Injuries, no doubt, are always gross. But imagine having to see your son fall off a tree(!) and find wires protruding out of the joints instead of a bone…or blood. That’s right, we got our minds blown off too with this exceptional story Motherboard by Melissa Maize, submitted as part of the science-fiction writing competition – Spin Your Science. No more spoilers though, head over to our blog page to find out how Emma and Alex’s story ends!
If a glimpse of Motherboard has you on the edge of your seat, First Contact by Dilip Thosar hits even further home. The protagonist, sickened and in quarantine with COVID (sigh), fervently starts thinking that the pandemic is a broadcast signal by sentient alien civilizations to try to make contact with the human species. Hammering in codes, seeking patterns in the viral RNA structures, the protagonist discovers that…..(remember, nothing is far-fetched in a scifi story!) IT’S TRUE! The pandemic was, in fact, an attempt at contact by an alien species. We won’t spill all the beans now, so go ahead and check out the entire story on our blog.
Alternate universes are not just Michio Kaku’s cup of tea, they are a very famous and common trope in the science fiction universe. Which is where our next story comes in. Little Dreams by Anjali Tiwari is a beautifully written piece exploring the innocent mind of a child who discovers she is a select member of her species who can travel to and from an alternate universe. Munnu is shocked, bewildered, overcome with emotion, yet an innate curiosity and a sense of duty push her to enter a world beyond her own. Munnu, perhaps, is all of us.
Somehow, dystopian realities only bring to mind Orwellian fantasies, but the scifi universe isn’t far behind. The Comedy of Error by Manu Priyadarshi is a bittersweet story set in a dystopian future where comedians are out of work – replaced by a machine that makes you laugh by targeting the frontal lobe of your brain! (People just think of anything!). Don’t let us spoil it for you though, find out what happens by heading over to our blog.
Of course, science fiction just doesn’t feel complete without a good ol’ story about colonizing faraway deserted planets. Forbidden, by John C Mannone, checks the box for this trope, where the protagonist…..why don’t you find out yourself? ;)
When all else fails, we’ll still have poetry. We know, we know (!) it’s a story writing competition but poetry can tell a story too! That Day, by Swarada Jalukar, is a beautiful piece of work that portrays a fantasy land in the author’s mind through some impeccable rhyming. Space for Everyone, by Kuljeet Kaur, is thrilling, relatable, exciting, and melancholic at the same time. These poems can only be done justice by reading them yourself, so hurry up and do so!
With such splendid entries from our previous editions, it can only go uphill from here! Submissions close at the end of this month, so make haste and turn in yours soon. Who knows, it might end up on our blog next!
Written by Pokhee Saharia
