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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.

7410+ 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 466 of 494

Peregrine

Submitted to Contest #50

The radar ping went from searching to a solid tone. I didn’t need a missile from the backpack launcher to hit this plane. I’d spun right onto his tail almost near enough to grab him. The plasma caster would more than suffice at this range. One more enemy to take down before Highwire destroyed the final missile silo. I extend my arm and take aim. Cloudstreak’s voice came over my headset. “Peregrine, enemy wingsuits at the silo!” In an instant I dove away from the enemy fighter and towards the distant silo. Above it I could see a flurry of t...

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The Only Way

Submitted to Contest #50

 The television screen clicked on, and bright light filled the living room all the way to the edge of the carpeted stairs leading above. The clock above the television read 11:00 PM, and the man holding the remote didn’t bother to even sit down.Lately, relaxing was a tricky thing.The flourishing fanfare of the news broadcast gave way to a white haired anchor in a pressed navy suit introducing himself.“-we begin our broadcast with some breaking news out of the Paris Conference between the Federal Alliance of Earth Nations and the secessi...

7 likes 1 comment 1
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The Nitro Queen

Submitted to Contest #50

Chad could feel butterflies in his stomach. He was sitting across from his girlfriend at a dinner table. The young man waited for the right time to propose to his girlfriend, whose name was Veronica. "You okay, baby?" Veronica asked her boyfriend while stretching her petite hand across the table toward him."Yeah, I'm cool." Chad smiled at his girlfriend while taking hold of her hand. He cleared his throat while sitting up straight. "I was just thinking about something." Chad played with his girlfriend's hand with his gentle eyes studyin...

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The Waiting

Submitted to Contest #49

Anna sat down in the seat, suddenly remembering just how hard and uncomfortable they were. Glancing around the room she noticed a woman in the corner, busy reading a magazine. Across from her sat a couple, the woman leaning back, looking out the window to her right, arms folded across her chest. The man at her left sat forward with his elbows on his needs, staring absentmindedly at the floor. The two were obviously struggling with each other in some way.  She set her purse in the chair next to her, hearing the soft swoosh of the door ...

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Vacation Getaway

Submitted to Contest #49

Barbara and Edward Mann climbed the last few feet of the steep walking trail. They paused and breathed in the sweet, intoxicating aroma of creosote bushes. The horizon swallowed the sun and painted the sky with brilliant colors of red and orange. Saguaro cactuses raised their spiny arms toward the vivid sky.“That afternoon thunderstorm passed through quick,” Barbara said, throwing off her backpack.“Yeah, I’m glad it didn’t last long,” Edward said, “the sky should be clear for the meteor shower.”“I’m almost sorry our vacation is about to end,...

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Status: Illegal

Submitted to Contest #50

My left eye glitched out, again, somewhere around 17th Street. It took a couple sharp raps to my temple to get the sight back on that side, but my night vision was down. Not like that was going to stop me.The glitch wasn’t a new problem, or even the only one, but I hadn’t had the time or money to update any of my gear. My only real chance for either was now safely ensconced in the lining of my ratty old windbreaker. Two more hours, maybe three, tops.I was glad for the soft-soled shoes I’d picked up the previous day. Expensive, but absolutely...

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Splendid

Submitted to Contest #49

He could hear hundreds of train wheels gliding over the tracks as he strolled through the busy station. The number of trains and destinations the huge place supplied never failed to amaze him. So many places to go, yet he was headed for only one. The man’s suitcase clicked against the cement flooring as he headed to Aqua Gate #7. It was not hard for him to tell that he was going in the right direction; the walls were painted in a bright green-blue color, with the words “AQUA GATES” written in a striking black for those who were colorblind. ...

17 likes 2 comments 2
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The Ten Thousand Doors

Submitted to Contest #49

He awoke, as if from a dream. His mind was foggy and lethargic. But like a jolt of electricity, everything came flowing back, and he remembered who he was. “My name is Henry”, he spoke. “And I was born on Earth in 1993” Here, he felt weightless. It was the vast vacuum of space and so, he floated, completely still. Suspended in the dark ether, was the simple wooden door. The door frame glowed a white luminescence. He found himself gravitating, pulled, towards it, reaching out for the handle. Every fiber of his body drawn to the door. He twist...

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The Heart of the Phoenix

Submitted to Contest #49

September 1st, 2048It’s raining. I can see the droplets from my cell window, watch them fall from the sky. Whenever it rains, I press my hand to the window, believing that if I push hard enough, the glass will break, and I’ll be free. It never happens. But it’s at least comforting to know that someone is crying with me.It’s been so long since I’ve felt the drip of rain on my skin. Since the chilly wisps of wind have stroked my face. Since the scent of warm cheese pizza has tickled my nostrils. The only smell here is ...

131 likes 53 comments 53
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Supernova

Submitted to Contest #49

They gathered in silence, lost in their own thoughts in the observation deck of the research station, Jupiter visible through the windows as if hanging against the starlit sky. From their station the gas giant’s red, brown and orange storms looked frozen in time, even though they all knew that the storms were raging at hundreds of miles per hour. James broke the uncomfortable silence with the words he was sure all the scientists in the room were thinking were thinking. “Did we doom us all?” No one answered. No one could know. Not for anoth...

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Five Days, Sixteen Hours, Nine Minutes, and Fifty Seconds

Shortlisted for Contest #49 ⭐️

Crickets chirp, fire crackles, an electronic heartbeat punctuates the dark of night: short long, long short short, short long, short short short, long… A sonic history of the People of the Planet Earth drifts in the silence of deep space somewhere between stars, waiting to be played by an unlikely passerby.  It was a romantic image of Earth’s message to the great beyond, which was in actuality a far cry from the worldly greetings and hand-picked audio of early deep space probes. Instead, Earth leaked culture like a balloon with a ...

36 likes 12 comments 12
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Retirement

Submitted to Contest #49

  David put his eye to the telescope eyepiece, Mars was eluding him. With a sigh, he stepped back and hugged his jacket around him. The temperature had begun to drop after 8, and his light coat was not helping anymore. Walking back into the house he thought about what the problem might be. Mars should be large and visible tonight, and yet he could not get it into focus. Even in less than ideal conditions, it is close enough to get at least a red dot on the scope. He had been viewing it for 5 nights in a row since the beginning of O...

13 likes 1 comment 1
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When The Northern Lights Finally Reach You

Winner of Contest #49 🏆

  I’m sorry, Noah, it reads on the back of the faded postcard he holds. It’s not safe here. Go home. I’ll catch you later.     There’s no signature, not that Noah needs one. Not when he can find that familiar lopsided scrawl etched onto the left side of his soul.    Not when he already knows he’s late.    I’m sorry, Noah.    It isn’t the first time he’s been left behind to deal with the aftermath of those words. They replay over and over in his mind, like a song that’s stuck in his head, one ...

309 likes 192 comments 192
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Do Stars Have Eyes?

Submitted to Contest #49

Do Stars Have Eyes? “Did you volunteer, or were you forced to be here?” The stranger asks me, and I shrug. I don’t know what to say or perhaps I don’t want to spell it out for the flag-wearing stranger next to me. “I’m not sure.” “I volunteered,” the stranger claims almost proudly. “I am doing it for my country.” Ah, the patriotic one, I thought. My third cousin, a worker at one of these testing facilities across the country said that the volunteers fell into three different categories: the patriotic ones, the poetic ones, and then the pa...

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Refreshments anyone?

Submitted to Contest #49

Jennie checks her watch for the umpteenth time, wondering when her turn will be. She arrived an hour early she was so nervous about the whole thing if she missed her chance "again" it would be the end of everything for her and her husband. Her husband wished her luck and told her to keep focused.The other people that had arrived were not as nervous as she was just were better at hiding it than she was. "I cannot believe the spread they put out for everyone some good eats!" said a man enthusiastically while stuffing yet another...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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