To The Sci-fi Gazette

The SciFi Gazette--shining beacon of non-cliché speculative fiction. Submission guidelines had listed discouraged themes; ‘dystopias’ were number one: bad news for a pessimist like myself.

The state of the world sank home for me when The Gazette’s most hackneyed theme changed to ‘utopias.’ Still, they never published my bleak predictions.

I’d intended to kick down the door, but it already hung on its hinges. Scattered papers decorated shattered furniture. I luckily bagged a tatty anthology edition for later reading.

The editor was, of course, not there. On her desk, I deposited my latest story. I had high hopes--my first utopia.

From Guest Contributor Tris Matthews

Her Weary Madness

There she goes again, completely absurd. Nothing she says is true or worthwhile. But she's livid, wreaking havoc on all of us, destroying our mood and self-worth over invented situations; she, the perpetual victim.

The little guy is so young; does he realize this isn't normal? Should I calm her? Argue? Agree? It doesn’t matter I should know, after 17 years. I escape momentarily…is there a normal reality beyond this, a calmer, serene existence? Or am I fabricating a comforting utopia?

Tomorrow, she won't apologize, or even remember this madness. But it’s real and I must stay to protect them.

From Guest Contributor Henry Eutaw