[New readers may want to have a look at the Reader's Notes, which gives an overview of what's in this story without significant spoilers.] The light burned David's eyes. He groaned and shut them against the blinding brightness. It took a few seconds for the shock of the light to be replaced by the pain. His head throbbed. He tried to remember where he was. W...
Part 1 "It's a compound of different drugs," Jack explained. "They're all fully tested and declared safe. They are prescribed in larger doses every day. One group reduces anxiety and inhibitions, they give a feeling of relaxation and contentment, make you feel good. Another group increases hormone levels, they've been used on women who think they're frigid...
The building had her name on it. CLARE'S WORLD. Of course it did. It was her empire, built up from potholders sold at parties to a multibillion dollar "lifestyle industry." She understood people and knew how to get or make what they wanted. Her pots and pans were in the most upscale houseware stores. Her gardening boots were sold at Z-Mart. There were three...
Thea woke up inside a glass jar; the lid had holes punched in so she could breathe. The jar had recently been filled with jam as she woke up lying in the little cluster that was left. She was still completely naked apart from a piece of wire that had been carefully tied to her wrists behind her. She tried to pull against the wire to only find that only tight...
My stomach woke me with a growl. Those drinks at the tiki bar had been tasty but not exactly filling. What time was it? I fumbled about on the end table for my phone, the room's blackout curtains proving a little too effective. 4:20 PM, smoke them if you got them. Well I didn't "got" them and it never really did much for me anyway, but I could certainly iden...
It was an environmental disaster. But by the time folks realized what was going on, no one seemed to care. The project started innocently enough. A quarterly planning meeting at Enozyme Pharmaceuticals. Product managers had been asked to bring a one page proposal for their best new drug idea. The board of directors said that there was enough money in the bu...
"Sexy, Irish?" he said. "It's been a long time since anyone called me that." She felt her cheeks heat up and grinned a little, "Don't let it get to your head." Taking another bite, she studied his profile. Watching him methodically chew his food and swallow, then gulp down his beer. Obviously this wasn't something he wanted to talk about and the longer the...
"I'm sure glad the company finally got off their dead rear ends and bought that space folder," Earl remarked as they entered the atmosphere. "Well, yeah, but the first thing they did was send us back to this miserable little dust ball. They put us in bio research this time. I can't believe it!" Carol groused. "What are you bitching about? At least we've go...
Getting old is not for sissies. I've been living here for two weeks. They call it 'independent living' but I'm not as independent as I was before. My kids were worried about me living alone and thought I should have help close by in case something happened. They were never clear about what 'something' was but I'm sure they thought, since I was seventy years...
I skid out of the way as a rapid movement of air spins me around. Holy fuck I could swear that driver was trying to kill me. The jackass decides to flip me the bird as he rumbles away in his small dick, super suspended f-150. But hey who am I to judge a guy’s dick, it’s not like mine is something to write home about. I stumble into the store, avoiding the ca...