Reading Time: 6 minutes Jude Heiland froze in front of the tiny black screen, with its impossible, disastrous message. After daring a look over his shoulder, he rose so his body blocked the screen from anyone else in the lab. Green letters glowed on the antiquated display: Is there anybody there? The message was clearly directed at him. Its existence, let alone what it implied, made his head spin. Fingering the metal casing of his e-cigarette in his pocket, he had an urge to vape, a habit his supervisor despised. Only ten feet behind Jude sat Dr. Houghton, about seventy, who held PhDs in microbiology and paleontology. His publications had…

Reading Time: 4 minutes President Williamson and his Mexican counterpart, Ariel Mendoza, mugged for the cameras on a platform in the desert a few paces south of the border. Mendoza’s expression, Williamson thought, was impolitically sour. It was true the treaty he’d been forced to sign was highly unfavorable to Mexico and would thus end his political career. However, under-the-table arrangements would make him very rich. He seemed less than grateful. Williamson liked the optics of commemorating the occasion while standing on Mexican soil. Very Alpha. Behind him gleamed a somber line of giant white turrets, spaced at 100m intervals, which stretched from the Baja to the Gulf. This was…

Reading Time: 3 minutes             The squat, muscled beast gathered itself, canines bared, to leap at my throat. It was, of course, a Tasmanian Devil. The harsh noontime sun beat down as we glared at each other. Then its tiny brain decided and the compact form launched. I bent to one knee, drew my katana, and swept it in front of me.             The body fell to one side, the head fell to the other.             A scan of the desert showed no companions. I scraped a mark on my belt, drew a rag along the handcrafted blade, and headed back to my compound.             I’ll spare you the extensive…

Reading Time: 4 minutes Dre finds Ivana protected by a sis-bro on each flank. Ivana’s an ice queen with platinum hair, perfect skin, and, today, Apple logos on each cheek. Wet Ink ™. All the cool kids have it.