Escape Pod

We wanted to give you a quick update of the goings-on at Escape Pod. It’s the first of what we expect to be many positive developments in 2016, so hold onto your socks!

The Hunter Captain

by David John Baker

"The sign for the survivor's species is 'human,'" said Kyber, "although I am unsure of the exact pronunciation."

Hunter Captain Sra examined the data feed, zooming in on an image of the human’s brain. "Have you discovered anything in her nervous system that might function as a seat of consciousness?" said Sra.

"There is one promising organ. An intersection here, between the two hemispheres of the brain. But we've found such things before, in highly developed animals. I see no particular reason for optimism."

Although he knew it was naive, Sra was optimistic. For once his hunter's skills might not be needed--if the human was in fact a sentient alien being. Although it meant Explorer Captain Kyber would retain command of the ship, the prospect of true first contact spoke to a dream Sra had cultivated since his infancy.

Sra was old enough to recall an earlier age, when no one believed that the Nampranth were alone. A time before their race journeyed outside the home system--before they found a galaxy infested with intelligent animals and bereft of sentient life.

Already this mission seemed different. Sra had never heard of a more auspicious contact. They'd found the alien ship alone, disabled--apparently by a freak collision with a cosmic string. Its single passenger was recovered still unconscious, its computer's artificial animal dormant but intact. The animal's architecture had so far resisted interface with Nampranth computers, but Kyber's explorers had already learned much from the ship's markings. It was a perfect opportunity for slow, cautious study before beginning the delicate process of contact.

by David John Baker narrated by Mat Weller This story has not been previously published. Discuss on our forums.  For a list of all Escape Pod stories, authors and narrators, visit our sortable Wikipedia page Thank you for visiting us on Facebook and Twitter about the author… Aside from my philosophical essays, I also write short science fiction stories.  Some of […]

Among the Living

by John Markley

Williams perceives a world of hazy reds and angular grays. He sees through smoke and through walls. He sees the fury of fires and the sparks of life in survivors hundreds of yards away. He sees every crack and buckle in the structure around him.

Most importantly, he can’t see Chicago's burning skyline as it would look to his own eyes.

The bulky door barring him from the interior of Waldron Arcology shudders as Williams’ gauntlet-mounted saw tears through its hinges, then falls outward. McIlrath, Principe, and Armstrong catch it, lowering it to the ground while Williams' saw retracts. Team Leader Garcia shouts commands.

The room beyond is an inferno. The five step aside, and a great blast of fire-retardant dust blasts from the Vertical Take-Off/Landing transport on the landing pad.

They advance into what had been the terminal for the 150th floor’s south landing pad. Williams takes the lead, metal ringing under his 500-pound weight with every step. There’s no need for anyone in full Evac Team Armor to wait for the fire to go out; extinguishing it isn't for their benefit.

Fire-choking sodium chloride and melting thermoplastics spread across every surface, covering everything but sparing Williams nothing. He sees through it as if it were air, sees the skeletal ultrasound reflections of every person who died here.

They died very quickly, Williams reminds himself. One of the floor's main corridors runs straight through the center of the building to here. The shock wave of superheated atmosphere and debris had been channeled towards this place unimpeded, crushing and incinerating them before they could have registered what was happening.

He hopes. He hopes most of the 150,000 people living here died that way.

by John Markley narrated by Carl Allery Discuss on our forums.  For a list of all Escape Pod stories, authors and narrators, visit our sortable Wikipedia page Thank you for visiting us on Facebook and Twitter about the narrator… Carl Allery has sold a couple of stories (Farthing Magazine, Killers ed. Colin Harvey), had a couple read out loud (BBC local radio, Escape Pod) […]

Scrapmetal

by Nan Craig

This bloke was as ordinary as you'd get. His own patches seemed good – seamless, no tics or sags, which gave me a bit of confidence. I wondered if he'd even done some of them himself. His surgery – because it turned out he was properly licensed for teeth and eyes – was as neat and rundown as he was. Burn marks in the carpet. The walls and chairs were grimy with fingerprints. The only clean thing in there was his kit, and for that at least I breathed relief. It was a residential house in Grangetown, with an ordinary looking dentist's chair in the back room, letters of qualification framed on the walls. But he lead me through that room, and up the stairs.

by Nan Craig narrated by Cat Rambo This story was previously published in Arc Magazine, issue 1.3 ‘Afterparty Overdrive,’ September 2012.. Discuss on our forums.  For a list of all Escape Pod stories, authors and narrators, visit our sortable Wikipedia page Thank you for visiting us on Facebook and Twitter   about the author… Nan Craig holds an MSc in Global Politics from […]

Would you like to be able to access all of the Artemis Rising 2 episodes in one place? Of course you would! Well this is it. We’ll add them as they are released from now until the deal is done, and then you’ll know where to return to find them all when you want to […]

Windows

by Beth Goder

After just three years, most of Gurt’s downtown was nearly unrecognizable. Roldan Street boasted a new tea shop, and the roads had been repaved with greenish eco-tar. Even the old sign at Marta’s Bakery, which had been shaped like a pink cupcake, was replaced with sleek blue lettering.

Score another one for the prophetic soup.

The library sported new windows, stained glass whorls of teal and gold, while Grocery Plus had removed the panoramic window which used to overlook the river. That was the first thing I noticed when I came back, the windows.

I’d spent a lot of time looking out of windows, back when I lived in Gurt. I couldn’t go outside during the dust storms, because of my asthma, so I’d waited inside wherever I happened to be when the storm hit. But dust is all the same, just one blank, swirling vortex, so instead of watching the storms I started looking at the windows. Marta’s Bakery used to have the most beautiful violet windows, circular, like a morning bun with icing on top. Not that I eat morning buns, anymore.

I promised myself when I moved away from Gurt that I’d never come back, not after Sara left me at the altar. On the day of our wedding, I waited for hours at the church window (clean, but with the latch rusted off), fingering the beading on my beautiful white dress, while all of the guests snuck out, except for my family, who had transported in for the ceremony. Dad enveloped me in a hug, while Mom said that she had never liked Sara anyway, reminding me of the time Sara had ruined our trip to Seldar by whining about the swamp smell. It helped, but not very much.

Would you like to be able to access all of the Artemis Rising 2 episodes in one place? Of course you would! Well this is it. We’ll add them as they are released from now until the deal is done, and then you’ll know where to return to find them all when you want to […]