The Subject Under Discussion
# The Subject Under Discussion If science ever does figure out how time actually works, I would be willing to wager that it will stem in part from discovering how placing the words "look" and "out" in close proximity seems to have an effect on that...
Natural Habitat Interviews 3: Sheila
Good evening; I'm James Lipton, and I'm privileged to bring to you five of the most interesting persons it's ever been my pleasure to interview. To begin with, I need to explain that what you're about to read concerns the discovery of a home, a house,...
Natural Habitat Interviews 2: Jybian
Good evening; I'm James Lipton, and I'm privileged to bring to you five of the most interesting persons it's ever been my pleasure to interview. To begin with, I need to explain that what you're about to read concerns the discovery of a home, a house,...
FlashFic: Roadside Assistance
Not from around here, are ya? I can always tell. You hear the calling of the wolves out in the canyon, and you get a kind of look in your eye, as if you're too civilized to have to worry about it. You're right, at one level, of course; unless you're...
Commission: Full Contact
Entering the college gymnasium at precisely 7:20pm, Rave Raccoon once again experienced the sensation of being in some sort of prison-break movie. He had watched carefully, and from an appropriate distance, until he was certain that the nearly...
Impossible Things
_For Seth Drake, who made me rise to the challenge_ I looked up at the moon, my human skin itching and crawling, wanting to subsume itself into my true form. I forced it aside. I have had to wait for this night, this particular moon, to do what I...
Pillow Talk
"I have spoken with three of them," I said reading aloud, "Hausman, Farrow, and Yerkes - and I expect to see Kalmus tomorrow. They all profess belief in Blount's innocence, which is gratifying but not helpful. I not only profess it, I am committed to...
Story Segment -- Convenience
This snippet comes from a much longer story called "Truth and Consequences," which is currently under consideration for publication (wish me luck!). It's told in first person by a human named Darius who, on a driving trip west, has picked up a young...
Blue Antiphon
I blow out another puff of smoke, adding to the stale haze already hanging in the air. It's another habit I could obviously do without, but I can only take one change at a time. The smoke turns green, yellow, red, green with the traffic light from...
Expiration Date, Part 3
I hope you'll forgive me waxing poetic for a moment; in light of the occasion, it feels necessary. Are there, I wonder, enough words in the cumulative languages of the universe, to describe love in its entirety? I'd have to think not, for just about...
Expiration Date, Part 2
Neville stood aside as he welcomed me into his home. I knew from other conversations that he had inherited the modest house from his parents (who had passed some years ago), and he had apologized long in advance for how badly he had "let the place...
Expiration Date, Part 1
I can't begin to tell you the number of people who tried to talk me out of marrying him. He's more than twice your age, they said. He's unstable, they said. He's a hack trying to play in the big leagues, one of them said (and it felt so good to tell...