The Soft Eyes Open
The first hint of change was my son’s eye colour. At breakfast one morning a shaft of sunlight struck Kai’s eyes. They were golden brown, with irises that seemed to swallow the whites. For a moment I was sure they’d been grey before, the next second I berated myself for being the kind of dad […]
The Way of Water
She imagines its coolness gliding down her throat. Wet with a lingering aftertaste of fish and mud. She imagines its deep voice resonating through her in primal notes; echoes from when the dinosaurs quenched their throats in the Triassic swamps. Water is a shape shifter. It changes yet stays the same, shifting its face with […]
Stewardship
The Steward directed its mobile robotic unit closer to the timber wolf splayed on the wet autumn leaves. Rain pelted down on the animal’s rough, grey fur. The robot, receiving the Steward’s instructions, extended a pincer toward the wolf’s chest, collecting sensory data and transmitting it back. The Steward began to design possible nonstandard reconfigurations […]
The Smallest Atom in the World
Dear Hominid: By now, you are probably wondering where your chocolate is. Your apples and sunflowers have vanished, and strawberry shortcake is about to go AWOL. We could continue, but you have your own ever-growing list of lost food. Why? The European honey bees were the first to go on strike after they began to […]
The Soil Merchant
Orson dragged his tired cart through the bustling square of another dust-covered town. A small bar built into the remains of an old gas station drew him in out of the heat. The place was empty but for a barkeep, and sun shone in solid beams through the dusty air. The soil merchant flexed his […]
Permafrost Thaw
A mercurial, opalescent hand surges from thawing permafrost, dives into waves, twisting as it searches for victims. It pools around the goggles of deep sea explorers and plunges into the gaping mouths of fish.
The Astral Queen
The Astral Queen landed on the planet's surface. The pilot descended. Wind whipped her face and her green skin was blasted by sand. She surveyed the land. Black clouds blotted out sky and sun. Mangled metal towers sprouted from dunes of ash and sand. She turned and boarded. Inside she paused before a glass chamber. […]
The Streets Turned Blue and Green
“The whole neighbourhood is abandoned.” Aleyah adjusted her hijab and grinned at her two friends. “Literally.” They dangled their legs from the edge of the floating school. At this time of day, the great Neo-Mahaweli River surged through Colombo, its tides raised by the drainage canals and influx from the mangrove belt. “Nobody cleaned it […]
Sea Change
The Sea was rising; there was no doubt about it. Tiuwike had heard the grownups converse about it in hushed voices, falling silent if children were visible—frequently, however, the children were invisible but within earshot (the children held their own councils). Of course, it was also possible that the Island upon which they lived was […]
In the Event of a Famine
“Everything in this house is edible,” the real estate agent said. “I mean everything, the foundation, the brickwork, the plaster, the windows. That is to say, in the event of a famine, a family of three would be able to survive for approximately ten years eating the house.” I studied the dark-hued foyer. A minimalist […]
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