“Burn” is a 2005 science fiction novella by James Patrick Kelly. It is about a farmer-turned-firefighter who accidentally summons the ruler of a distant world to help fight forest fires.

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“Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge” is a 1994 science fiction novella by Mike Resnick. It is set in the far future when a group of anthropological aliens are studying the long and brutal empire of mankind.

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“The Faery Handbag” is a 2004 science fiction novelette by Kelly Link. It is about a girl whose grandmother has a handbag with a whole village of fairies in it.

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“The Green Leopard Plague” is a 2003 science fiction novella by Walter Jon Williams. It is about a genetically altered mermaid who is researching why the founder of her modern society went missing for three weeks.

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“Radiant Doors” is a 1998 science fiction short story by Michael Swanwick. It is about a woman who receives a mysterious gadget from the tyrannical leaders of the future.

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“Small Moments in Time” is a 2004 science fiction short story by John G. Hemry. It is about a time traveling man working in turn-of-the-century Kansas, and the horrible secret he discovers there.

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“They’re Made Out of Meat” is a 1991 science fiction short story by Terry Bisson. It is about a couple of alien scouts who discuss the new race they have discovered.

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“The Empress of Mars” is a 2003 science fiction novella by Kage Baker. It is about a woman who overcomes all sorts of obstacles to build an empire on Mars.

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“Johnny Mnemonic” is a 1981 science fiction short story by William Gibson. It is about a man with some sensitive information implanted in his head, who is running from a Yakuza hit man.

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“The Dead” is a 1996 science fiction short story by Michael Swanwick. It is about a company that re-animates dead people - using zombies as a cheap form of labor.
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“Finisterra” is a 2007 science fiction novelette by David Moles. It is about an engineer from Earth who contracts out to help poachers on a distant world make their biggest kill yet.

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“Mortimer Gray’s History of Death” is a 1995 science fiction novella by Brian Stableford. It is about a nearly immortal man, living in a far future Earth, who writes a life defining Magnum Opus about - you guessed it - death.

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“The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate” is a short story by Ted Chiang that has been nominated for the 2008 Hugo Award for Best Novelette. It is about a fabric merchant in ancient Baghdad who discovers a time portal.

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A 1999 short story that was nominated for the Hugo award, “Ancient Engines” explores the idea of robots that are so self preserving that they actually purchase replacement parts for themselves in a bid to live forever.

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Ever wondered how difficult it would be to communicate with aliens? Probably a bit harder than Star Trek makes it appear - in fact a person might have to change her whole view of the space-time continuum to truly understand their point of view.

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The People of Sand and Slag

by Paolo Bacigalupi

• Word count: 7559
• Page count: 20

“The People of Sand and Slag” is a 2004 science fiction novelette by Paolo Bacigalupi. It is about three genetically enhanced guards who find a strange life form roaming on their employer’s property.

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Scherzo with Tyrannosaur

by Michael Swanwick

• Page count: 13

“Scherzo with Tyrannosaur” is an award winning 1999 science fiction short story by Michael Swanwick.
It is about the director of a dinosaur research center who holds a time-line-polluting fund raiser.

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Kirinyaga

by Mike Resnick

• Page count: 13

“Kirinyaga” is an award winning 1988 science fiction short story by Mike Resnick. It is about a colony of Kikiru living on a utopian world who are investigated for their religious practices.

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Blood Music

by Greg Bear

• Page count: 18

Blood Music is a 1983 award winning science fiction novelette by Greg Bear. It is about a scientist who injects himself with billions of tiny biological computers, and then gets nervous when they start changing his body.

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Bears Discover Fire

by Terry Bisson

• Page count: 7

Bears Discover Fire is a multiple award winning science fiction short story by Terry Bisson. It is about bears that have started making campfires on interstate medians.

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