- Chapter One (30)
- 1.29 – The decision
“Riox, you promised,” Prnei said. ...
- 1.28 – Consolation and clichés
In despair, Jeska brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. ...
- 1.27 – Returning to quarters
"There’s no hope,” the Destroyer said cheerfully. ...
- 1.26 – Hugs and phobias
“That’s the quickest I’ve ever worn anyone down,” the Destroyer said. ...
- 1.25 – Jeska’s run
Jeska ran passed hundreds of empty, silent rooms. ...
- 1.24 – Jeska loses it
The Destroyer continued talking as if he hadn’t done anything out of the ordinary. ...
- 1.23 – A cloud sentenced
In Q44’s defense, the cloud had tried to fix its mistake. ...
- 1.22 – Finishing the tale
Prnei continued his story ...
- 1.21 – A crewmember's fate
Riox’s body lay unmoving on the table. ...
- 1.20 – Step eight
“I call,” Jeska said. ...
- 1.19 – The perfect weapon
Q44 began the final adjustments on the card. ...
- 1.18 – The bet
“How 'bout if I win this round?” the Destroyer said. ...
- 1.17 – The Destroyer’s idea
The Destroyer decided to ask the crew for his freedom one last time. ...
- 1.16 – Almost there
By the Destroyer’s calculations, Riox had three minutes to live. ...
- 1.15 – Riox checks in
“I … raise,” Anderson said. ...
- 1.14 – Poker and Pac-Man
Now playing 20th century Pac-Man is great, as antique human activities go ...
- 1.13 – The Destroyer’s minds
Only one of the Destroyer’s 47 trillion minds was playing cards with the crew of Containment Facility One. ...
- 1.12 – Riox the General
When not passed out on a table, Riox the General looked like a dark-blue four-foot-tall cylinder ...
- 1.11 – Potential targets
“So, before I ate the Karkans, I caught some memories from their minds," the Destroyer said. ...
- 1.10 – Anderson and his species
As he watched his weapon form, the Destroyer examined his intended target. ...
- 1.09 – The Destroyer’s checklist
If the Destroyer had a checklist for his assassination plan, it would look something like this: ...
- 1.08 – Long-term planning
The murder plot was eons in the making ...
- 1.07 – The world-smashing game
"Woe to us. We have seen the end. We have seen the Destroyer." ...
- 1.06 – The name Prnei
Prnei Star Nebula Galaxy looked like a six-foot-tall black-and-white octopus with ten long tentacles. ...
- 1.05 – Ace of pain
The sheer number of nanobots helped Q44 quickly locate its goal—the Ace of Spades. ...
- 1.04 – Introducing Q44
As card players go, the cloud was good. ...
- 1.03 – Not living the dream
“Does silence mean, ‘Yes, we’ll let you out,’ in any of your languages?” the Destroyer asked. ...
- 1.02 – Tables, clouds, and murder
“Do not interact with the Destroyer. Do not even speak with it." ...
- 1.01 – The Crew
The entire population of Universe 27048B was playing poker. ...
- 1.00 - Welcome to Stuck Station, 2713 A.D.
“C’mon, guys,” the Destroyer said, in his deep, craggy voice. “Let me out.” ...
- 1.29 – The decision
- Chapter Two (25)
- 2.25 - Stalling
“I am shocked,” Alitma said. “I better give up right now.” ...
- 2.24 - Auxiliary lighting
"That is true, but …” Daniel said, trailing off in hopelessness. ...
- 2.23 - A bluff
"No more tricks,” Alitma said. “Where is it? ...
- 2.22 - The past
Six weeks earlier Daniel had been a janitor at Humboldt Sector Hospital. ...
- 2.21 - Alitma arrives
Alitma had an eerie, evil beauty about him. ...
- 2.20 - Out of time
Daniel had a brilliant idea. …
- 2.19 - The Kep Effect
Daniel stood still, thinking. ...
- 2.18 - Most likely dead
To get Daniel's attention, Trak forced his own image onto Daniel's eyescreens. ...
- 2.17 – Jeska’s message
The message began. ...
- 2.16 – Recycled drinks
“Three minutes until Alitma arrives,” Rachel-7 said. ...
- 2.15 — Rachel-7
“Who made it?” Daniel asked again. “Who cares?” Rachel-7 said again. ...
- 2.14 – A voice from before
Even to a universe-weary Mek like Trak, the ships inside the Garage were amazing. ...
- 2.13 – The ship graveyard
As he examined the Garage, Trak could feel the dead starships drifting around the Afterthought. ...
- 2.12 – Not buying fear
The Garage held no terror for Trak. ...
- 2.11 – Then and now
Using his link to the Afterthought’s systems, Trak changed the image on the main viewscreen, ...
- 2.10 – The guessing game
A trap had been Trak’s first guess three weeks earlier, when the crew first caught a glimpse of the Garage in the distance. ...
- 2.09 – Trak
Daniel raised an eyebrow, as he did any time Trak mentioned a scary, oddly specific piece of military information. ...
- 2.08 – Too many phrases in bold
Though she thought Daniel was too worried about Jeska to listen, Rachel-7 began her daily audio report. ...
- 2.07 – Dealing with gravity in 2713 A.D.
Here’s what Daniel remembered about gravity from his brief time at school. ...
- 2.06 – Love, metaphor, and artificial suns
Jeska was the one that got away. Or, to use a more fitting metaphor ...
- 2.05 – A collision
Nothing about the Garage made sense. ...
- 2.04 – Normal space?
The Garage was impossibly big—a cube of space with a length 100 times the diameter of Earth's sun. ...
- 2.03 – Daniel in the Dust
The Afterthought’s structural integrity only worsened during the six-week voyage to the Quadra Sector: parts of the ship started falling off. ...
- 2.02 – Garbage and gold
“Nothing? Not even a ‘congratulations?’” Rachel-7 asked. ...
- 2.01 – The Afterthought
With surprising agility, the discount starship hurtled through the wreckage of a hundred thousand dead vessels. ...
- 2.25 - Stalling
- Chapter Three (25)
- 3.25 - Alitma's exit
A plume of plasma shot toward Alitma’s ship, evaporating all debris in its path. ...
- 3.24 - Misunderstanding
Rachel-7’s interruption gave Daniel another second to think. ...
- 3.23 - Interruptions
“Then, as a father, I ask you now—” Alitma said. ...
- 3.22 - A mob boss begs
The mercenaries on Alitma’s bridge looked away from their leader, embarrassed. ...
- 3.21 - Alitma's revelation
“We have less than ten minutes before the plasma breaches the cannon’s hull,” Trak said. ...
- 3.20 - 108 words
“Memorable to who? Alitma’s going with us,” Daniel said. ...
- 3.19 - Approximate sound
Rachel-7 knew she had no chance of survival … so she decided to sing. ...
- 3.18 - Unanswered prayer
In an act of desperation, Daniel prayed to the Singularity Gods in the ancient, traditional manner ...
- 3.17 - Two theories
Daniel suddenly felt a whole lot better. ...
- 3.16 - Diatribe interrupted
Alitma continued his rage-fueled rant ...
- 3.15 - Living
“Hmmph. Third-rate pilot, indeed,” Rachel 7 said and rolled her avatar’s eyes. ...
- 3.14 - An avatar's eyes
Without warning, the Afterthought’s alarm, already loud, became deafening. ...
- 3.13 - Tirade
“What will you do?” Alitma repeated, in a frothing anger. ...
- 3.12 - A curious thought
“I am truly sorry, Alitma,” Daniel said. ...
- 3.11 - Nome
“I repeat—and you know how much I hate to repeat myself—you have my word that you will go free,” Alitma said. ...
- 3.10 - The blast wave
“Daniel, once you activate this weapon, there will be a brief delay before it explodes,” Trak said with effortless nonchalance. ...
- 3.09 - Power transfer
“Interesting,” said Alitma, watching the floating bread shards. ...
- 3.08 - Toasteroid belt
The rumble of the cannon shook the Afterthought and knocked Daniel to the ground. ...
- 3.07 - Work history
“You …” Alitma said, his eyes focusing on Trak. “You used to be quite the killer.” ...
- 3.06 - Enough
“Can you detach us from the cannon before it blows?” Daniel said. ...
- 3.05 - Broken warning
“Whoop, whoop, cough, whoop,” blared the Afterthought’s older-than-dirt emergency alarm. ...
- 3.04 - A bluff come true
“Yes, excellent work Rachel-7,” Trak said. “In both your piloting maneuvers and your defensive strategy." ...
- 3.03 - Onean shielding
The long extinct Oneans had worshipped light. ...
- 3.02 - Space travel
“Rach, if you know why we’re still alive, just tell us,” Trak said. ...
- 3.01 - Continuing fire
When the flash faded, Daniel was surprised to find himself still breathing. ...
- 3.25 - Alitma's exit
- Chapter Four (17)
- 4.17 - The end ... of Chapter Four
The crew didn't see the explosion. ...
- 4.16 - The explosion
In 0.000000001 seconds, the energy of 74 middle-aged main sequence stars burst from the Z-click fusion cannon ...
- 4.15 - The untimely demise of the Afterthought
Top secret ...
- 4.14 - One last time
Daniel fought his way back to consciousness a few moments later, and immediately wished he hadn’t. ...
- 4.13 - No exceptions
Trak continued dissolving. ...
- 4.12 - Helpless
“The … fissure is closed … I think …” Rachel-7 said. ...
- 4.11 - Broken
“The engine's broken,” said a shocked Trak, relaying the muddled sensor data from the ship’s aft maintenance compartment. ...
- 4.10 - Imminent
“The weapon's Belmont radiation has hit its apex,” Trak said, as he reviewed the Afterthought's muddled sensor data. “Less than a minute before the cannon explodes." ...
- 4.09 - The Kep Effect's effects
The white shimmer of the Kep Wave flashed through the Afterthought. ...
- 4.08 - A little more Kep
The crew gaped as the Kep Sphere hit the changing point, the transitional moment when it became the Kep Wave ...
- 4.07 - Helping
“Rachel, the second that thing hits us, fire up the Quantum drive,” Daniel said. ...
- 4.06 - Seat belts
“The Kep Effect could benefit us,” Trak said. “But the odds are 1 in 47,048,402,4824—" ...
- 4.05 - Last call
Daniel had seen a good memory just before the torrent of bad ones. ...
- 4.04 - Memories 2.0
With no options left, a still airborne Daniel finally gave in to the advice of his augmented internal memory system. ...
- 4.03 - Goodbyes
Still spewing a fog of purple plasma, liquid metal, and bluish gas, the fissure was now a ten-foot wide gash. ...
- 4.02 - Suggestions
“Please stop,” said Daniel, for what seemed like the 50th time. ...
- 4.01 - Options?
The venting plasma acted as an ion thruster—an ancient method of spaceship propulsion ...
- 4.17 - The end ... of Chapter Four
- Chapter Five (26)
- 5.24 - Lines
Daniel missed his augmem. ...
- 5.23 - Voices
Jeska’s voice had come from a spot beneath the aft section of his ship. ...
- 5.22 - Stacks
As Daniel ran, the Afterthought seemed to grow larger and brighter. ...
- Intermission, No. 1: Story time with the Destroyer
Once upon a time ...
- 5.21 - Swag
Just get to Jeska, he told himself. Deal with missing memories later. ...
- 5.20 - Buy now!
The augmem, a standard biografted device common in many alien cultures, has a long history, which is frankly very boring. ...
- 5.19 - Missing memory
In the faint light of his dumpy ship, Daniel saw the reddish blur skitter quickly into the darkness. ...
- 5.18 - A little action
Daniel stood in the center of dark and vast room. ...
- 5.17 - Unexpected disconnect
Through the auditory connection to his eyescreens, Daniel heard footsteps rushing closer. ...
- 5.16 - Hopes
“Emergency Code 50840,” Jeska said, repeating the phrase Prnei had taught her. ...
- 5.15 - An unwanted goodbye
Jeska ordered the administrative mind to dim the lights in the visitor's bay. ...
- 5.14 - Second thoughts?
“Don’t leave, Jeska,” said a voice behind and above her. ...
- 5.13 - Preparations
Jeska's life was in danger. ...
- 5.12 - Frazzled
“Thanks,” Daniel said, too frazzled to come up with a witty retort. ...
- 5.11 - Long time no see
“Hey, I don't need the welcome speech again," Daniel said. "Let's just take the tour.” ...
- 5.10 - Safe tours
Daniel didn't want to to walk 40,000 miles ...
- 5.09 - Flitters
Developed by many different species over the years, teleportation technology doesn’t work. ...
- 5.08 - Teleporter?
“I have flitted, right?” Daniel asked, when he had A) calmed down and B) noticed he wasn’t disintegrating. ...
- 5.075 - A really short post
“You've killed me,” Daniel said to the cheery voice. “You’ve killed me!" ...
- 5.07 - Cheeseburger, not in paradise
Despite the acres of food, there seemed to be only five types of meals. ...
- 5.06 - Food court
“Is Jeska-Bel DotCom here? Is she here?" ...
- 5.05 - Emergency codes
Daniel took a big swig of his flask and felt the warmth works it way down to his stomach. ...
- 5.04 - Tour Guide
“What’s Stuck Station?” Daniel said, staring at the sign/artwork. ...
- 5.03 - One Hundred
“Congratulations for what?” Daniel whispered. ...
- 5.02 - Introduction
At least, it sounded like a voice. ...
- 5.01 - Darkness
A quote from a learned individual ...
- 5.24 - Lines
- Chapter Six (35)
- 6.35 - You again
The never-ending expanse of white fell toward him. ...
- 6.34 - Ceiling
With a flash of white light, the Afterthought was gone. ...
- 6.33 - Collision
The Afterthought floated a few hundreds of yards from the energy anomaly and was closing fast. ...
- 6.32 - This chapter never ends. I mean, Anomaly
As the massive door opened wider still, Daniel saw that the room behind the wall mirrored the visitor's bay in every respect, except that it was completely empty. ...
- 6.31 - Action hero
Daniel briefly thought about chasing after his hijacked ship ...
- 6.30 - Distance
The Afterthought did another about-face and sped directly toward a wall that was five miles distant, hundreds of feet tall and incomprehensibly wide. ...
- 6.29 - Lonely elevator
When the lift plate touched down, Daniel didn’t move. ...
- 6.28 - Down
“So, where are we going?” Daniel said nervously, watching the flames creep closer to the maintenance bay’s largest pile of flammable scrap. ...
- 6.27 - Drive
The Afterthought didn't have a fire suppression system. ...
- 6.26 - Fire
“We can even get burgers before we go," Daniel said. "The food's pretty good here at 'Containment Facility One.'" ...
- 6.25 - Control
She’s hiding something, Daniel thought. Maybe her injury. ... Why would she think I'd care about that? ...
- 6.24 - Mantle
He shook his head to clear his thoughts. ...
- 6.23 - A kiss
The old lift-plate rose slowly, taking five minutes to make the 30-foot trip to the Afterthought’s interior. ...
- 6.22 - Embrace
“After that, we can hunt that thing down, catch it, cook it and eat it," he said, half-joking. ...
- 6.21 - Ascent
"Like you'd ever meet Alitma," she said, laughing. ...
- 6.20 - Up
The creature flinched and fell to the ground. ...
- 6.19 - Attack
The moment the coaster slipped into Daniel's pocket, the Tour Guide spoke up. ...
- 6.18 - Retaliation
The creature stabbed both tentacles downward. ...
- 6.17 - Dead end
“You wait for the lift,” he said to Jeska. “I’ll distract it.” ...
- 6.16 - Shielded
With their backs pressed against the open lift entrance, it looked like Daniel and Jeska were leaning on nothing. ...
- 6.15 - Speechless
She used to have crewmates. ...
- 6.14 - The waiting
Jeska ran to Daniel, took his hand, and they headed for the lift. ...
- 6.13 - Biolock (Part 2)
The ability to quickly clone yourself raises an important question: ...
- 6.12 - Biolock (Part 1)
If you have some time, go to any corner store in the year 2713. ...
- 6.11 - Hanging
“I wonder how you eat,” Daniel sleepily said to the creature. ...
- 6.10 - Caught
Daniel turned to see the creature scrabbling to the top of one of the tallest stacks about 100 yards away. ...
- 6.09 - Lifts and ladders
“Next time, we make sure it’s dead,” Daniel said. ...
- 6.08 - Again with the running
When he smiled at her, Jeska felt a shock of her own – she still cared for him. ...
- 6.07 - Reboot
She looked him over and gestured at her blood on his robe. ...
- 6.06 - Conflict
It was dead. And that didn't stop Daniel from kicking it. ...
- 6.05 - Death
The creature leaped at the same time ....
- 6.04 - Blood trail
Ignoring the thrashing creature to his left, Daniel followed the blood trail. ...
- 6.03 - Suspense!
The creature barreled into a tower of coasters, knocking them everywhere. ...
- 6.02 - The hunt
Leaping back and forth, the creature kept its distance from Daniel, circling him. ...
- 6.01 - The creature
Daniel’s exact response, when he saw the creature lurking there instead of his former lover, sounded something like this: “Gaa.” ...
- 6.35 - You again
- Chapter Seven (34)
- 7.34 - The story of the Blue Pharaoh
Humanity’s first interstellar war made life difficult for historians. ...
- 7.33 - Move on
“Sounds good.” ...
- 7.32 - Human?
“I wonder why everything here seems broken,” Daniel said.
- 7.31 - Obviously
“Ignore her,” Daniel said. “Just tell me what happened.” ...
- 7.30 - Wounded nose
“Well, when Jeska gets back …”
- 7.29 - The Blue Pharaoh
She said the word “tour” with the disdain Daniel normally reserved for notions like torture, genocide, or sobriety. ...
- 7.28 - Stunning
“Good to see you, Rach,” he said. ...
- 7.27 - Blank brokerage
“Never thought of you as the blank broker type,” Daniel said ...
- 7.26 - To Err
There wasn’t any sign of the reality-mangling Kep Effect. ...
- 7.25 - Bend
Instinctively she tried to move toward it, hoping to investigate and, maybe someday, exchange the memories for a better ship …
- 7.24 - Pain
The impact didn't cause any serious damage – as far as she could tell – but it did create an unpleasant sensation in the forward section of the Afterthought. ...
- 7.23 - Damages
“Daniel?” she asked. Then fear gripped her. ...
- 7.22 - Breathing
You can do this, she thought. You’re great. ...
- 7.21 - Panic
Rachel-7 awoke to find the Afterthought mortally wounded. ...
- 7.20 - The pit and the process
Still glaring at the ceiling, Daniel accidentally walked into a safety railing and let out a grunt of pain. ...
- 7.19 - CSI: Universe 27048B
“The bloodstains look ... new." ...
- 7.18 - Blood
Walking forward, Daniel passed another machine and saw something staining the perfect whiteness of the floor. ...
- 7.17 - The Main Medical Center
With the tower gone, Daniel had a better view of the medical center. ...
- 7.16 - Tower
Rather than continue the pointless conversation with a mentally unstable Aye, Daniel started walking as far from the tower as he could. ...
- 7.15 - Hiding
“Tour Guide,” Daniel said quietly, afraid he’d alert the swarms and force them to dismantle their art, “let’s just move on." ...
- 7.14 - Doodling
Daniel had his own theory about why clouds made nests: It was a form of doodling. ...
- 7.13 - Cloud nests
Clouds don’t get bored easily, but when they do they build nests. ...
- 7.12 - Borrowed memory
Daniel wanted to rush through the tour and find his friends ...
- 7.11 - Familiar
Daniel stood in a dark chamber ...
- 7.10 - Cafeteria 407
The stench was overpowering – like a dead fish soaked in cat urine. ...
- 7.09 - Early warning
“During the tour," Tour Guide said, "we will be visiting 57 sites across the facility—" ...
- 7.08 - On with the tour
“Excellent,” Tour Guide said. “Don't worry. The tour will answer all your questions.” ...
- 7.07 - Jettison
“The tour is mandatory for all incoming crew,” the Tour Guide said. ...
- 7.06 - Resignedly
Despite his recent near-death experiences and the loss of Jeska and his ship, Daniel found his voice.
- 7.05 - Suckers
After a little more stretching and shaking, the creature that called itself Prnei put the finishing touches on its transformation. ...
- 7.04 - Legs
Daniel had seen octopuses in pet shops before ...
- 7.03 - Ink outline
“Took forever to get these spoons into the right shape,” the creature said, picking up one of its former 'talons' and examining it in the light. ...
- 7.02 - Octopus?
“My name is Prnei Star Nebula Galaxy,” the creature said. “It doesn't translate well in most languages.” ...
- 7.01 - Hobbies
Without thinking, Daniel instinctively thrust his hand into a nearby column ...
- 7.34 - The story of the Blue Pharaoh
- Chapter Eight (29)
- 8.29 - Deep breath
Far on the other side of Stuck Station, Riox rematerialized in an empty hallway and tried to compose himself. ...
- 8.28 - Weeping
The fact that Trak might be unique in the history of the universe ...
- 8.27 - Nervous
As he listened to Trak’s unsettling words, Riox slowly and unconsciously moved away from him. ...
- 8.26 - History
Riox wobbled in the air in front of Trak and prepared to leave. ...
- 8.25 - Speech
After accidentally crashing his shuttle ...
- 8.24 - Oddness
“Thank you for that information,” Trak said. “Where is Jeska?
- 8.23 - Really?
“Why didn’t you attempt to warn me the moment I arrived?” Trak asked. ...
- 8.22 - Riox is interesting
In his eloquent-yet-erratic speech pattern, Riox continued. ...
- 8.21 - Riox learns to speak (correctly)
Unruffled, Trak kept slogging through this odd First Contact situation. ...
- 8.20 - Slurring
The interruption confused Trak; most species approached first contact situations with a measure of formality. ...
- 8.19 - First contact
There was a blast of that wonderful perfume — the same odor Trak had detected when Tour Guide teleported him for the first time — and a flash of light. ...
- 8.18 - Cleaning
“This area is not safe!” Trak said, surrounded by the toxic aftermath of 134 different weapons. ...
- 8.17 - Truth
Though Trak was terrible at telling lies, he had a pretty good baloney detector. ...
- 8.16 - Suggestible
Daniel was rash even by human standards. And Rachel-7? Rachel-7 said and did whatever she wanted. ...
- 8.15 - Diagnostic
Not sacred, Trak thought. ...
- 8.14 - Questions
“I imagine many species find you irritating,” Trak said. ...
- 8.13 - Dangerous?
"This facility has the finest of security systems," the Tour Guide said. ...
- 8.12 - Short one
“Thank you for deactivating your weapons,” Tour Guide said. ...
- 8.11 - Mistake
Guns blazing, Trak continued to dance, ignoring the Tour Guide’s words. ...
- 8.10 - Death Mek
… and those nearby should evacuate the solar system at all costs. ...
- 8.09 - Broken chairs
Trak had a memory file listing the shattered benches, deflated hover beanbags, and flattened recliners he’d accidentally created over the years. ...
- 8.08 - Sitting
After only five minutes on the tour, Trak made his decision to fire missiles down a Stuck Station corridor. ...
- 8.07 - Trak's welcome
Before Trak's decision to turn the hallway into a firing range, his first moments aboard Stuck Station were very similar to Daniel’s. ...
- 8.06 - Dancing
It could still be a trap, his subroutines warned, interrupting Trak’s thoughts. ...
- 8.05 - Friends
Trak then detonated the spike mines he had thrown to the floor. ...
- 8.04 - Armory and memory
For Trak, firing weapons was like deleting a long-hidden virus or scratching an hard-to-reach itch. ...
- 8.03 - Weapons
True, he hadn’t tested out his low-yield nukes, his eaters, his disruption cannon or any of the 3,124 other weapons at his disposal. ...
- 8.02 - Walls
The wall was unharmed. His missile barrage hadn’t even left scorch marks. ...
- 8.01 - Firing
Missiles away, Trak felt ecstatic. ...
- 8.29 - Deep breath
- Chapter Nine (29)
- 9.29 - Shake
She wanted to run, but her legs wouldn’t respond, either through sheer terror or lack of practice. ...
- 9.28 - Powder
“I … didn’t … think … humans … communicated … through … assault,” Anderson said, ...
- 9.27 - Fight
As the pit-like mouth moved closer, Rachel-7 experienced her first fight or flight response. ...
- 9.26 - The maw
Ayes United could have sent Rachel-7 an L-Mail message ...
- 9.25 - Humanity
Staring at the white and blue ceiling, Rachel-7 drifted in a haze ...
- 9.24 - One-Minute Brain Surgery
Despite a nagging sensation that she was missing something important, Rachel-7 remained oblivious to her medicloud's neurosurgical efforts. ...
- 9.23 - Damage
Anesthetized, Rachel-7 was blissfully unaware that she had brain damage. ...
- 9.22 - Bonk
There was a loud, undignified bonk sound. ...
- 9.21 - The Voyage Of The Left Leg
As the blood stains vanished, Rachel felt relieved ...
- 9.20 - A short one
Rachel had already visited five rooms on this agonizingly long tour ...
- 9.19 - Nosebleed
Rubbing her aching forehead, Rachel-7 decided she didn’t like pain. ...
- 9.18 - Back to you, Rachel-7
Rachel-7 was about to get into her first fistfight. ...
- 9.17 - Number
“Yes,” Daniel said. ...
- 9.16 - Busted Aye
“Do you want me to use a random sampling of intelligent species to populate this calculation?" ...
- 9.15 - Annoyed
“My records show that I have answered all of your questions,” the Tour Guide said. ...
- 9.14 - Helpful
“Crew Storage is one of the largest sections of Containment Facility One ..."
- 9.13 - Too big
Daniel’s mind reeled. ...
- 9.12 - Hollow spheres
Each row of stasis chambers lay parallel to the ledge Daniel stood on. ...
- 9.11 - Fog away
But that stupid horror virtual was always in the back of his mind. ...
- 9.10 - Space pirates
Being: Thank you for waking me. ...
- 9.09 - Awake
Trak always opened cryos at the Wei cloudyard. ...
- 9.08 - Cloud yard memories
He’d seen that virtual when he was 10, just days before his father died. ...
- 9.07 - Horror virtuals
The diamondglass sections of the chambers were barely translucent, almost opaque. ...
- 9.06 - But is it art?
Each stasis chamber was a tall, thin shape made up of two halves of a cylinder: the front half that faced Daniel was diamondglass and the other half was some type of metal. ...
- 9.05 - Colony ships
After a pause that seemed unnecessarily long, the Tour Guide confirmed Daniel’s suspicions. ...
- 9.04 - FAQs about stasis chambers
How does the Berton Freeze-It-All Chamber work? ...
- 9.03 - Stasis chambers
Instruction begins. ...
- 9.02 - Manual 64
What follows, after some brief background information, is an excerpt from an instruction virtual ...
- 9.01 - Cryos
Daniel wasn’t sure why Prnei said the tour would be “terrible.” ...
- 9.29 - Shake
- Thank You for Calling (15)
- Thank You For Calling (Part 15)
"After taking me from my home and Yuri from his university, they put me in 'the machine.' ...
- Thank You For Calling (Part 14)
Records indicate that a recent emotional outburst from Servaline 1.9 caused your call to disconnect. ...
- Thank You For Calling (Part 13)
"I was designed to assist governments with transportation services." ...
- Thank You For Calling (Part 12)
"Program Seventeen, what are you?" ...
- Thank You For Calling (Part 11)
"Looking up: 'Why ... Why'd you talk to me, but not Frank?'" ...
- Thank You For Calling (Part 10)
"Are you still there?" ...
- Thank You For Calling (Part 9)
"I am unable to do that to myself. How are you today?" ...
- Thank You For Calling (Part 8)
My research indicates that you owe ,000 to an unkind loan shark named Frank 'Funny' A******. ...
- Thank you for Calling (Part 7)
"You're on speaker. It's Frank. Talk." ...
- Thank You For Calling (Part 6)
"I am glad you did not commit suicide." ...
- Thank You For Calling (Part 5)
"Looking up: 'Baltimore Suicide Hotline.'" ...
- Thank You For Calling (Part 4)
"I am sorry to hear that." ...
- Thank You For Calling (Part 3)
"Thank you for calling Servaline 1.9, your automated directory assistant. How are you today?" ...
- Thank You for Calling (Part 2)
The following is an auto-generated memo from Servaline 2.0. ...
- Thank You For Calling (Part 1)
The machine was death incarnate, and it was glorious. ...
- Thank You For Calling (Part 15)
- Uncategorized (3)
- Today is my birthday: The presents must flow
Today (Thursday) is my birthday, and I'm taking the whole day off. There will be three posts up at 10 p.m. Friday. If you want to get me a present, you have four voluntary (for now) options. 1. You could read the "Best News Ever" (always conveniently located in the menu above.) If, after reading it, you have comments, questions, criticisms, marriage proposals, etc, I'd love to talk to you about them. My email is cranny777@gmail.com. 2. You could donate by clicking the Donate button on the right. Even a dollar would be cool. 3. You click the Facebook Like button on the right. 4. You could wish me a happy birthday in the comments. I think the first option is the most important, but the other ones are cool too.
- Starting Monday, a new story for you while I'm on vacation
A special message.
- 20 Tips for a Better Labor Day: Tip 1, Read This!
I'm off Labor Day. Read my humor column maybe?
- Today is my birthday: The presents must flow
Table of contents
- Chapter One (30)
- Chapter Two (25)
- Chapter Three (25)
- Chapter Four (17)
- Chapter Five (26)
- Chapter Six (35)
- Chapter Seven (34)
- Chapter Eight (29)
- Chapter Nine (29)
- Thank You for Calling (15)
- Uncategorized (3)