Showing results by publisher "----RM Alexander" in Science Fiction

Tea Leaves presents 16 speculative short stories that place queer characters in larger-than-life situations to emphasize the surreal experience of marginalization. A queer romance spans multiple incarnations, but only in doomed cities. A gay medieval scholar must testify for his life to the otherworldly octopus who traps him in a cafe bathroom. Ignoring their better judgment, a witch brings their mortal partner on a hunt for a dangerous sorcerer and must cope with the dire consequences.

Jessie Wharton is a teacher in the twenty-first century. Or at least she was. Taking her history class to visit the ruins of a historic fort in west Texas, the scorching heat turned her world upside down. Suddenly, nothing was the way it was supposed to be. She was no longer Jessie Wharton. She was Jesse Webster. She wasn't a teacher. She was a private in the US Army stationed at Fort Callaghan, a completely functional outpost. And it was 1867.

Five years ago Joah was culled -- kidnapped by the government to be trained as a soldier. In the process, they erased his memory, destroying his past, his dreams, everything but his name. Armed with that alone, Joah escapes from the facility in search of someone to help him recall the man he used to be. That person is Tobin, Joah’s husband, who never gave up hope of finding him again.

Enter into the salaciously sexy world of “environmental espionage” and meet Jayms Blonde. He’s gorgeous, gay, and makes the bad guys pay! A hairdresser by trade and a secret agent by choice, this former US Navy Seal can handle an Uzi like a teasing comb.

In this genre hybrid between historical fiction and sci-fi, Naavalah, a scrupulous mechanic aboard the starship Reynolds, crash-lands on the Lost Colony of Arciel, where she must choose between signaling for help—thereby bringing the imperialistic Federation to conquer this unsuspecting world—or trying to survive on her own. Before she can decide, she is found by a local genderfluid clothier named Melis-te, who rushes her away from her crash site to avoid capture by the local feudal lord.

With a speculative and surreal style, Amy Lee Lillard’s prize-winning collection explores a living museum of women from across time; a life app that forces women to comply with beauty standards; a future internment camp with a literal race for survival; and a band of middle-aged Riot Grrrls, taking vengeance with a new power. With humor, rage, and a razor-sharp eye for detail, Exile in Guyville renders the invisible as seen, and the powerless as empowered.

A little blue world, the third planet from the sun. It’s home to seven billion people with all manner of faiths, beliefs and customs, divided by bigotry and misunderstanding, who have been told they are not alone in the universe. Anyone watching from the outside would pass by this fractured and tumultuous world, unless they had no other choice. It’s been a little over a year since Todd Landon’s life changed with the arrival of the Nentraee.

The Final Kiss is a brief glimpse into the world of Esmerelda-09B, an android and former bodyguard for the Athelonian royal family. In this story, Esmerelda has travelled far from her home world, seeking the mythical Caliopa Door in the hope that its power can reunite her with her beloved princess, who died when the human galactic navy destroyed their world.

Hamburg im Jahr 2112: Die Stadt wird immer wieder von Starkregen geflutet, im Binnendelta hat sich ein Slum aus schwimmenden Containern gebildet und über allem thront das gigantische Stadion. Zum »Turnier der Legenden« reisen Fans aus der ganzen Welt an, um die berühmten Glam-Gamer spielen zu sehen. Auch Go [Stuntboi] Kazumi begeistert sich für das VR-Gaming, fährt jedoch noch lieber Stunts auf dem Retro-Skateboard.

Peace has reigned across the galaxy for over two centuries, and no one can believe that such an accomplishment is nearing an end. However, as dreadnoughts muster in the capital of the Earth Empire and threaten her home nation of the Coalition, Sophia Trotsky finds herself at the dawn of war. Armed with the belief that she can make a difference, the young naval intelligence officer finds herself a front-line combatant—where history cannot be made by one person alone.

The gods Kimmy and Kita wanted to explore the far future they created and pilot military robot mechs as mortals. They never expected to find a hellish, xenophobic galaxy. When their daughter is taken, they’ll do anything to get her back.

The Ragpicker—a man, bonded into a mysterious 'secondskin' that has prolonged his life after the digital apocalypse—wanders the lush, deserted Earth, haunted by failing avatars and fragmented texts. He’s searching for traces of his long-dead husband but his journey is interrupted by a girl, Ysmany, fleeing her remote village in order to save a baby orphaned by a military-grade secondskin, ‘The Server,’ the fanatical ruler of their town. Together they cross the flourishing, treacherous landscape towards sanctuary.

The protagonist Hailey is captivated by divisions that balance, particularly in snow. Her brother has a very, interesting to say the least, correspondence to her dilemma. A long-time friend Zíâd also helps her, he does not realize it but his distraction does help Hailey—reminding her that life is not only about knowing; and then her sex life and science unite which ultimately sums up her answer to Who Shovels the Sidewalks?

As students at university of Makhanda, South Africa during the #RUReferenceList campaign, Langa and her lover Khwezi have a passionate and complex relationship. Puzzling gaps in her memory haunt Langa, yet her dreams are vivid with colors and symbols that hint at a nightmare of forgotten violations and losses. So many secrets—and Langa has had enough of secrets and silences. Who can she turn to? Her mother? Her grandmother? Khwezi? Or herself?

It’s been nine years since the government banned all technology. So when Joel Lodowick, a young transgender father struggling to support his five-year-old daughter, has an old bionic upload itself into his head, he is faced with a decision: Go to the cops and risk prosecution? Or use the robot’s skills to turn his life around? Scared of losing his daughter, Joel chooses the latter. Heightened intelligence and physical enhancements quickly land him a better job and a brighter future.

It's a destiny thrown upon her too soon, and one she's not even sure she wants. After killing her uncle, Hyde, and capturing his rebels, Trinity must repair relations between Humans and Angorians. She must find a way to ease their fears and assure them that Angorians will not cause them harm.

As a child, Angela Mathers was the victim of a top-secret experimental program that implanted neural chips in children to correct disorders and enhance intelligence. Shunned by society, she, and others like her were locked away in camps. Now an adult Luman, she is both brilliant and calculating. Her quest for redemption brings her to DC, where she works to get a government bill that would free the Lumans passed into law.

Xander and Jameson thought they’d fulfilled their destiny when they brought the worlds of Oberon and Titania back together, but their short-lived moment of triumph is over. Reunification has thrown the world into chaos. A great storm ravaged Xander's kingdom of Gaelan, leaving the winged skythane people struggling to survive. Their old enemy, Obercorp, is biding its time, waiting to strike. And to the north, a dangerous new adversary gathers strength, while an unexpected ally awaits them.

Jupiter J’nell just wanted a place to belong since their own family kicked them out while they were still in high school. They thought they had found their place in Long Beach, CA, working as an educational consultant on games designed for autistic kids. Being autistic themselves and an avid gamer, it was their dream job. Instead, they were too autistic, and the West Coast was not as accepting as they had hoped. Would they ever find a place they could belong? Fired and more uncertain of themselves than ever, they were contacted by a mysterious individual...

In the aftermath of a category 6 hurricane in Puerto Rico, aspiring journalist Vero Diaz leads an effort to rebuild his community, reviving ancient Taíno traditions to survive the storm's aftermath and their island's new colonizers. Still gripped by tradition, many do not accept Vero, a trans man, as their leader, driving him to start a new life abroad.