Set your story beyond our own world.

Posted in Science Fiction on Feb 18, 2022

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✍️ 50 stories

“Beyond The Silver Line” by Echo Sundar

Submitted to Contest #134

The trees dance in the wind. Their pale purple leaves fall off of long golden branches whose roots stretch deep beyond the pale bluegrass and deep into the core of Ziniriya. The trees sing their songs and whisper secrets in your ears, the soft melody filling you up. Birds with long silver tail feathers fly over cotton candy skies, their chirps echoing like ringing bells and laughter making you wish you were in on the joke. A stream runs throughout changing from yellow to pink to green as it bounces over rocks splashing the rocks with its swe...

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“The Plutonians Are Coming” by Maggie Gibbs

Submitted to Contest #134

TW// Mental HealthI found him. I peered down the alley and saw the man digging through a dumpster. I didn’t recognize him in the visual sense of the word but as he turned and looked toward me, my heart recognized him. I felt a flood of emotions. Some went through me so quick I might’ve missed them. Sadness was at the forefront.I picked up my phone and dialed mom. I know it’s him. What if I can get him to come home? What if I can get him help? What if I can get him back to normal? The line rang so many times I nearly hung up, but just as I wa...

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“She's Coming Home” by Ekta Garg

Submitted to Contest #134

Luna stood at the stove mixing the oatmeal, watching so it wouldn’t burn. She’d offered Kion a steak to celebrate. She’d even planned ahead, spending time at the market to pick the finest cuts of meat and scrutinizing the potatoes and beans. Berries, she thought as she moved to the fresh fruit. Kion loves berry pie. We can have that for dessert tonight. &nb...

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“BLANK.ZeroZeroOne” by Suma Jayachandar

Submitted to Contest #134

On planet AUM.108 ashes are sacred. The shadow of its inhabitants is never lonely. For it has two suns. When the two suns are equidistant from AUM.108 its inhabitants congregate. They sit cross-legged on the grey ground, place their purple translucent upper limbs on their knees and close the single eye on their foreheads. And begin to chant. A chakra begins to grow at the base of every throat, a glowing lapis lazuli. The conscience connector wedged as liquid emerald in their chests branches out like a tendril. The salty orange rivers freeze....

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“As Nature Intended” by Kenneth Goldman

Submitted to Contest #134

As Nature Intended by Ken Goldman Geoffrey’s ultimate decision felt right. He had to smile whi...

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“When I’m Cleaning Satellites ” by Kev Neylon

Submitted to Contest #134

Contains language that some may find offensive. I really should have studied properly when I was at school. I could be doing a proper job now if I had. I could be a bartender, a spaceship washer, or a refuelling jockey. But no, I was too much of a smart arse to do any studying at school on Gemini III. I thought I didn’t need to do any studying. I thought I would be moving back to Earth where I could be a professional slacker; living off my father’s money once he had finished his term as the human ambassador to the Castor half of the Gemini...

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“Trapped Between Two Worlds” by McCampbell Molly

Submitted to Contest #134

Sila was exhausted. He walked into the galley, stretching his arms high over his head, then bringing them down to rub his eyes. All he wanted to do was curl back up in bed and pull the covers over his head. His eyelids were still heavy, and he swayed a little as he reached for the coffee. But even more than being sleepy, he was just plain tired. He could feel it deep down in his bones. His legs and arms felt heavy and ached, as if he had run a marathon.Yanti took one look at him. Her voice sounded muted to him. “Let me guess, my crystal ball...

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“Be Wary of Crooked Halos” by Bay Nichols

Submitted to Contest #134

“Just press that button there and it all restarts.” A man dressed in shimmering white robes appeared in the distance. He smiled. A crooked halo sat on top of a head of fluffy brown hair. He raised his hands in the air and a beautiful world came to life. A forest of trees sprouted to the skies, their leaves dripping with god-like power. Streams of crystal blue water flowed to the right, and to the left stood white-tipped mountain ranges. Beyond the conjured horizon, the arms of lively flames moved with the breeze. All the elements in ...

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“The Absolutely True Story of Gork and Slarb” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #134

Many time cycles in a different notion of our galaxy, Gitfangula was born. Wait, that really is not fair. How could I possibly begin the story of those two that way? In the celestial voids of Marnus and Minuous, there was a plan (oh, yes, that’s much better). In the minds of the elders of those sacred spaces, there was an urgent need to create a place where their thoughts could meander and grow without causing too much of a headache. At first, this idea, like all great ideas, was considered controversial and silly, so no more was said about ...

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“Defeated Through Darkness” by Lennox Ducksworth

Submitted to Contest #134

If you gaze hard enough, the cavernous ceiling turns into a sky of gold when the orb comes to our level—that’s what Uncle Nate used to say. When the warm light rose to the next level, the golden sky disappeared and the cloak of choking darkness returned. It leaves…like everyone else. The light was her companion like Ally was—was. Focus, Amalea flicked her skull. She extended the rusty telescope and searched the vast rooftops of the cramped city. Smoke rose from torn wooden and iron roofs and mild screams filled the metropolis; she bit...

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“The Ones from the Stars” by Silvia De Matteis

Submitted to Contest #134

The hive lazily groaned awake. And at the same time, It lay down to rest. In truth, It never truly slept; some beings were active during the day while others favoured the night. Fewer were crepuscular, bridging the gap between life in the light and in the dark. Sunrise and sunset were troubling times, with microbes either powering down or coming to. But it was a predictable sort or confusion. Most things were. And it was always day and night, sunrise and sunset, somewhere on the Surface. Nothing like local disturbances, setting regions awake...

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“Genesis on Ganymede” by Zach Martz

Submitted to Contest #134

Construction had finally wrapped up on the artificial habitat that stood alone in the massive rocky field. It was little more than a white canvas tent fifty feet in diameter, secured to the ground with large titanium bolts, but it was the only mark of human civilization in the entire world. The three astronauts that had built it were now seated outside the Hab in their spacesuits, gazing up at the foreboding brown-gray sky. Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, cast a gigantic shadow over their new home.“Ladies and gentlemen,” one...

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“Merry Spacemen” by David Brown

Submitted to Contest #134

The cockpit of the fringers’ freighter rocked violently, as a portion of cargo in its hold shook loose and slammed against the bulkhead. Warning beacons and alarms blinked and panicked across the ship’s dashboard and heads-up displays like the desert lights of old Las Vegas. A shrill klaxon sounded as the vessel’s commander tried to hold her ship on course, but suddenly the bulky transport was outside the Q-space shipping lane and tumbling wildly through the void. If the pilot and co-pilot were not strapped in they would’ve found themselves ...

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“The Island of Women” by Barbara Burgess

Submitted to Contest #134

Once upon a time in a kingdom far from here there was an island and on that island lived a tribe of women who were so beautiful it is said you would not want to leave the island but would want to lie in their arms forever being caressed and loved. The women are tall, slender, with tanned skin, long dark wavy hair, blue eyes, small noses and full lips. It is also said that the waters around the island are treacherous, filled with sunken sailing ships that floundered on the jagged rocks and all on board eaten by the sea monsters that swam ...

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“The Men Are Dead” by Patrick Juhl

Submitted to Contest #134

The men are dead. Strangled. In their sleep. Gods-be-damned if I know how to pilot a ship–not out here, in the vastness of the stars. I could do it en-atmos, where there are landmarks, but out here... blue hells, the stars all look the same. “What about that one there, sir,” Errol asked, pointing to a pinprick of light that looked like all the others in the velvet blackness of eternity. “What about it?” I didn’t look at him. My stomach, it already flipped and swam like a roiling pot of water, and the skin… the skin dangling from lieutenan...

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Set your story beyond our own world.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 50 stories

“Beyond The Silver Line” by Echo Sundar

“The Plutonians Are Coming” by Maggie Gibbs

“She's Coming Home” by Ekta Garg

“BLANK.ZeroZeroOne” by Suma Jayachandar

“As Nature Intended” by Kenneth Goldman

“When I’m Cleaning Satellites ” by Kev Neylon

“Trapped Between Two Worlds” by McCampbell Molly

“Be Wary of Crooked Halos” by Bay Nichols

“The Absolutely True Story of Gork and Slarb” by Kendall Defoe

“Defeated Through Darkness” by Lennox Ducksworth

“The Ones from the Stars” by Silvia De Matteis

“Genesis on Ganymede” by Zach Martz

“Merry Spacemen” by David Brown

“The Island of Women” by Barbara Burgess

“The Men Are Dead” by Patrick Juhl

🌟 Similar prompts

Your character, by chance or habit, peers through a telescope. They see something unusual — what is it?

Write about a character who has a ‘hot and cold’ personality — or is affected by someone like this.

End your story with a character looking out on a new horizon.

Write from the POV of someone, or something, that experiences gravity differently.

Contest #134

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

224

Contest entries

128

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: