Read Later
12 stories
Twenty Minutes and the AI by jgottwig
jgottwig
  • WpView
    Reads 682
  • WpVote
    Votes 57
  • WpPart
    Parts 4
Tiggy and Bernard are researching artificial intelligence and its relationship to memories. They have just had a breakthrough, but there might be a problem. This story is one of the winners of GE's Adventures in Science contest.
Angels and Wormholes by David_Shultz
David_Shultz
  • WpView
    Reads 268,761
  • WpVote
    Votes 14,822
  • WpPart
    Parts 53
A star-faring religious cult has created an army of robotic zealots designed to follow holy scripture. As the robotic menace spreads across the galaxy, it takes prisoners to be 'excommunicated': hooked into a neural simulation of eternal torment. Captain Rolland Barron leads the Sol Federation Starship Excalibur on a diplomatic mission. Cassia LaCroix is a wormhole hunter, earning a living scouring the galaxy for valuable tunnels through space-time. Prince Zoojin, a psychic alien from a distant galaxy, must prove himself worthy of the throne of Paxis Prime. The paths of these characters converge as they pursue their own motives, leading them towards the mechanical legion that is sweeping across the galaxy. COVER BY: rentachi AUTHOR'S NOTE: this is an early draft of the novel. I am very grateful for your readership and your feedback, which I have taken into consideration for a major rewrite. The new novel is completely different. If you liked the book, then please look forward to the release of the finished novel.
Forbidden Stars by BMFox_
BMFox_
  • WpView
    Reads 631
  • WpVote
    Votes 78
  • WpPart
    Parts 12
One-hundred and nine light-days into its extensive journey, humanity's first interstellar colony vessel seemingly vanishes without trace. Ivan Syzonenko, a revolutionary scientist of his era, charges himself with unraveling the method which had caused this paradoxical vanishing act. From the truth behind the mystery, humanity finds itself in a barring damnation that may keep all forever bound to the Solar System. Status of the story: I have turned "Complete" on for this story, although it is entirely possible I may revise the story in the future. I rather like this story and so I will want to keep it in the best of condition as I advance my skills as a writer. For all intents and purposes, the story is complete, little to no changes to the plot will be made (most likely). Happy Reading! Copyright © 2018 Brayden M. Fox All Rights Reserved Cover art attributed to John Harris, www.alisoneldred.com/artistJohnHarris.html
... by MickyNeilson
MickyNeilson
  • WpView
    Reads 35
  • WpVote
    Votes 3
  • WpPart
    Parts 1
Angel's Ride by Califia
Califia
  • WpView
    Reads 2,230
  • WpVote
    Votes 204
  • WpPart
    Parts 6
It was LA in the year 2O21. A new underground theme park called "The River Styx" had just closed down. "Too many mysterious deaths and unethical methods to get people to visit it," the official inquiry had reported. Only a chosen few had managed to make the dark journey down 'hell's river" before its demise, and Angel would be one of them. It was her obsession about the attraction--and her own mysterious connection to it which finally got him to take the voyage. Looking back, it was that first day in the photo lab, while trying to get the young model's image more metallic on the screen. That's when Angel suddenly appeared to him in the flesh--her face next to his in the blue light of the monitor. So what was it about this girl, he wondered? Why did she so obviously seek him out romantically as one of the few to take that mythological journey? He would only learn those details while navigating the subterranean river with her--an answer to forever disturb his soul? To secure an e-book of this short story, go here: https://www.amazon.com/author/califia.montalvo
Hacking the Sun [Old Version] by NineLight
NineLight
  • WpView
    Reads 30,704
  • WpVote
    Votes 2,120
  • WpPart
    Parts 51
[Highest Ranking #49 in Science Fiction] Jessica Leibniz tried being a normal teenager, but unlike most teenagers, she can tell time without a clock. She still wears a watch, but it comes with incriminating A.I. software. It's part of her fashion sense-if you call a mix of 80's nostalgia, geekism, and jagged hair a fashion sense. Otherwise, you have a normal, nineteen-year-old girl who delivers pizza and tacos by day and hacks cybersecurity networks by night. All the while, she turns heads, probably because she performs her job on a gravity board, which is relatively unorthodox in a future where aliens rule the planet. The alien takeover could have ended more violently, but there's irony in how efficient and peaceful Earth has become a hundred years later. Corporations still reign supreme, but aliens lie at the top of the social ladder. Azareans they call them, overlords who've constructed a new kind of city for the modern world. The Eden: a modern megapolis. Accustomed to life in the modern city, Jessica has learned to embrace challenge when it comes her way. Without a cause, she confides in her three friends or smacks into boredom. And when she seamlessly cracks an uncrackable corporate security algorithm, nothing makes sense. Faced with world-turning revelations, the life she's led seems trivial next to a hundred-year lie and tragedy.
HAWK by Mike_I_am
Mike_I_am
  • WpView
    Reads 1,039,464
  • WpVote
    Votes 94,338
  • WpPart
    Parts 167
Exciting news update - HAWK is in the very early stages of being adapted into an animated TV show! Please make sure to stick around and add this story to your shelves for upcoming announcements. Thanks so much for your support :) Kas Balera is used to a bit of chaos. As a space bounty hunter, capturing three Class-2 criminals should have been the most difficult part of her week, but when a disaster of epic proportions rocks the entire solar system, Kas is thrust into the midst of an adventure far beyond her wildest fantasies. With the help of a federal robot, a child genius, and her trusty ship - the Calista - Kas must use all her quick thinking and sharp wit if she's going to stay alive and uncover the new dark and dangerous mysteries of the galaxy. Pursued by evil X1 robots, bio-mech panthers and astral police officers, even Kas's kick-ass fight training and expert piloting can't seem to stop the entire galaxy from going after her. * Wattys Shortlisted * * Highest ranking: #1 in Science-fiction * Thanks to @CAPTAINSARCASTIC101 for helping with the blurb.
"Bad Robot"  by MarkVonTwayne
MarkVonTwayne
  • WpView
    Reads 345
  • WpVote
    Votes 18
  • WpPart
    Parts 4
Can an invincible robot save the world from the evils of communism? Can you trust a smart toaster? How hot is the sun, really? All these questions and more will be answered in "Bad Robot". This story is part of a larger anthology series titled "The Apocolypse is Always Tomorrow" that I am currently working on with a friend and gifted illustrator. Both the story and the pictures are in the 'draft' stages, so we hope to gain critique and insight from you, the reader, for the art and writing. These will all be short stories, so the 'parts' will be relatively short (1000 to 2000 words). We will try to consistently provide our readers with additional material on a bi-weekly basis.
Dawn of the Starships (Formerly called A Starship Called Starsong) by CrystalScherer
CrystalScherer
  • WpView
    Reads 1,063,906
  • WpVote
    Votes 102,392
  • WpPart
    Parts 76
Rachel, a junior assistant in the cargo bay, wasn't prepared for the spaceship's AI to gain awareness during what should have been a routine update, nor had anyone expected it to take exception to the crew and the crates of illegal cargo aboard. Rachel races against time to try and get life-saving systems back online while stranded in the middle of deep space. Unfortunately for her, the AI can access every system, door, and airlock. As truths emerge, the AI realizes that even computers can make miscalculations, and it focuses on the young woman who had dared to confront it. Rachel is left floundering when the AI decides that she would make an excellent captain, albeit one in need of training. As she struggles to learn her new duties and dodge shady government groups, she must ultimately discover what it truly means to be a Starship Captain. ------- There is no romance in this story. Copyright April 2018. All Rights Reserved. Readers may not copy, alter, translate, or steal this story. Fanfictions are allowed to use my *world* and *AI set-up* as long as credit is given.
Tales of the Pearly City (Pearly Tales Vol.1) [Completed] by NathanielWilhelm
NathanielWilhelm
  • WpView
    Reads 456,648
  • WpVote
    Votes 30,839
  • WpPart
    Parts 102
After being reincarnated in his favorite game Jasper Toledo, otherwise known as Calloway Calphius, finds himself in the city he created 250 years after he logged out for the last time. He disguises himself in the elf city to find out that he has been revered as a saint, and has begun a new age of the elves. In order to find his place in this new yet familiar world he starts a guild in an age when they've become obsolete. He finds out the elven princess is his fiancé and has been waiting for his return. He adopts an oracle girl known as the cursed child. He even accidently starts a successful maid café. But when a prophecy threatens his new way of life, he'll start a war with a dark shadow that's taken hold of his new home. Follow Cal's journey as he routinely breaks down ordinary doors, makes an inordinate amount of tea, falls in love with a princess, tumbles out of trees, and faces enemies both inside and outside the Pearly City. With all this and more awaiting our unscrupulous adventurer, let me be the first to welcome you to the City of Perils. Mature warning, a city this perilous includes: Adult language, use of gamer terminology, suggestive themes, crying, blushing, tears, feelings, anime special effects, eye-patches, sinister plots, wanton cultural references, identity crisis, a flippant God, shipping, ships, tragedy, aggressive girlfriends, and pirate hijinks lots and lots of hijinks . Highest ranking in Adventure: 15 on---10/12/2017 First review: "At first, I didnt like any character, now I love them all... ...You might want to put a warning that readers just needed to survive the first chapters, because after that... FUCKING AMAZING" -RahCol Cover by: _crystallize_