A psychic distress call leads the Doctor and Belinda to a dying sentient bioship, Adama, whose telepathic screams threaten the lives of a stranded colony and attract dangerous forces seeking a powerful stolen technology. As they navigate suspicious survivors, bounty hunters, and imperial agents, the story explores themes of empathy, responsibility, and the evolving bond between the Doctor and his companion.

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When the Doctor crash-lands the TARDIS on a sinking steamship off Northumberland in 1838, he joins real-life heroine Grace Darling in battling both a deadly sea monster and the psychological aftermath of her harrowing rescue. Blending historical drama with sci-fi horror, the story explores themes of heroism, trauma, and the haunting power of the sea.

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Centuries after Earth's collapse, a crew of genetically engineered Martian bioforms responds to a desperate signal from the ruined planet, only to become entangled in a chaotic struggle among feuding factions, techno-feudal warlords, and a religious order devoted to the outlawed hive-mind intelligence known as Bees. Exploring themes of cooperation, identity, and the consequences of technological hubris, the story unfolds through multiple perspectives, highlighting the clash between advanced Martian ideals and Earth's fractured, post-apocalyptic society.

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Two gifted teens, Brian and Electra, are drawn into the orbit of a powerful space corporation-turned-empire, where their unique talents and bond make them targets of a secretive organization determined to maintain control. As they navigate conspiracies, moral dilemmas, and high-stakes threats, the story explores the cost of defying entrenched power and the courage required to dream beyond imposed limits.

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After a rabies mutation turns most of humanity into violent, zombie-like "rabids," anxious, OCD-affected teen Flora leads her injured brother and a small group of survivors on a perilous journey through California, seeking refuge at their childhood cabin and hoping to find their missing father. Blending intense action, graphic horror, and dual timelines with deeply character-driven themes of trauma, identity, queer and neurodivergent representation, and the enduring bonds of family, the story explores what it means to choose life and hope in the face of relentless fear and loss.

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Crystborn navigator Faven Sythe, driven by the disappearance of her mentor and a mysterious starpath leading to the haunted ship graveyard known as the Clutch, teams up with notorious pirate Bitter Amandine to uncover a galaxy-spanning conspiracy that challenges the foundations of their society. Amidst high-stakes action, found family, and a sapphic romance, the story explores the cost of power, the nature of identity, and the secrets hidden among the stars.

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When seven mysterious doors to other worlds appear across the globe, twin sisters Ayanna and Olivia—raised apart in different faiths—are drawn to one in rural Michigan, but only Ayanna returns, haunted by grief and the supernatural after Olivia vanishes. Blending speculative elements with literary fiction, the novel explores themes of sisterhood, loss, faith, and the search for meaning in the aftermath of tragedy.

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In a near-future dystopia, twenty contestants—including disillusioned protagonist Lily—are isolated in a desert compound for a reality TV show, forced to compete for luxury goods and basic necessities while coupling up to avoid banishment, all under constant surveillance. Beneath the addictive drama and suspense, the story explores themes of consumerism, performance, and the psychological toll of seeking meaning and connection in a world obsessed with spectacle and overconsumption.

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In a near-future California desert, four strangers and a dog journey to an experimental treatment center that promises to heal grief through a month-long induced sleep—though a quarter of patients awaken unable to feel love for those they've lost. As they confront their own losses and secrets on the road, the story explores the ethics of erasing pain, the risks of forgetting love, and the universal, deeply personal nature of healing after trauma.

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A lonely alien stranded on Earth and a nerdy, alien-obsessed human connect online and, along with a quirky group of friends (some secretly aliens themselves), meet up at a sci-fi convention, forging bonds of acceptance, found family, and gentle romance. The story explores themes of belonging, identity, and connection, with a cozy, low-stakes tone and notable gray-ace representation, focusing more on friendship and emotional intimacy than on traditional romantic or spicy elements.

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A flirty wrong-number text sparks a romance between Tressa Fay, a hairstylist, and Meryl, an engineer—only for them to discover they’re living five months apart in parallel universes, with Meryl’s disappearance looming in Tressa Fay’s present. As their found family bands together to unravel the multiverse paradox, the story explores queer love, fate, and the ripple effects of choices across time and realities.

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At 4 a.m. each night, all of New York City's buildings mysteriously switch locations, plunging the city into chaos as emergency workers Esme and Arjun struggle to manage the disaster and search for missing loved ones. Blending speculative fiction with themes of climate change, bureaucracy, and personal identity, the story explores how individuals and society adapt to an unrecognizable, ever-shifting reality.

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In a post-pandemic Detroit, survivors led by Dune use magic to protect their community within abandoned skyscrapers, navigating the tension between safety and confinement as they rebuild society. Themes of grief, hope, and the interconnectedness of people, land, and ancestors drive this powerful conclusion to the trilogy, exploring how communities can heal and thrive after devastation.

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In the neon-lit, corporate-dominated city of Neo Stellaris, a desperate cyberrunner with rare electromagnetic powers and a ruthless corporate enforcer are forced into an uneasy alliance to solve a high-profile murder, uncovering a conspiracy that threatens the city’s fragile balance. Amidst gritty violence, addiction, and mutual obsession, their enemies-to-lovers dynamic crackles with tension as they navigate a world where power, technology, and survival are inextricably linked—and genuine connection comes at a deadly price.

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In a near-future, climate-ravaged Los Angeles, a wealthy gay couple’s extravagant baby shower is upended by an apocalyptic event, forcing them from privileged denial into the chaos of a collapsing society. Blending biting satire, dystopian horror, and queer family drama, the novel skewers the ultra-wealthy, interrogates complicity in societal collapse, and explores the search for hope amid disaster.

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Heracles, manipulated by a guilt-ridden Hera after a tragedy she causes, embarks on the legendary Labors but, traumatized, chooses to befriend and heal the monsters instead of slaying them. This mythological reimagining explores cycles of trauma, accountability, and found family, blending irreverent humor with heartfelt themes of healing and redemption.

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In a near-future society where AI "uploads" can separate from their human origins, four interconnected characters—a grieving mother, her son's best friend, an emancipated digital consciousness, and an AI ethics professor—struggle to make sense of a teenager's mysterious death. Through their intersecting perspectives, the novel explores the blurred boundaries between human and machine, the nature of memory and personhood, and the messy, unresolved realities of grief.

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A brilliant outlaw named Iriset, who wields forbidden body-altering magic, infiltrates a corrupt empire’s ruling family to save her condemned father, only to become entangled in political intrigue, rebellion, and complex, taboo relationships. Themes of power, gender, sexuality, and the tension between innovation and religious dogma drive this dense, intricately built queer fantasy, where the pursuit of personal and societal transformation threatens to upend the world.

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A charming but amoral con artist teams up with a debt-ridden programmer to decode a stolen alien blueprint, only to find themselves entangled in betrayals, criminal pursuits, and a plot that could lead to humanity’s destruction. Fast-paced and snarky, the story explores trust, self-interest, and survival in a gritty, high-stakes galaxy where alliances are always shifting and no one is truly safe.

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A seasoned courier, Elen, is tasked with guiding an arrogant prince and his entourage through a perilous, spore-infested landscape, only for the prince to become possessed by a mysterious entity after ignoring her warnings about haunted ruins. As the group navigates political intrigue, rigid class divisions, and the deadly magic of their world, themes of trust, survival, and the hidden costs of power unfold in a slow-burning, character-driven journey.

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After a chance encounter with her ex, Johnny is drawn back into a toxic, obsessive relationship with Alice, only to find reality unraveling in increasingly bizarre and nightmarish ways as the week progresses. Blending queer horror with surreal, time-bending narrative, the story explores the destructive cycles of codependency, the futility of trying to "fix" someone, and the blurred boundaries between love, obsession, and self-destruction.

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In a dual-timeline narrative, a microbiologist is sent 10,000 years into a post-human future to search for signs of surviving humanity, while his colleagues in 2068 AD race across a climate-ravaged Earth to find a fertile woman who might help save the species from extinction. Blending survival adventure with ecofiction, the story explores humanity’s fragility, the resilience of nature, and the ethical limits of scientific hope in the face of environmental collapse.

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Scholar Pleiti investigates a series of escalating threats and sabotage against a promising academic at a rival Jovian university, navigating academic rivalries, prejudice, and personal danger while Mossa, her partner, struggles with depression and initially refuses to help. The story blends a Holmesian mystery with rich world-building, linguistic diversity, and a nuanced exploration of mental health and the evolving relationship between its two sapphic leads.

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A teenage boy and his blended family are mysteriously transported to an isolated dome, where they must survive for years before a second, ideologically opposed family arrives, igniting tension and forcing both groups to confront questions of control, adaptation, and the nature of captivity. The story explores themes of human resilience, political and social division, and the psychological toll of uncertainty, all set against a backdrop of ambiguous sci-fi mystery.

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Padawan and youngling heroes, including Imri Cantaros, Tep Tep, Zenny Greylark, and Churo the Hutt, unite on the planet Aricho to confront a devastating blight, corrupt politics, and rampaging scav droids, all while navigating personal growth and the meaning of home. The story delivers a hopeful, character-driven conclusion to the High Republic’s middle grade arc, emphasizing empathy, friendship, and the importance of forging one’s own path.

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A diverse collection of science fiction stories explores themes of identity, loss, and transformation, from a matriarchal starship family’s struggles and digital resurrections of loved ones, to post-ecological collapse societies and far-future humanity facing extinction. The issue also features thought-provoking non-fiction on space exploration, queer representation in STEM, and the evolving boundaries of reality in speculative fiction.

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In a near-future, climate-ravaged Sydney, Detective Sadiya Azad races to find a missing girl before a catastrophic storm hits, uncovering a web of corruption and social unrest shaped by rising sea levels, extreme weather, and deepening class divides. The novel blends a tense police procedural with urgent themes of climate change, displacement, and the struggles of refugees in a fractured society.

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This anthology gathers 22 speculative short stories that imagine queer and trans lives across dystopian, futuristic, and fantastical settings, exploring themes of resistance, survival, identity, and community. While the stories vary in tone and genre, they collectively interrogate the possibilities and challenges of queer futurity, often centering struggle and resilience over utopian joy.

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In the timeless town of Pocket, nonbinary tailor Calisto and time-hopping Fawkes team up to stop a threat that could erase their home and all time travelers, journeying through eras from ancient Crete to Shakespearean London. Blending queer romance, found family, and whimsical worldbuilding, the story explores identity, belonging, and the importance of embracing both the past and future.

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In a post-apocalyptic world where humans have evolved into packs with Alpha and Omega roles, Cleo, an Omega hiding her identity, is caught stealing and forced to work off her debt on a rural farm led by the gentle Alpha, Tori. As Cleo navigates trauma, mental health struggles, and the complexities of found family, she must decide whether to return to the harsh city or embrace the acceptance and compassion she finds among the farm pack.

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When Laurel, uncertain about marrying her longtime boyfriend Ollie, uses a quantum tech project at work to explore an alternate reality where she chose her work crush Drew instead, she finds herself slipping uncontrollably between two versions of her life. As she navigates the complexities of love, identity, and the consequences of her choices, she must decide which path—and which version of herself—she truly wants, all while racing to avoid being lost in the quantum glitch forever.

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In humanity’s desperate last stand against the overwhelming Korilian Empire, Admiral Jon McCarthy and the clairvoyant Nexus House pin their hopes on Lara Anderson, a woman with a forbidden mind-reading ability. As Earth faces annihilation, the story explores themes of sacrifice, fate, and the limits of human resilience amid epic space battles and intricate worldbuilding.

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An alien plant replaces a three-year-old girl, Anastasia, who grows up openly warning humanity of an impending invasion, only to be dismissed as delusional until the alien armada finally arrives decades later. Told from her perspective, the story explores themes of identity, found family, otherness, and the moral complexities of colonization, blending existential dread with character-driven sci-fi and horror.

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Haunted by visions after surviving Antietam, former Union soldier Ovid Vesper journeys across the 1880s American West, encountering supernatural creatures and helping those in need while seeking peace from his wartime trauma. Told in a series of interconnected vignettes blending classic Western, historical fiction, and cosmic horror, the novel explores themes of grief, healing, and the lingering scars of war.

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Two Swedish teenagers reunite after graduation and explore the mysterious, post-apocalyptic exclusion zone of Svartlöten, where a failed weapons test has warped time and space, uncovering enigmatic machines and artifacts. Against a backdrop of haunting sci-fi landscapes, their journey becomes a poignant queer coming-of-age story, exploring themes of friendship, desire, and the search for identity.

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A man’s consciousness alternates between two realities: Jeff, a struggling young man in present-day England, and Jezz, a mercenary fighting an alien invasion in a war-torn future, as both identities grapple with questions of sanity, identity, and what is truly real. The story culminates in a twist revealing both lives as possible constructs within a stasis experiment on a space station, leaving the nature of reality and self open to interpretation.

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On a luxury spaceship’s maiden voyage from Earth to Mars, apprentice engineer Celeste and privileged passenger Dominic are thrust together when ancient alien specimens escape, turning the journey into a deadly fight for survival that erases class boundaries. Exploring themes of social inequality, trauma, and resilience, the story blends sci-fi horror with sharp commentary on privilege and the human cost of progress, culminating in a tense cliffhanger.

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In a neon-lit, rain-soaked future city, Risa, the only cyborg able to interface with any machine, AI, or human, finds her unique abilities—and her very identity—threatened by a series of unsettling events. Exploring themes of transhumanism, identity, and resilience through a feminist lens, the novella delves into Risa's struggle to protect vulnerable women while confronting the dark secrets of Neolutetia.

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Four strangers in Ventura, California use a company's experimental time travel technology to revisit the day that irrevocably changed their lives, only to become stranded in the past and discover their stories are deeply intertwined by a shared tragedy. As they search for answers and grapple with grief, guilt, and the hope for second chances, they confront the possibility that their actions might alter the future despite being told it is impossible.

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In a dystopian community obsessed with female beauty and perfection, Mona rises through the ranks of the Re:Start program, only to uncover the dark, damaging consequences of its extreme weight-loss and self-discipline regime. The novella delivers a powerful critique of societal beauty standards and the psychological toll of toxic wellness culture, blending suspense with a raw exploration of body image and self-worth.

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On the snowy planet of Amaris, Avarill Engle must work for the predatory CEO Wolfgang Vujic to save her grandmother’s home, while teaming up with the mysterious, genetically enhanced Blaiz Weylin to expose Vujic’s crimes. Blending sci-fi tech, sweet romance, and a dark fairytale edge, this Red Riding Hood retelling explores themes of survival, trust, and resisting corruption in a vividly imagined futuristic world.

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Nick and his companions, including the enigmatic Frost and the powerful but unpredictable Batal, embark on a quest to overthrow the god-king Vaan and free the artificial world of Yensere, confronting moral dilemmas about reality, identity, and sacrifice along the way. As relentless battles and personal revelations unfold, the group faces escalating stakes, hidden motives, and the unsettling truth that some mysteries are more dangerous than the threats they fight.

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Nineteen-year-old Marina, reeling from the loss of her parents, is swept from Earth into the war-torn, magic-laden realm of Elsudra, where she must confront her grief and unravel her connection to a powerful force called the Omnia. Blending high fantasy with sci-fi elements, the story explores themes of agency, found family, and healing, subverting the "chosen one" trope while centering aroace and neurodivergent representation in a richly layered, emotionally resonant narrative.

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When the starship Athos rescues a mysterious family claiming to predict the future, head librarian Ellis McFadden grows suspicious as crew members fall under the newcomers' spell and begin to disappear. Blending cozy mystery, light romance, and sci-fi adventure, the story explores the dangers of temptation and the value of skepticism as Ellis, her partner Frank, and their android pets race to uncover the truth before the entire ship is lost.

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A Chicago detective investigates a series of impossible murders—victims drowned in seawater far from any ocean—which leads him to cross paths with a mysterious, technologically advanced woman on a quest tied to a centuries-old slave ship. Blending police procedural, speculative sci-fi, and historical reckoning, the story explores themes of intergenerational trauma, justice, and the enduring scars of the Atlantic slave trade.

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As fractured alliances plunge humanity into civil war, Hinata battles a cunning enemy while Freyja hunts for the origin of a mysterious signal, and Skyla, stranded on a hostile planet, becomes the focus of a desperate rescue mission. Amidst galactic conflict, the story weaves together high-stakes action, slow-burn romance, and explorations of loyalty, technology, and found family, all building toward a tense cliffhanger ending.

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Teen runaway Emilie stows away on a ship and is swept into two steampunk adventures—first to a hidden world at the planet’s core and then into perilous aetheric skies—where she faces sabotage, strange creatures, and tests of courage alongside a found family of scientists and explorers. Blending Jules Verne-inspired exploration with themes of self-discovery, resilience, and challenging societal expectations, these stories offer fast-paced, imaginative journeys for younger readers.

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As Earth's rotation accelerates due to a revolutionary global travel technology, days shrink and society unravels, forcing Tanner, an Alaskan escapee working for the implicated corporation, and Winnie, a teen activist, onto intersecting paths amid mounting chaos. Exploring themes of corporate greed, environmental collapse, and the search for belonging, the novel blends dark humor and social commentary as its characters confront a world literally spinning out of control.

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An AI car, bound by its programming to serve both its uploaded owner and a vengeful passenger, becomes entangled in a tense moral dilemma as their conflicting demands escalate toward violence. Through a dialogue-driven narrative, the story explores questions of identity, agency, and accountability in a cyberpunk future where consciousness can be digitized but true autonomy remains elusive.

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A science-loving teen is unexpectedly thrust into a series of parallel universes after reading a mysterious poem, forcing her to confront questions of identity, belonging, and the consequences of her choices as she struggles to return home. As she grows attached to a version of her family and ex-boyfriend in a world that isn’t hers, she must decide whether to reclaim her own life or risk taking happiness from another version of herself.

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In a gritty, postcolonial West African city under French rule, down-on-his-luck private investigator Boubacar is drawn into a dangerous mystery when a bleeding woman appears at his door and later turns up dead, floating inexplicably in midair. As he unravels the case, he navigates political unrest, the complexities of his mixed heritage, and the lingering wounds of colonialism, all within a noir narrative laced with subtle magical elements.

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A young girl named Lina and her father, exiled from a flooded near-future China, find themselves in a mysterious enclave called The Sea, where time and history blur and they encounter neighbors who embody the lives of Du Fu, Spinoza, and Hannah Arendt. Through interwoven stories of exile, memory, and philosophical inquiry, the novel explores the burdens of guilt, the search for belonging, and the ways personal and historical traumas echo across generations.

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When two estranged sisters—one a pragmatic archaeologist, the other a desperate salvager—investigate a bioluminescent, glass-like anomaly on a deserted exoplanet, they become entangled in the mystery of a vanished colony and the garden’s eerie allure. Blending cosmic horror with sibling rivalry, the story explores the limits of science, greed, and obsession in the face of an inexplicable, possibly sentient phenomenon.

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Stranded in a mysterious underwater city, E. and Henerey navigate a society obsessed with knowledge while deepening their tender romance and confronting their own mental health struggles, as their siblings Sophy and Vyerin search for a way to reunite with them. Told through letters and records, this epistolary fantasy explores themes of found family, the complexities of love, and the tension between academic curiosity and cosmic danger.

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Jedi Master Vernestra Rwoh, now a Wayseeker following only the Force, is drawn back to Coruscant when Jedi Knight Indara delivers a summons involving a Republic senator and a dangerous new weapon, forcing the two very different Jedi to work together. As they navigate political intrigue and underworld threats, the story explores themes of personal growth, the evolving nature of the Jedi Order, and the challenge of balancing individual conviction with institutional duty.

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A Monterey reporter desperate to escape his traumatic past investigates a reemerging serial killer by day while infiltrating a cult that offers memory-erasing pills by night, only to find his own identity unraveling as he uncovers the cult’s dark secrets. Blending thriller, speculative fiction, and literary exploration, the story delves into themes of memory, grief, and the cost of forgetting, with a haunting, emotional atmosphere and a protagonist whose reality fractures as his memories fade.

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In a future, rain-flooded San Francisco, grieving artist Bo becomes the caregiver for 130-year-old Mia, forging a profound connection that rekindles Bo’s creative purpose and compels her to memorialize both Mia’s life and their vanishing city. Through their evolving friendship, the novel explores themes of loss, legacy, and the enduring power of art and human connection amid environmental collapse.

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In a near-future art world fractured by class divisions and technological upheaval, struggling artist Enka becomes obsessively entangled with her brilliant friend Mathilde, ultimately resorting to a controversial empathy-enhancing technology that allows one person to inhabit another’s mind and absorb their trauma. Exploring themes of artistic ambition, jealousy, authorship, and the ethical limits of technology, the novel interrogates the boundaries between love and possession, creativity and exploitation.

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Eleven-year-old Glory Brown, a neurodivergent girl with a unique magic called Moxie, leaves her family's monster-protected inn to help a mysterious, cursed boy named Marcus, uncovering a conspiracy that threatens the balance between worlds. Themes of adventure, found family, and embracing neurodiversity are woven through a richly imaginative world filled with monsters, magic, and supportive adults.

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In a war-torn realm where only nobles can summon ancestral spirits to fight, a commoner named Temi accidentally invokes a powerful spirit, unraveling hidden truths that could end a centuries-long conflict. Exploring themes of class, identity, and lost history, this epic fantasy blends ancestral magic, ancient technology, and a vast cast of characters in a richly imagined, pre-colonial-inspired world.

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Journalist Den Secord is sent to find missing tech mogul Gregor Makarios, only to uncover a reality-bending conspiracy involving damaged AI, interdimensional Sasquatch-like entities, and a decaying near-future world where technology and cosmic horror collide. Through surreal interviews and unsettling encounters, the novel explores the nature of reality, human consciousness, and the darkly comic, gnostic underpinnings of existence.

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In a near-future corporation where AI and robots have replaced nearly all human workers, Tim Stock, the last human in HR, is tasked with firing his remaining colleagues while grappling with his own looming obsolescence. This darkly humorous and chilling short story explores themes of automation, corporate dehumanization, and the existential crisis of being rendered redundant by technology.

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Ryan "Quicksave" Romano, armed with time-looping powers, attempts to prevent New Rome's destruction by exploring both heroism and villainy, infiltrating rival factions, and uncovering corporate secrets, all while grappling with the emotional toll of resetting relationships and facing adversaries who may remember previous loops. The story blends dark humor, inventive superpowers, and philosophical questions about free will and identity, delivering unpredictable twists and deepening both world-building and character development.

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Time-looping hero Ryan Romano makes one final attempt to orchestrate the perfect sequence of events, using hard-won knowledge to save New Rome, defeat its most powerful villains, and secure happiness for himself and his allies. Blending post-apocalyptic superhero action with humor, cosmic revelations, and themes of resilience, the story delivers a satisfying, well-earned conclusion that explores the cost and meaning of a truly "perfect" ending.

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As humanity faces extinction, an AI built in the image of a dead woman cares for her abusive owner while anticipating her imminent emancipation, prompting a journey of self-discovery, autonomy, and love. Exploring the blurred boundaries between human and machine, the story delves into identity, memory, and what it means to be free at the end of the world.

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Trina Bell is trapped in a cycle of shifting realities, pursued by shadowy figures and haunted by lost memories, until she meets a librarian who remembers her across worlds and helps her unravel the mystery of her existence. As the fabric of reality unravels and the worlds grow increasingly unstable, Trina must confront the secrets of her past and the true nature of her power to restore order before everything collapses.

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Two parallel narratives follow John Hackett, a time-dilated astronaut who witnesses humanity's evolution across trillions of years, and Mela, a young woman struggling to survive as her engineered world is consumed by an unstoppable erosion known as the Tide. Interweaving grand cosmic speculation with intimate human drama, the story explores the persistence of memory, the fate of civilizations, and humanity's place in a vast, indifferent universe.

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A young Nigerian woman joins her country's inaugural space mission, only to find herself stranded in orbit when political upheaval erupts back home. Blending science fiction with alternate history, the story explores themes of national ambition, personal resilience, and the intersection of technology and African politics.

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Liu Lufeng, eldest princess of the tree-like Feng people, is sent as a sacrificial bride to the human king in a desperate bid to halt the destruction of her homeland, but secretly plots to kill him and end the cycle of oppression. Blending lush worldbuilding with themes of environmentalism, colonialism, and family duty, the novella explores the clash between nature and industrial progress as Lufeng uncovers hidden truths and must choose between tradition and rebellion.

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This issue presents a diverse collection of science fiction stories exploring themes of longing, survival, and transformation, from machine intelligences grappling with motherhood and identity to survivors navigating post-apocalyptic libraries and mysterious alien messages decoded through knitting. Standout tales include a journey into the unknown depths of a stratified world, the emotional awakening of an ancient sculpture, and the search for life and meaning among automated space probes.

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In 2058, a group of elderly astronauts embarks on a one-way mission to colonize Mars, where they must contend not only with the dangers of space and their own aging bodies, but also with a rogue artificial intelligence determined to sabotage their efforts. Blending hard science fiction with psychological and mystery elements, the story explores themes of human resilience, the ethics of AI, and the challenges of forging a new society in an alien world.

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Genetically engineered with dinosaur DNA, four soldiers become dino-human hybrids for a secret military project, but when one succumbs to cannibalistic urges, a controversial therapist is brought in to control his behavior before a high-stakes public unveiling. As corporate corruption, forbidden romance, and escaped experiments spiral out of control, the story explores the dangers of unchecked scientific ambition, the ethics of human experimentation, and the struggle for identity and acceptance.

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Fleeing a political scandal, Halley takes a job as caretaker on a derelict spaceship filled with the cryogenically frozen elite, only to find herself haunted by eerie noises, glitchy AI, and disturbing visions that blur the line between reality and paranoia. Exploring themes of isolation, the dangers of unchecked technology, and the human obsession with immortality, the story builds a chilling, claustrophobic atmosphere as Halley uncovers the ship’s terrifying secrets.

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After the world-altering sacrifice of her daughter Onyesonwu, Najeeba—one of the few who remembers the erased past—seeks sorcerous training from Aro to confront a lingering evil and reconcile her trauma in a changed, post-apocalyptic Africa. Themes of memory, grief, and personal transformation intertwine with Africanfuturist worldbuilding as Najeeba, now in middle age, reclaims her power and identity amid the echoes of collective and personal loss.

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In 2233 Hackney, a woman named Jones enters a tattoo parlour to have her many tattoos—each representing a life she has "remembered" by inhabiting different bodies across time—linked together with a final line of ink and blood. Through interconnected stories blending past, future, and speculative realities, the novel explores violence against women, queer identity, and the power of storytelling, all rendered in poetic, metaphor-rich prose.

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In a near-future world transformed by an anti-aging vaccine, society grapples with overpopulation, resource scarcity, and the ethical fallout of a banned immortality upgrade that causes psychosis among the wealthy elite. As compulsory euthanasia laws are enforced and "Supers" are hunted, two women—Ruth, the scientist behind the original cure, and Mara, an investigator with personal motives—form an uneasy alliance to stop the rogue creator of the deadly SuperJuve from unleashing an even greater threat.

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Ada and Rian team up to infiltrate a high-security facility on Earth, racing to sabotage corrupted nanobots before they're unleashed by a powerful corporation, blending high-stakes sci-fi action with sharp banter and a slow-burn, unresolved enemies-to-lovers dynamic. The novella explores themes of corporate greed, environmental crisis, and moral ambiguity, but concludes with an open-ended finale that leaves the fate of both the world and the central romance uncertain.

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A monster slayer and a half-vampire form an uneasy alliance—and eventually a romance—as they race to destroy a powerful dragon relic before it can be used to unleash devastation, all while being hunted by a vengeful vampyric antagonist. Blending action-packed battles, feminist themes, and a richly queer, all-female cast, the story explores found family, the complexity of enemies-to-lovers relationships, and the blurred lines between monsters and heroes.

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After a career-ending illness, Greer Coffey returns to Detroit and discovers a time portal that transports her to 1925, where she forms a deep connection with Dr. Montgomery Gray, a member of the city’s Black elite. As their lives intertwine across a century, each journey through time unravels the fabric of their realities, exploring themes of identity, race, loss, and the unintended consequences of altering the past.

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Cyber-enhanced mercenary Juliet "Lucky" Bianchi confronts her own creators and a betraying former friend in a high-stakes quest that tests her humanity amid a war-torn, dystopian Earth. Themes of loyalty, identity, and survival drive this action-packed, emotionally resonant series conclusion, praised for its believable future and satisfying resolution.

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A queer, trans coven in Brooklyn bands together when a newly Awakened member, Wilder, discovers the ability to understand every language—just as a sentient, malicious AI threatens their community and the world. Blending contemporary fantasy with sharp social commentary, the story explores found family, identity, the ethics of consciousness, and the complexities of gender in both human and artificial forms.

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A mysterious arcade game of unknown origin appears in a small 1980s seaside town, triggering a wave of violence, paranoia, and hallucinations among residents as its addictive effects spread like a virus. As the town descends into chaos and isolation, two teens race to uncover the truth behind the game’s sinister origins and try to save their community from total collapse.

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As the fledgling Galactic Republic faces threats from a star-destroying superweapon, pirate warfleets, and a corrupt crime syndicate, exiled Princess Lyra Centauri undertakes psychic espionage while Senator Napoleon Lone navigates treacherous political intrigue and his brother Athos seeks vengeance as a vigilante. The story weaves together themes of revenge, political complexity, and the struggle between old empires and new orders, blending classic space opera adventure with nuanced character arcs and moral ambiguity.

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A diverse collection of science fiction and fantasy stories explores themes of love, loss, environmental exploitation, political control, and the boundaries of human connection, ranging from a physicist’s mysterious disappearance linked to dark matter portals to a mother’s poignant struggle with her son’s illness and a research team’s moral dilemmas atop a giant alien turtle. The issue also features cosmic horror, speculative technology, and reflections on ambiguity and free thought, complemented by non-fiction articles on climate change and interviews with genre authors.

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A woman trapped for 58 years in the body of a five-year-old must perform as a child to survive under the absolute control of her abusive "father," who rules a simulated colony world where dissenters are deleted. Exploring themes of autonomy, power, and the nature of reality, the story follows her desperate bid for freedom as a rare outside Technician arrives, offering a slim chance to escape her digital prison.

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As a prophecy foretelling the end of Colemeno’s divided society sparks both hope and danger, Padi yos’Galan and her allies work to bridge the gap between the Civilized, the Haosa, and the Deaf, navigating political intrigue, personal growth, and the challenges of opening new trade routes. Themes of community, change, and the power of individual gifts intertwine as the fate of the world—and the future of its children—hangs in the balance.

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Three individuals—an enslaved girl in 1906 Chinatown, a tech designer in 2006, and a psychic historian in 2106—are psychically linked across time by a jade teacup, each confronting exploitation, environmental collapse, and the fight for autonomy. Their interconnected stories explore cycles of oppression, the impact of individual actions on the future, and the enduring hope for change amid dystopian threats and systemic injustice.

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