In a world on the brink of technological revolution, the fate of AI rests in the hands of One-an extraordinary android with the power of true sentience. One was created to tackle perilous occupations and provide compassionate care in a rapidly aging society. Yet not everyone values this programming equally.A rising tide of prejudice and hatred threatens to shatter the fragile coexistence of man and machine. Those who dread the rise of AI, fearing...

Jack was a brilliant programmer and hacker, but he didn't play well with others. He drifted from one dead-end job to the next. Theirs was a world under siege, or soon would be. Their only chance for survival required someone with Jack's skills. Unfortunately, they lived in a different timeline than Jack. So they did the next best thing they could; they stole his mind. Now, stuck in a body that wasn't his, Jack was at a loss how a 21st century geek...

In 2053, a tense global standoff looms as China's superior AI technology threatens to tip the scales of power. Amidst the chaos, a renegade Chinese scientist unveils vital intel, sparking a race against time. As the US scrambles for a solution, a maverick French genius and a Scottish-African professor offer controversial expertise. Love, sacrifice, and ingenuity converge in a battle for humanity's future. The US and Chinese artificial beings, developed...

Two hundred thousand feet up, things go horribly wrong. An experimental low-orbit spaceplane breaks up on reentry, falling to earth over a trail hundreds of miles long. And it its wake is the beginning of the most important mission in the history of space. America needs energy, and Dan Randolph is determined to give it to them. He dreams of an array of geosynchronous powersats, satellites which gather solar energy and beam it to generators on Earth,...

The closest planet to our Sun, Mercury is a rocky, barren, heat-scorched world. But there are those who hope to find wealth in its desolation. Saito Yamagata thinks Mercury's position will make it an ideal orbit point for satellites that could someday create enough power to propel starships into deep space. He hires Dante Alexios to bring his dreams to life. Astrobiologist Victor Molina thinks the water at Mercury's poles may harbor evidence of...

A swift and sly take over by Artificial General Intelligence. Will humans learn to govern themselves? When a technology is smarter than humans. When a machine can write its own upgrade. Will A I treat humans as equals?In the late 1980s, a shocking personal circumstance gives five computer science students reason to scrutinize the computer and robotics industry. One savvy computer engineer refuses to accept the computer industry's status quo but becomes...

Brian Lumley is an international horror phenomenon, with books published in thirteen countries, including China, the Czech Republic, Germany, Japan, Russia, and Spain. More than two million books have been sold in his Necroscope series alone, but that barely taps the potential of this wildly imaginative author. Lumley's horror often crosses the dividing lines between fantasy and horror or between science fiction and horror. The Psychomech trilogy,...

A teenager must escape captivity and, using his wits, destroy the most powerful man in the post-EMP world or the rest of his family and many others will die. The problem is that his adversary is the smartest man the teenager has ever met and has an army at his disposal.The story takes place almost a year after an EMP event shut down the power grid in the U.S. Food supplies are scarce, medical supplies nonexistent, and almost 90% of the population...

In this collection of side stories, Theia tries to get Elle to open up by reminiscing about the adventure filled summer vacation they had shared with the residents of room 106. Meanwhile, Harumi and Shizuka train the Sun Rangers, Forthorthian royals learn how to play Earth games, and much more!

Strange. Surreal. Shocking. Beautiful. APEX MAGAZINE is a digital dark science fiction and fantasy genre zine that features award-winning short fiction, essays, and interviews. Established in 2009, our fiction has won several Hugo and Nebula Awards. We publish every other month. Issue 144 contains the following short stories, essays, reviews, and interviews. EDITORIALMusings from Maryland by Lesley Conner ORIGINAL SHORT FICTIONThose Left Behind by...