By Dr. Michael Schaper

Me old mam was right, you know. All things come to those who wait.

It was freezing, and I'd already been waiting out here for almost an hour. Action time.

The man coming out of the brothel was the epitome of respectability: suit, heavy winter coat, a self-satisfied smile on his face.

The trick is always surprise.

By Rodney J Smith

Gil wiped damp palms on his gown.

The nurse led him to a small alcove with circular doors at either end. "The doctor will see you after the scan."

Gil watched her arse disappear around a corner.

Two luminescent icons pulsed on the floor.

By Jay Caselberg

Bealis swept down upon the planetscape below him.  The promise had drawn him from afar, tugged at his feeding chords until he could stand it no more.  Silent, he paused, an invisible death visage hovering above the city's solid spires.  He saw none of it.  He saw none of the people rushing between offices, hailing cabs, clustered in bars and coffee places.  He heard nothing of the traffic, the gut-rumble of aircraft, and beating of helicopters.  He saw only what he had come to find.

By Guy Hasson

5,780 years after the universe was created, in the year 2,020 A.D., sin and hatred brought about the end of the Earth God had created. Within six minutes, Heaven, Hell, and the physical universe imploded upon themselves, wrecking all of God's creation in its entirety.

***

The black vacuum that was the universe hung in the middle of the room.

By Brendan Carson

"How was today?" said his mother.

"Quiet," said his father. "Mostly out on the verandah, reading."

"He's always quiet after treatment. Maybe it's helping after all," Stacy said. "Or maybe I'm not seeing what I don't want to see."

"Bad day at school?"

By Shaun A. Saunders

Doug Stace turned and squinted as he heard Mary Jones shout, "It's coming!", and he watched as the yellow school bus appeared in the distance, no bigger than a ladybug.

A ripple of nervous anticipation washed over the gathered mums and dads in the parking lot of Happy Valley Elementary. After six weeks of summer camp, their children were coming home.

By Sarp Esin

Today I woke up and forgot myself.

It wasn't a mid-life crisis. It wasn't the sleep-inducer programs, or my integrated cybrain memory refusing to boot. I went to the bathroom to wash up. I didn't recognise the man I saw in the mirror.

By Julie Cohen Wornan

He hadn't told his parents he planned to go. Rumours warned of scuffles with police, teargas and flying stones. But Tim decided that peaceful people denouncing violence couldn't get into too much trouble...if careful. So he'd saved up and bought a ticket to this distant city, where tens of thousands of idealists like himself were gathering to tell the world that they wanted no more of war and weaponry. Prudent, he'd brought along a thick scarf and a cut lemon for protection against tear gas — just in case.

By Simon Petrie

...really not been going the Institute's way in recent months. Their aviation fuel never got off the ground. Their condiments range didn't cut the mustard. Focus groups found their multivitamin and mineral supplements lacking in several key elements.

By Sergio Palumbo

Another me sits at the opposite side of the street, taking a break from work. I gaze at him from my corner. I am careful not to cross his eyes and generate unwanted suspicions.

He looks like a space-factory worker, perfectly in keeping with the whole production process he has been assigned to. I see no sign of regret in his eyes, no rebellion in his clear blue irises. Otherwise, he is like me: greying, a button nose, average height, 30 years old, with a face that resembles the typical battery cattle breed.