Eiland

“Grandpa, tell me again about the Elgrull?” Shiloh asked, tucked up to her chin, cozy in bed.

“Again?” Grandpa chuckled, “My, you really like that story, don’t you?”

“Yeah! Something about it just makes me feel all warm and tingly.”

Grandpa chuckled again, tussling the hair of his nine-year-old granddaughter. “Well, I can’t deny you your favorite story, not right before bed, anyway.”

The Pale Red Dot - J. Patrick Conlon

Scott removed his glove and ran his hand lightly over the thin spiny leaf of the aloe vera plant, then gently squeezed it. He released the aloe and walked over to the datapad laying on top of a rust colored boulder and began entering his observations.

“How are we doing?”

Scott’s eyes rose up to glare at the speaker set into the metal wall. 

“I’d be doing better if you stopped interrupting me. Besides, you are monitoring me right? I only just examined it. Gimme a minute, Jen!”

To Bend or to Break – Eric Remington

He blew away the steam coming from his freshly brewed cup of synthetic coffee, the smell never quite leaving his nostrils. The view from his balloon, tethered to the top of the trees below him, was impressive. He never really tired of it. Every new planet was a new vista, a new group of species to catalog, and a new adventure. He had a lot of work to do, but for now, he allowed himself to reflect, drink his coffee, and pet his dog.

To Eliza – Alice Avoy

Let no one dare to doubt my commitment to my dearest wife, as I’m officially sending the first message from Habitus XVI to you, my love, instead of the HQ. The Intergalactic Association of Agriculture will have to wait ten minutes more for the report. Hope they will swallow the indignation like the champs they are. I wish I could have called, but the signal here is spotty at best due to all the interference, so we’ll have to do with written words. 

To Perceive and Be Perceived – Owen Townend

After four decades of nondisclosure, Sunthers & Co have finally released select passages of the Project Glimpse case file to the public. What follows are extracts from the initial Tempus Scope trial, featuring testimonies from the first two voluntary human test subjects.