The Here of This Now: Science Fiction Stories

THE HERE OF THIS NOW
＂The small round shimmer of light formed between three zero-point energy fields and grew to become a large, upright, dark puddle, full of shapes and shadows. The green light flashed, Svana pointed at me and I stepped through the link, into the core flow. And back.＂

FISH GIRL
＂The figure was a finely clothed female but with long snake-like hair waving away from her head; her body where you could see it, was covered in fine pale scales, she was beautiful and sad at the same time. I felt a shudder of fear.＂

A CONVERSATION WITH LAST RESORT
＂This is Captain Carter of the Empress of Elar we are now under attack. I am raising the request level to critical and life threatening.＂

LOVEALOTT INTERSOLAR REMOVALS
＂They call themselves the tremenysi, which in Cornish means travellers, and their appearance is different to some people. I’ve never met any of them, but my great-grandmother was one of the first children to be ’educated, ’ along with yours, and my brother was one of the last. He doesn’t talk about it and I don’t ask.＂

THE TIME TRAVEL TREE
＂We steal things. Time was always aware; it tolerated us like the irritating little mice that we were, nibbling away at the skirting boards of the universe.＂