Showing results by author "Craig A. Falconer" in All Categories

For thousands of years, man has reigned supreme over nature. But deep in the African jungle, at the edge of Genusphere's controversial research facility, a challenger rises. Broken fences. Smashed cameras. Unusual tracks in the mud. The locals talk of apes behaving strangely. Sarah O’Leary, leader of the genetic research team, rubbishes their warnings - until the first bodies are found. The Genusphere compound locks down amid a media blackout, but the villagers fear it could already be too late.

Across oceans and ages, the same tales have persisted. The lights in the sky. The whirring sounds at night. The ships that cross the darkness and the headaches that come when they pass overhead. But for some, the feelings have intensified. Lately, it all feels...closer. EJ, a humble artist, senses that the long-foreseen arrival is imminent. Denounced as a self-promoter seeking attention and fame, he finds few listeners, but never stops trying to raise the alarm. When dusk falls, the prophecy rains down.

In the high-tech paradise of Indigo Sands, perfection exists. Or so they think.... For Bianca Blane, a young but jaded online influencer, the fame she once sought now weighs heavily on her shoulders. When she receives an exclusive invitation to spend a preview week in the cutting-edge tourist resort of Indigo Sands, Bianca seizes the opportunity to disconnect from her increasingly demanding followers. Indigo Sands strikes Bianca as truly pristine - perfect in every way. But before too long, a veil is lifted. Because behind the facade, nothing is as it seems....

Beyond Horizons explores classic sci-fi themes through a contemporary lens. Continuing the legacy of decades gone by, these fast-paced standalone stories offer wondrous settings, philosophical sci-fi questions, and twists that pack a punch.

Chad Mitchell is an outsider. Born on an alien-controlled colony and with human servants for parents, a good life was never in his future. But as he develops into a remarkably fast learner and unrivaled pilot, Chad finds himself valued more and more by his autocratic alien overlords. From the edge of the colony's inner circle, the true extent of the aliens' wickedness becomes apparent. Chad's human friends watch him mingle with the leadership and think he has changed - that he has sold out to the oppressors - but Chad Mitchell knows better.

As the well-tipped tour guide at a model town within a nuclear test site in 1950s Nevada, Darren Murphy has a job to die for. His work is easy and relaxed, much like himself, drawing envy from his wide circle of friends. But one fateful day, after one particularly late night in the burgeoning city of Las Vegas, Darren makes a huge mistake. "I'll try my best to get us all out of here before the next bomb goes off..." Murphy often jokes to his rapt tour groups. Only this time, due to a slip-up no one could have foreseen, his best might not be enough.

When one door closes, another world opens....But it wasn't supposed to go like this. The mission was simple. I took every precaution. I had done it a thousand times before. But this time it was different. Something went wrong. And I've called for help, but no one hears. I'll admit it: I don't know how to get home. Hell, I don't even know where I am. And worst of all... wherever I am, I don't think I'm alone.

When Judy Fletcher's life is at its lowest ebb, she jumps at the chance to trial a truly next-gen digital assistant. Oracle promises to change everything. By harnessing live and historical data from billions of users' messages, habits and even real-world conversations, there is almost nothing the app can't do. As Judy's life immediately changes for the better, she feels empowered like never before.

When the government's new private welfare system begins rewarding unemployed viewers for watching the right kind of ads, Roger Birch welcomes a Funscreen into his home. Like millions of others, Roger and his family soon depend on ad-viewing income for their survival. Unlike millions of others, the events of one uncomfortable evening leave Roger aware of the government's shadier reasons for investing in Funscreens.

All eyes fall on the closing stages of a colony-defining isolation test within Terradox’s least hospitable zone—the man-made hellscape of Little Venus, where six astronauts-in-training have survived 51 weeks surrounded by an almost impossibly hostile atmosphere. But while the astronauts of tomorrow count down their final few days until freedom, the gravest threat of all might already be on the wrong side of their Isolation Kompound’s impenetrable walls....

There's no time like the present, but there's no place like Yester Year... When Paula Frederick gets a weekend job on Dream Rock, a former prison island that now serves as the world's largest leisure destination, she can hardly believe her luck. Dream Rock's outlandish surroundings are a welcome break from her studies. Paula's fully costumed role within the island's smallest zone, a medieval-themed amusement park called Yester Year, seems set to allow for even more immersive fun than she imagined.

Dylan Kline, salesman extraordinaire, eyes Saturn's moons as his ultimate cosmic jackpot. As global attention turns towards the first launch of the billionaire's ambitious project, the stakes could hardly be higher. Kline's advanced rocketry has finally enabled heavy long-distance transit, opening up a new frontier of unimaginable revenue opportunities.

With huge funding behind them, ChronoTonic claims to have achieved the impossible. The corporation is pushing its new machine — a time machine — as the solution to Earth's problems. I'm just not buying it. They want to buzz forward in time, pick up a few technological advancements, and buzz back to apply them in the here and now. They say we can save lives and reduce suffering by learning the lessons of the future — today.

When a group of prize-winning high school graduates blasted off on a mission to space, their parents beamed with pride. When news of the disaster came in, a nation mourned. But nothing is truly as it seems.