Write a retro-futuristic sci-fi story. Retro-futuristic science fiction looks backward to imagine tomorrow. Its charm lies in the tension between optimism and anxiety: visions of the future filtered through the design languages, social hopes, and technological limits of their own eras. These stories are not forecasts so much as cultural time capsules, preserving what a generation wanted the future to be, or feared it might become. Early retro-futurism often radiated faith in progress. In...

Editors' Choice: "The Mouth Beneath the Mountain" by Sophie Lennox   is the editor's pick as the best theme story for September/October. Congratulations Sophie! Last month's theme prompt, Terrestrial Settings,  ended on October 15th, with the final accepted entry published on November 12th. We had ten theme submissions set in locations on or near dear old Earth. Here's a summary of the winning story: The Mouth Beneath the Mountain by Sophie Lennox The Mouth Beneath the Mountain  is a quiet...

Write a sci-fi story about a mysterious object in the sky. Throughout human history, people have looked to the skies for signs, interpreting unusual celestial phenomena as messages from the gods, warnings of disaster, or hints of major change. Ancient civilizations recorded appearances of comets, bright “guest stars,” and eclipses, each seen as a portent. In China, for example, comets were often viewed as harbingers of political upheaval or natural disasters. Roman and Greek writers likewise...