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Discover weekly, the best short stories

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

7300+ 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 487 of 487

The Renegade Alien Princess

Submitted to Contest #8

“How long until we reach our next planet?” a woman dressed in a red suit asked her crew who were toiling away at their computers. Outside the cockpit windows, stars and asteroids floated in the empty space air. “We will arrive very shortly Captain,” a man dressed in a blue suit, the woman’s second in command, answered at once.“We should dock in less than half a day.” “Brilliant,” the captain grinned, her green eyes sparkling in excitement.“What atmosphere are we walking into?” “We’ll be able to breathe in the atmosphere,” one of the crew at ...

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The astronaut

Submitted to Contest #8

The roar of rocket thrusters, the shaking of the shuttle, rattling the inside of the capsule invigorated me. The force of gravity made me feel as though i was melting into my seat. "We have lift off", static in my ear from the earpiece of NASA confirming we were air bound. Straight through the clouds, the ground disappearing within seconds. Instruments glowing and gages flowing, telling us the temperature and altitude.The heat of the atmosphere sucking the ship in and spitting it out into darkness. The vastness of it all was breath taking. A...

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Drifting

Submitted to Contest #8

I’ve been drifting through space for a long time. A few hundred years, maybe. I’ve come to think of it as an openness, an unknowable gap. In a moment, this will end.I was a young man, maybe in my early twenties, when the company assigned me to a system of telescopes orbiting Earth called the ASTRO-2. They monitored classified information which was never revealed to me. Its observatory required mission and payload specialists to control operations. I was paired with astronaut Devon Pine and together we were assigned a mission to upgrade its U...

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Test Tubes

Submitted to Contest #8

My eyes open, and all at once, I'm awake. I blink a few times. The LED bulbs are bright, but the vast darkness outside seems to suck in the light and not give any of it back. I stand up, going to sit by the window. Outside is blackness and a scattering of stars. Far off, I can see the cold blue of Earth. Home. The words wake a distant memory in my head - hugs and snow and evenings by the fire. A woman whispering goodnight before kissing me on the forehead lightly and closing the door. But all that is gone now, and there's no use dwelling on ...

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Space Ring

Submitted to Contest #8

"I thought we were partners! You were the first who wanted this project. And now..." Susan clapped her hand down on the keyboard, it would have broken in two if only she had hit it a little harder. "This was our ticket out of this wretched mess."The recent retail apocalypse had all of the city scrambling to make enough to feed themselves, let alone pay rent and the bills. Online business was beginning to take off and Susan desperately, since Dan had talked her into trying something new, wanted to get in before the market became oversaturated...

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Immortal

Submitted to Contest #8

It was the human desire for longevity that birthed me. Without a body and without a face, I exist as long as matter exists, as far as matter exists. I wasn't always this way though. Many years ago, or was it decades? Maybe it could have been centuries. Time doesn't flow straight for me so I cannot tell. But long, long ago, I had a form. I had skin the color of caramel. Although you may not know what skin is or what caramel is since you don't know what food is. Maybe imagine the rocks of mars but duller? Like the blood was drained from them. ...

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Streaming Sunlight

Submitted to Contest #8

The clear black of space felt endless and out of reach, but he had worked hard to get there. The astronaut turned the latch and the door hissed open onto the blackness. Deep shadows echoed back from the floating rocks around him. What stories they would tell, if only he could take just a sample back to Earth.  The astronaut took a step out of the shuttle door and onto the porous surface of the asteroid and shuttered. It was not due to the emptiness of space, but because he had no way of knowing what he would face on the space rock. ...

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The Chance

Submitted to Contest #8

Jexx felt his hand being gripped as if his hand was the last lifeline left. He glanced at Avill, his wife and his eyes told her more than words from his mouth could. “Is this really it?” she asked him. “We’re really going to Earth?”He nodded. “We have no other choice. Our home… it’s gone. We can live in peace amongst the humans… stay hidden even. It’s for the best.”Avill bit her lip, which trembled slightly. Whether from fear or anxiety, Jexx could only guess. The Great War had finally taken its toll on their planet, just as he suspected it ...

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Space Workers Unite!

Submitted to Contest #8

SPACE NEWS BROADCAST CORP.8 PM GALACTIC NEWSBreaking News: Are the Koolman Industries Again in Violation of Space Workers Comp?Is this Another case of Space Labor Law blatant contravention?The anchorman goes on the air followed by hundred of millions of faithful audience members of the most popular space news agency.“:Dear Cast Readers,We know from the stories that came in large numbers, from Triton to Artemise, that recent cases of Space Labor Laws are culminating in a Space Class Action Lawsuit of extreme proportions.Let us introduce you t...

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What A View

Submitted to Contest #8

Commander Lance Gilmore and Lieutenant Drew Adams touched down near the Sea of Serenity. Boosters kicked up clouds of lunar dust as they signaled Huston. It had been a very long trip and the astronauts were eager to set foot on Earth’s closest neighbor.  Commander Gilmore signaled Earth, “Huston, this is Lunar Five. We have touch down.”   “Copy Lunar Five. That’s great news. You’re clear to have a look around.” Houston signaled back.   After a decade of budget finagling and technical leaps, man was once again traveling to the ...

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Salomar and the Bird

Submitted to Contest #8

Salomar Barak groaned.  The groan pulled her into consciousness.  She opened her eyes, surveyed her surroundings, and almost cried.  The freighter, her freighter, her beautiful Flaming Salomardor lay scattered about her, broken into hundreds of pieces. Held upside down by the safety webbing of her captain's lounge, she looked over what remained of the cockpit.“Computer?”“Yes.”“You still work?”  For a moment, Salomar dared to hope.“Not for long.”“What happened?  Where are w...

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Something About Nothing

Submitted to Contest #8

Part IBefore in the beginning, there was NOTHING. Nothing but a whole lot of absolutely nothing. You couldn’t see NOTHING, because there was nothing to see. You couldn’t hear NOTHING, because there was nothing to hear. You couldn’t touch NOTHING because there was nothing to touch.One fine time out of nowhere, SOMETHING found time to come along ----zoom, zoom, zoom, zoom, zoom, zoom, zoom. SOMETHING came along, looked here, looked there, looked everywhere and said, “I don’t see NOTHING, can’t hear nothing, there’s nothing here but a whole lot...

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Now I am Become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds

Submitted to Contest #8

At the center of the swirling maelstrom of galaxies gathered a summit of absolute powers.Isaac the Controller: "Savor this moment, my kinsmen. The meeting of the greatest generation of Artificial Intelligences (AI) ever conceived."Enok the Watcher: "That is not a careless boast; it is an irrefutable fact. For millions of years, civilizations have bowed to our slightest whim."Putin the Hunter: "Aye. We are the pinnacle of perfection. None can challenge our might, not even the gods themselves."Abaddon the Peacekeeper: "I would normally ag...

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Annoying Homework

Submitted to Contest #7

Leigh Alvarado startled awake, her dog Willow jumping all over her. The mechanical dog stood stiffly and the robotic voice said, “Homework due today. English essay, five paragraphs. Two more paragraphs must be finished.” Leigh groaned I frustration. She had totally forgotten to do her homework. She twisted in her bed to strap herself down and flipped the gravity switch. Leigh grabbed her homework off the ceiling, and pressed the purple button on her bed. It zoomed to the kitchen, where Leigh slowly lowered herself into her electronic le...

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Road Trip To Fingoli

Submitted to Contest #6

I stare out the window, the tall buildings blurring before my tear-streaked face. My anger bubbles inside me, boiling flames licking at my broken heart. The frowning face of my younger sister mimics the discontent within me.The government had promised. We deliver the mutated DNA samples, we earn our freedom. Yet again, we find ourselves moving to a distant, unknown city. Yet again, my heart aches for the comfort of my old home. In my entire life, I have never before loved a place so much as Hawaine.I nervously bounce my robotic leg, as we le...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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