Dystopian Short

The ant scurries on the counter, alone, and the only remnant of its poisoned colony. Empathizing with the ant, Natalie ponders putting it out of its misery. As a scientist, she knows her flowcharts point to humankind's destruction: much like the ants, we polluted our colony too. Heading up one of a handful of secret labs, Natalie's mission to save humanity seems more like a cliché sci-fi movie than reality. Or maybe the world-weary views she possesses stem from her own bitter past.

In the future, biohacking has taken humanity to the brink of evolutionary advantage as Artificially Integrated Persons perform at maximal potential, but for Jagga, his utopia turns into a nightmare.

The world is on the brink of annihilation, we just don't know yet. An invisible enemy is waging war under the shadow of a deadly pandemic. The threat comes by way of an alien life-form. They exist among us. They are not like us, like you and I, made up of carbon and nitrogen. But they are here, right now, we just can’t see them. But make no mistake about it, this unseen enemy sees us - and like a whisper in the wind, it brings death.

Spanning multiple locations and times, and rendered in fine detail and vivid color, this transportive, expansive collection shows what it means to live as human inhabitants on our one miraculous planet. Lyrical, at times hilarious, and always heartfelt, each of these ten stories is a reflection of individual choice in the face of man-made apocalypse: in a near-future Seoul, where air pollution has become so fatal that the city has been encased in a translucent biodome, a civil engineer charged with its upkeep contemplates an arranged marriage.

If someone observed us from afar, they could claim that our civilization was a civilization of walls. That was its main purpose. Such observers would likely not be able to explain why. I cannot either. Walls do not protect. They just trap and kill. Three short stories about a dystopic future, about people turning into machines, about walls and fences, about the way history works. Three short stories about now.

How many ways can you spell peril? This collection of ten dark science fiction short stories explores a dystopian future in which humans may find more questions than answers. Some of the answers might be better off unlearned.

Join Dr. Amelia Mercer as she navigates a nightmarish city engulfed in collective agony, where every scream resonates in your VERY BONES! Feel your pulse quicken as you experience the relentless tide of shared suffering, forcing you to confront the darkest corners of human empathy. This isn't mere fiction; it's a gripping exploration of what it means to truly feel the pain of others.

Sæmundur the Mad, addict and sorcerer, has been expelled from the magical university, Svartiskóli, and can no longer study galdur, an esoteric source of magic. Obsessed with proving his peers wrong, he will stop at nothing to gain absolute power and knowledge, especially of that which is long forbidden....

Two wives share a house divided. A writer creates a sexy new partner. A backseat driver's trapped. A devilish elevator runs out of floors. And clothes control the man. Short, sharp jabs into your mind. Philosophical sci-fi quick reads.

The Metamorphosis is a novella by Franz Kafka, first published in 1915. It has been cited as one of the seminal works of fiction of the 20th century and is studied in colleges and universities across the Western world. The story begins with a traveling salesman, Gregor Samsa, waking to find himself transformed (metamorphosed) into a large, monstrous insect-like creature. The cause of Samsa's transformation is never revealed, and Kafka himself never gave an explanation.

In a time when a pandemic is threatening the entire population, Risa and her family apply for coveted acceptance into a new Safe City - a place designed to keep the virus out and to preserve a select few of the population. But getting accepted into the city may not be worth it - especially when she is sedated for secure transport and wakes up, unable to find her family. Meeting a few new friends and an intriguing soldier named Camsen Luck may help, but none of them can convince her that self-preservation is more important than finding her family; or that trying to escape is suicide.

The Free Story Friday Collection Volume 2: "The Mythos Cycle" is a compilation of seven tales told in a universe inspired by the works of HP Lovecraft. From the ice of Greenland, to the suburbs of America, to alternate realities, parallel dimensions, and the sands of the Middle East, this collection ranges the gamut of Horror.

The Dome protects us. It is life for all who live under the ice barrier, but it is on the brink of failure. The Elders saw this coming; they have a plan. There's just one problem: I can't breathe underwater like everyone else. I'm the last air-breathing human in the Dome. As the Aquatics migrate to their new home, I'll need to find a way to survive.

This collection of stories from Goodreads bares the truth of the pandemic in 500 words and more. It exposes the ugly face of the epidemic and the havoc it unleashed on our collective minds. Enjoy the works of eight authors as they depict their version of the epic times we have lived in and survived to tell the tale.

Kvinden harker, sluger vand, basker vildt med armene, sluger mere og opgiver, synker sammen, hovedet under vand. Skriiitch, dyt! Jeg har været så opslugt af programmet, at en bil må bremse hårdt op for at undgå at ramme mig. Chaufføren peger på min hale og sætter en finger i tindingen, drejer rundt. "Sjoskerøv, du vil nok gerne indlægges i Dødskampen?" råber han forskrækket. Jeg er så optaget, at jeg ikke gider svare jokkehovedet. Krydser gaden. (Citat fra Svend Åge Madsens novelle Skabt for hinanden).

Collection of Another 21 stories from the Zzone is a continuation of stories set within the Sapien Overlords universe. While the first collection introduced the general notions and various time periods encompassing this universe, starting before the cataclysmic event that was the Greatest War and expanding into the Zetwork and United Zzone Federation-ruled Earth, this collection expands on them.

Galen is an innkeep, a humble man who cares about his work and his patrons. He also lives on the edge of a haunted forest. One inhabited by a fell wizard far too many of his guests are intent to meet. Despite Galen’s warnings and admonitions, most travelers passing through his doors only stay long enough to ask a few questions before entering the dark wood. Far too few come back. These are the tales of some of those adventurers who return. These are the tales of those Galen wishes had never left his door. Tales of the Fallen is a short work of fantasy fiction totaling about 10,000 words.

L’antologia “Gli undici numeri sacri dell’anima meccanica” dell’autrice greca Natalia Theodoridou – tradotta per la prima volta in italiano da Lia Tomasich – affronta temi difficili e impegnativi come la sopravvivenza in un mondo ostile, lo sfruttamento del corpo femminile e la ribellione contro un regime distopico in modo poetico e affascinante. Il racconto “Gli undici numeri sacri dell’anima meccanica”, pur ispirandosi a un artista olandese molto singolare – Theo Jansen – e alla sua opera geniale, si sviluppa come una storia a se stante.

Estos son cuentos de ciencia ficción o de eso que llamaría Adolfo Bioy Casares “la imaginación razonada”. Un conjunto de narraciones de lo insólito que van desde distopías hasta propuestas para el fin del mundo pasando antes por viajes hacia el universo interior.

SA51 has only known the iron fist of the Elite regime. Now alone in the barren wastelands, she must rely on the help from the enigmatic Doc's help. The truth may cost her everything and change humanity's chance of survival against oppression.