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    Portals: Short Science Fiction Stories
    Portals: Short Science Fiction Stories
    Portals: Short Science Fiction Stories
    Ebook89 pages1 hour

    Portals: Short Science Fiction Stories

    By Eric Fomley

    ()

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    About this ebook

    These 27 stories are sure to transport you to other worlds in the time it takes to drink a cup of coffee. Here in Volume 1, you'll find seven hologram stories (Fragmented, Deletable Love, End Program, Atonement, Intervention, Past Due, and Dry Run), five robot stories (Old Girl, Infiltration, Red Light, Green Light, Packing Up, and Glitches Get Stitches), a VR story (Starfall), two cloning stories (Download Day, Reborn), a generation ship story (Storage), a space opera story (Trade Off), two alien stories (Smuggler and Day 24), five military sci-fi stories (Hangar 57, Stay Human, Inhuman, Fumes, and Supers), and three near future stories (Stasis, Social Drones, and Social Glitch). Enjoy these "Portals" to other worlds throughout the day or all at once in a single sitting.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherShacklebound Books
    Release dateSep 10, 2023
    ISBN9798215451779
    Portals: Short Science Fiction Stories

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      Book preview

      Portals - Eric Fomley

      Portals

      Eric Fomley

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      Copyright © 2023 by Eric Fomley

      All rights reserved.

      Cover designed by Getcovers.

      No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

      Contents

      Dedication

      1.Fragmented

      2.Old Girl

      3.Deletable Love

      4.End Program

      5.Starfall

      6.Download Day

      7.The Smuggler

      8.Infiltration

      9.Packing Up

      10.Red Light, Green Light

      11.Day 24

      12.Atonement

      13.Storage

      14.Hangar 57

      15.Stay Human

      16.Invervention

      17.Past Due

      18.Social Glitch

      19.Inhuman

      20.Social Drones

      21.Dry Run

      22.Trade Off

      23.Stasis

      24.Fumes

      25.Supers

      26.Glitches Get Stitches

      27.Reborn

      28.More Short Science Fiction Stories

      29.Sign up for Eric Fomley's Flash Fiction Newsletter

      About the Author

      For Cassy, my better half.

      And for Bella, Liam, and Oliver.

      Let nothing diminish your little imaginations.

      Fragmented

      I’m climbing, doing my best to focus on the orange glowing handholds my HUD thinks are the best places to grab onto and not over at Ann who looks flawless the way she’s bounding up the cliff face.

      Hurry up, we’re going to miss it, she says.

      My arms feel like they might fall off. My hands are sore through my nanofiber gloves and my skinsuit isn’t doing much in the way of keeping me cool. My back is slick with sweat and the fabric feels slimy as it slides across my skin.

      What’s the rush? I’m not a freaking free-climb pro!

      She giggles. A beautiful, sweet sound. If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise, would it?

      I look at the upper edge of the cliff, so close, and push myself to focus. Ann beats me there, of course, and when she pulls herself up, she looks down at me with crossed arms and a smirk that basically says I’m better than you. It makes me smile. I hoist myself up with all I have left in me and roll onto my back to stare at the greenish-blue sky. I’m panting, which is made louder through my mask and helps remind me how out of shape I am.

      Ann sits beside me and lets her feet dangle over the edge. I can see the look of awe on her face as she looks out on the Varo horizon. I lever myself onto my elbows and the sight nearly takes my breath away. We’re well above the treeline and have a full view of the twin planets painting the skyline; the orange sun sets between them and it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. It looks like a holo vid but so much prettier.

      Woah, is the best word I can manage.

      See? I told you it was a surprise.

      Our eyes lock and I smile. My heart strings tug to share this moment with her and I wish that things were different.

      As if she can read my mind she asks me the one question I’ve been hoping she never would. They don’t know I’m dead, do they?

      My stomach twists like someone’s gut-punched me. I feel a shrieking numbness crawl through my veins. The memory of our smoldering, wrecked survey pod scattered in the trees floods my mind. The twisted remains of the woman I loved so much.

      No. I haven’t been back. I never told them. They probably think I’m dead.

      Her hologram starts to fragment and suddenly it makes sense why she’s asking. All I have left of her after the accident is a holo reconstruction of her stored in my holofeed. I’ve used it sparingly over the last several days, but the last vestige of her has limited run time that’s nearly at an end.

      Why haven’t you been back? You have a whole life in the Corp. A career with ambitions, a bright future. Why walk away?

      What’s the point of all of that if the person I want to share it with is no longer here? The future doesn’t mean much when the end goal is you.

      She gives me a sad smile and leans her head on my shoulder. The holo fragmentation gets worse. Pixels start to fade to nothingness, blurring her image. Her legs that dangle off the cliff are starting to fade. We don’t have much time left.

      You need to go back. Have a life, be successful, grow old with someone. It doesn’t need to end here on this planet. It doesn’t need to end with me.

      I don’t know if I can do it without you, I say. My chest is tight, my throat thickens with a lump of sorrow. Tears blur my vision.

      You’re never without me. Not here. She reaches her hand to my chest, touching the suit where my heart is, then cups my face.

      More pixels deplete with each passing moment. Her arms and legs are nearly gone and her torso is starting to fade. She’s scarcely more than loose pixels on the breeze. I can’t stop staring into her eyes, enjoying my last chance to take them in and sear them into my memory.

      Do it for me, she says. Please, do it for me. I love you. A smile tugs at her face and she fades to nothingness.

      I love you too.

      I’m left staring at the rocks where she sat. Tears streak my cheeks and I pull my knees under my chin and sit in a fetal position. I loved her with all of me. My life was built around marrying her, I never could have anticipated the accident. Without her I don’t know what meaning I have.

      I remember her final words. Please, do it for me.

      I hoist myself up, look down from the edge of the cliff, and start the downward descent.

      Alone.

      Old Girl

      He lets me ride up front all the way to the clinic, lets me hang

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