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    Universe Horribilis: Third Flatiron Anthologies, #19
    Universe Horribilis: Third Flatiron Anthologies, #19
    Universe Horribilis: Third Flatiron Anthologies, #19
    Ebook126 pages1 hour

    Universe Horribilis: Third Flatiron Anthologies, #19

    By thirdflatiron

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    About this ebook

    Why is everything and everyone out to get you? Paranoid? Or just realistic?

    Third Flatiron Publishing presents "Universe Horribilis," a new anthology of science fiction short stories by an international group of award-winning and emerging writers, who offer their speculative takes on the theme of a hostile or uncaring universe. Contributors include Clare L. Deming, Sarina Dorie, James S. Dorr, Robin Wyatt Dunn, Siobhan Gallagher, Jack M. Horne, Rich Larson, David Luntz, Marilyn K. Martin, Curtis James McConnell, Sheryl Normandeau, Edward H. Parks, Jennifer Povey, and James H. Zorn.

    Follow these talented storytellers as they each offer their unique takes on the twists and turns the universe puts us through: monsters and mayhem, evil sorcerers, sadistic diners, twisted princesses, plagues, alien enemies, cosmic menace, sinister robots, genetically modified food, and, of course, your mother-in-law.

    LanguageEnglish
    Publisherthirdflatiron
    Release dateFeb 22, 2013
    ISBN9781301004249
    Universe Horribilis: Third Flatiron Anthologies, #19
    Author

    thirdflatiron

    Juli Rew is a former science writer/editor for the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, and is a software engineer by training. She is a believer in the scientific evidence for global warming. She also publishes fantasy and science fiction stories by other authors at Third Flatiron Publishing.

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      Book preview

      Universe Horribilis - thirdflatiron

      Universe Horribilis

      Third Flatiron Anthologies

      Volume 2, Spring 2013

      Published by Third Flatiron Publishing

      Juliana Rew, Editor

      Smashwords Edition

      Copyright 2013 Third Flatiron Publishing

      Discover other titles by Third Flatiron at Smashwords.com:

      (1) Over the Brink: Tales of Environmental Disaster

      https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/163855

      (2) A High Shrill Thump: War Stories

      https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/218304

      (3) Origins: Colliding Causalities

      https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/257367

      (4) Playing with Fire

      https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/321325

      (5) Lost Worlds, Retraced

      https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/351622

      (6) Redshifted: Martian Stories

      https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/381618

      (7) Astronomical Odds

      https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/417022

      (8) Master Minds

      https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/446292

      (9) Abbreviated Epics

      https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/478247

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of these authors.

      *****~~~~~*****

      Table of Contents

      Quarantine by Edward H. Parks

      Concerning That Whole God Thing by Curtis James McConnell

      Master Donne by Robin Wyatt Dunn

      The Reading by James S. Dorr

      Kernels of Hope by Sarina Dorie

      Freedom As Commodity by Marilyn K. Martin

      Not Enough Hairspray by Siobhan Gallagher

      Whimper by Jennifer R. Povey

      ...If You Were the Last Man on Earth by Sheryl Normandeau

      Sannakji by Jack M. Horne

      The Labyrinth of Space by James H. Zorn

      Grins and Gurgles (flash humor) - The Eleanor Effect by Rich Larson

      Princess Thirty-Nine by Clare L. Deming

      The Prison Rose by David Luntz

      Photo and Art Credits and Acknowledgments

      *****~~~~~*****

      tmp_2a3b5ff22e91eea742b5d0bc412e748b_TkXVsp_html_m62ee2f66.jpg

      Quarantine

      by Edward H. Parks

      The phone rang in the middle of the night. It had been a while since that had happened. Barry fumbled in the darkness and put the phone to his ear.

      Hullo?

      Is this Barry Watson, world-famous engineer? THE Barry Watson?

      He groped for his glasses, and then looked at the screen. Aw, jeez, Hank! It's three o'clock in the morning!

      Congratulations! You are now the Chief Engineer of the most important space project in history. Can I have your autograph?

      Barry rolled onto his back and ran a hand through thinning hair. I already have a job.

      Hey, you said you wanted to get back into space work, but only if it was cutting edge, right? Well, do I have a position for you!

      Can't this wait? Barry was in no mood for the usual verbal jousting at this hour.

      Nope. Get dressed and meet me at the old diner.

      I don't work for you anymore, remember?

      Barry, I'm going to take you on the ride of your life. You'll never forgive yourself if you let this chance slip by.

      On a Saturday?

      You know all the important stuff gets done on weekends. Can you be there in an hour?

      Barry groaned and finally said Okay.

      Mabel's Diner was about half a mile down the highway from the plant where Barry had worked for twenty-two years. Hank looked paunchier, and with more salt than pepper in his hair than the last time he'd seen him. He sat grinning in a booth and waved Barry over.

      OK, Hank. This'd better be good.

      Not here. Is your security clearance still current?

      Uh, yeah. Got renewed a few months ago.

      Good. I'll tell you everything when we get to the plant. Let's eat breakfast first. I already ordered your Eggs Benedict.

      Forty-five minutes later a security officer met them in the plant lobby and escorted them to a conference room. Barry was briefed into a secret program and signed all of the usual paperwork. The briefing didn't tell him much, other than the project code name and that it was a prototype spacecraft. Hank took him to a locker room after that and presented him with an orange pressure suit and helmet.

      What’s this for?

      Barry, Barry. I told you I was going to take you on the ride of your life, didn't I? You're not going to believe me until you've gone up in the tech demo yourself.

      You guys built a technology demonstrator? Has it flown yet?

      Of course!

      Hank drove Barry out to an old hangar at the edge of the complex. The building looked abandoned from the outside, with peeling white paint and rusty door hinges. But inside it was a hive of activity. People and equipment crowded around a single winged vehicle. The spacecraft resembled a large business jet, but with delta wings and no visible jet engines. The aft fuselage, ringed with several intake scoops, tapered to an open black tube about four feet in diameter. A number of ground carts circled the craft, sprouting cables and hoses plugged into access ports at various points on the airframe. The whole scene reminded Barry of a hospital patient lying in intensive care. Could this thing really fly?

      Then Barry took a closer look at the people. Technicians in environmental suits crawled over the vehicle taking instrument readings. He pointed at the nearest tech.

      What are they doing?

      Checking the radiation decon. Can't fly the vehicle again until it's clean.

      Oh, nice! So now I'm going to get cancer!

      No, but you might have if we'd tried this a few days ago. Radiation builds up whenever the propulsion system is on. They just lifted the quarantine from the last flight, which is why I called you this morning.

      Once inside, they walked past storage lockers and a small door, and forward on to the nose section.

      The cockpit looked surprisingly like that of a commercial aircraft, except that the pilots sat in acceleration couches. The instrument panel would not have looked out of place in an airliner or business jet, but for the HUD and some military-style controls. Barry recognized those from the new F-42 Stingray fighter. Hank sat in the pilot's seat and gestured Barry to the co-pilot's place.

      So how come they let you fly this thing? Barry asked.

      Program manager's prerogative. I let the test pilot have the weekend off. Strap in.

      An aircraft tow tractor pulled them out of the hangar and lined them up on the end of the runway. Hank pushed the throttle forward. Barry hoped he had gotten flight clearance for this thing. The faint growl coming from the back of the vehicle emphasized the absence of any familiar jet engine whine. They lifted off long before the end of runway and then quickly went vertical. Despite the strong acceleration, the ride felt remarkably smooth. Barry held on to the arms of his seat and said nothing. He had been on one suborbital flight before, but this was different. It felt like a quiet energy thrummed around them; not the raw rumbling of a rocket, but something much more powerful.

      Seven minutes later the sky had turned black, and Barry felt weightless. He looked out the window and marveled at the sharp detail below, the long shadows of the mountains, and the clouds illuminated by the rising sun. The horizon appeared more curved than he remembered.

      Barry suddenly realized what that meant. They were in orbit.

      Single stage to orbit, huh? I'm impressed! And he meant it.

      We've had that for a while, Hank answered.

      We have? No wonder this is classified!

      That's only one reason. The launch motor is a plasmodynamic thruster, but the power source is the real trick. It—

      You can skip that part for now, Barry interrupted. I'm not a propulsion engineer. That launch was really amazing, but I get the impression it's not all you wanted to show me.

      To the point, as always. You're right. Hang on a minute. They sat in silence while Barry gazed at the sunlight glinting off the Gulf of Mexico. The Moon gradually appeared over the limb of the Earth.

      Want to fly past the Moon? Hank started flipping switches above him. He then lifted a switch cover on the center console and pushed a large button under it. Here goes.

      A low-pitched hum seemed to come from all around him, oscillating in intensity. Barry felt an odd sensation, as if his body was being stretched in all directions. Suddenly, the Moon rushed towards them, blurring eerily and shining like a giant headlight, then hurtled past them in less than a second.

      When Barry stopped screaming, he turned to Hank.

      What the hell? he sputtered.

      Hank just smiled. Think about it.

      Barry did a quick calculation in his head.

      "We'd have to be moving at relativistic speeds to

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