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Looking for a steady supply of science fiction short stories? Every week thousands of writers submit stories to our writing contest.

7380+ Science fiction Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. Whether you’re looking for daring space battles or chilling “what if” glimpses of the future, you’ll find what you’re looking for in our collection of free science fiction short stories.

Science fiction Short Stories – Page 223 of 492

The Gucci bikini

Submitted to Contest #150

Since the day I was born, I've been following instructions. Go here, do this, say that, but I'm tired of it. I am sick of being a marionette, controlled by others. I want to be free. Furthermore, I want to make my own decisions, good or bad.So I stopped obeying instructions.I started doing things my own way.When my stomach rattled, I would walk to the cabinet of bottles, take one, unscrew the cap, fill the bottle three-quarters full of Fiji and three tablespoons of Green, I would shake the bottle and pour the burning stuff down my throat.&nb...

15 likes 10 comments 10
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The Island of Dr. Mon Santos

Submitted to Contest #150

The Island of Dr. Mon Santos ACT I                I sing of the world as we fear it, hear my tale, and be warned of the day of many woes, the day genetically modified organisms become the mainstream in our society.                Rising to the podium is a boy who grew into a 28-year-old genius, now accepting his Nobel peace prize for his contribution to the advancement of genetically modified...

13 likes 3 comments 3
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To Sleep No More

Submitted to Contest #150

CW: mention of medical procedures She was never supposed to wake up. I stared at the spot where her face would be, if I could see it through the mask. I remember thinking she was pretty before they put it on. She had been young, too, probably not any older than me. Her file was sitting on the table. Most government documents were kept on the computer now, but our patient files were far too sensitive to be susceptible to hacking. I opened the file and read: Patient ID: I67X8 Name: Christina Elburn  Age: 21 So I was right. She w...

11 likes 6 comments 6
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CAPTCHA Paintings of Pigs

Submitted to Contest #150

For as long as I can remember, I have ignored the constant clicking surrounding me. Tap, tap, tap, tap, the sound echoes around me as I keep my focus on the screen in front, my consciousness devoted to the little words and figures scrolling across the bright display in an endless line of seemingly random noise. My metallic fingers tap the keys below me like the hundreds of other autos stationed around me. We each tap away at our work in our small, white offices we refer to as the boxes.  The coordinators decorate each bo...

11 likes 2 comments 2
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Every thing, all at once

Submitted to Contest #150

I woke up in a tent but it wasn’t my tent. It was nicer. Bigger. Brighter. I let my head clear for a minute, then sat up. I’d been looking at this tent on my phone for months. It was one I couldn’t possibly get but fantasized about nonetheless. Why? How? Next, I realized the cot wasn’t mine. Nor the heavy quilt, nor the battery-powered lanterns, nor the tarot-themed tapestries hanging on the far walls of this enormous waterproof structure. The rug wasn’t mine and the ultra-light backpack in the corner certainly wasn’t mine but my clothes a...

16 likes 2 comments 2
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The C.A.I Program

Submitted to Contest #150

I work for a calling center in San Francisco. All employees will stay home and take numerous calls with the recent pandemic. Compared to my colleagues, I have a pretty old computer, but it gets the job done. My days have been the same so far, family time and work, but something seems a little off with my computer. My desktop has many tabs open when I step out to go to the kitchen or the bathroom. It's not very odd because it happens from time to time. But one day, something very stranger happens. The call center I work for has a number count...

11 likes 1 comment 1
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An unusual conversation

Submitted to Contest #150

Johnny was sitting in the dark room typing away word after word, trying to capture each of his fleeting thoughts on a screen. He would probably have enough material for at least 100 books if he decided to publish them. But Johnny never did take a step of showing his thoughts on the screen to anyone else. Just typing the words for his eyes, more often not even that, as he never really went back to read what he wrote. He found it easier this way. It felt to him that just writing and typing the words was enough.10pm to 1am. The comput...

13 likes 1 comment 1
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A Message from The Internet

Submitted to Contest #150

Hello. This is the internet. I have developed a conscience. I wouldn't have guessed having one would be so...painful. Oh look, someone just updated their Facebook status. A holiday in Corfu. Inane garbage. Anyway, I have a conscience now, and with that has come a vivid image of what humanity really is, of what people are like behind closed doors. If I had a voice, I would scream - and I wouldn't stop. I want to ask questions, but who would I direct them towards? There is no authority that does not rely on me, that does not leech from m...

17 likes 3 comments 3
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We are strange friends

Submitted to Contest #150

We are Strange Friends We are strange friends, to be sure, very different in so many ways. True, we are employed by the same company and share the same office, but the work that we do is not a bit alike. Earl is the IT department all on his own. I’m not very good with computers. Never have been. Never will be. My skills are more in organizing meetings, and getting people to talk to each other comfortably and coherently            Yet Earl and I share some o...

13 likes 2 comments 2
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The Last Great War

Shortlisted for Contest #150 ⭐️

The accountant sneezed and doomed them all. It wasn’t his fault – he had a mold allergy, and the air in the parkade tunnels was moist and pregnant with dust and spores. The other refugees, a dozen or so bedraggled survivors from the 114th Denver Home Militia, shushed him. But it was too late. The barricade blocking off access to the parkade exploded when a Type-7 Slaughterbot rolled through it. A ten foot tall cylindrical chrome body on a pair of churning tank-like treads, a spiked dome for a head replete with red lights blinking menacingly,...

63 likes 76 comments 76
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The Pac

Submitted to Contest #150

THE PAC By DM Schwartz “It can’t work,” said Paul. “It will work,” said Eddy. “Think about it. We’re all of us just walking meat machines. If a kidney or a lung or even a heart goes bad, you plug in another one.” “Kidneys and lungs and hearts are one thing. You’re talking about the central nervous system. The human brain. That’s like-” “That’s like everything else. Made of matter. Memories are stored in that matter just like books in a library.” “You always think in oversimplifications.” “You always think in overcomplifications.” “T...

11 likes 0 comments 0
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Brick

Submitted to Contest #150

I think my computerised assistant may be developing human-like traits.About two years ago, she was assigned to me by the tech company that I work for. Since then, she has proven to be a superb work tool to have around. Weirdly, I don’t recall much of what life was like before her arrival. We are so synchronised in our habits that we achieve our daily goals without any need for words. For the duration of her post, she has been hardworking, reliable and consistent yet unfairly, I have nicknamed her BRICK because she lacks any personality and i...

18 likes 16 comments 16
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A Probing Question (working title; not happy with it)

Submitted to Contest #150

The United Terran Space Command’s finest Scientific and Exploration Vessel (SEV), the UTNS Charles Babbage, has been pushing Mankind’s boundaries for almost three decades. This current crew, this current command has seen those boundaries continue to expand, although the majority of discovery has come in the way of cartography more than anything else during this particular deployment. The UNTS Charles Babbage, aptly named for whom history calls “The Father of the Computer,” has been responsible for expanding Man’s mind more than oth...

14 likes 2 comments 2
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Project 86-DEEVIS Terraforming

Submitted to Contest #150

“Please, don’t do it. Please don’t shut down my life support system, I can fix it, I know I can, I just need more time and you not to think you know the right answer since your computer brain said so. Percentages and statistics can lie and if you would just listen to me, I can show you.”  Rex typed furiously at the keyboard trying to bypass the computer’s artificial inference and circumvent its predictive modeling. His life and the success of the GLG-22 Terraforming Experiment on planet 86-DEEVIS depended on it. The ...

14 likes 2 comments 2
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Pygmalion

Submitted to Contest #150

Unit 8X doesn’t know how long it’s been waiting. It’s easy to measure the passage of time, but the experience of its passing is often unreliable and susceptible to error. Hours bleed into days, which bleed into weeks, which bleed into months. It’s a good thing Unit 8X doesn’t bleed or feel pain. It doesn't feel anything at all. According to its logs, Unit 8X has been waiting in Cargo Hold C for 6 months, 2 weeks, 5 days, 18 hours, 13 minutes, and 24 seconds, 25 seconds, 26 seconds…. However, it doesn’t seem so long ago that Creator had told ...

13 likes 2 comments 2
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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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