The Prophet of Broken Clocks
Every clock in Aurelio Vega's Montevideo shop is broken, and every one tells the correct time. People come to him not for repairs but for answers that only stopped clocks can give
Tag: Fiction (Page 16)
EspionageTango in a War Zone
In a basement milonga during Argentina's Dirty War, a resistance courier dances tango with an intelligence operative who carries a list of seven people scheduled to disappear.
Black ComedyThe Dentist of Mars
Dr. Evelyn Trask is the only dentist on Mars, her market share is 100 percent, and the protein bars are giving the entire colony periodontal disease.
AmbiguityCassandra’s Last Vision
Cursed by Apollo to speak true prophecy that no one believes, Cassandra watches Troy fall exactly as she predicted — and sees, in her final moment, every truth-teller who will follow her.
FictionA Garden in Hiroshima
Three generations of women tend a garden behind a house in Hiroshima, growing morning glories in soil that was sterilized by the atomic bomb and refused to stay dead.
AIThe Robot Who Couldn’t Lie (Version 2)
A manufacturing defect leaves Unit 7 incapable of producing false statements. When it testifies before Congress about the AI industry, it becomes the most trusted voice in the world.
AmbiguityAshes of a Saint
A Franciscan archivist discovers the private diary of a canonized saint — revealing she was an atheist who loved a nun and chose fire over a life built on lies.
Artistic ObsessionThe Zero-Gravity Circus
A retired acrobat with two blown knees launches the first circus in space aboard an orbital station — and a disastrous opening night becomes the most-watched live event in human history.
American DecayThe Ballad of Route 66
When her van breaks down in Delmore, Oklahoma — population 43 — a travel writer discovers the last original town on Route 66 and the people who refused to leave when America moved on.
AmbiguityDinner with the Devil’s Lawyer
A bored contracts lawyer is invited to dinner by a dying woman who represents clients with supernatural contracts — deals signed with entities that aren't human and don't forgive breach of terms.
Artistic ObsessionThe Boy Who Owned the Wind
Born with the ability to command the wind, Idris protects his village until a merchant prince conscripts his gift for commerce — and the wind begins to forget him.
FictionBlood on the Snow, Fire on the Ice
An ice analyst survives a helicopter crash in the Arctic and discovers her employer delayed rescue for six hours to retrieve proprietary data from something anomalous beneath the ice.