Science Fiction Futures

Selected examples of SF short stories
from the journal Nature

This is the index page to a series of SF short stories (about 1,200 words) written by top SF authors as well as science writers and even scientists.   These stories first appeared in the journal Nature and are presented here as free access with permission of Nature and the respective authors.

A new story will be added each season (Spring - February; Summer - July; and Autumn - November).

This link is an introduction to this series. Links to the individual stories are listed below:-

• Reality Check by David Brin
  There are all sorts of realities in SF but what really is real?
   
• What's Expected Of Us by Ted Chiang
  Sending signals through time is fun but there is a down side...
   
• A Brief History of Death Switches by David Eagleman
  As the end of the World nears, and there are few humans left, will there be an afterlife? Sort of…
   
• Are We Not Men by Henry Gee
  It turns out that the human family is quite large...
   
• Speak, Geek by Eileen Gunn
  So a dog's a man's best friend, but their may be a flipside to species uplift...
   
• Ringing Up Baby by Ellen Klages
  Involving a child in the parental decision to have another is always best, isn't it?
   
• Succussion by Steven Longworth
  Record-breaking global health has an unlikely cause and an equally odd solution. ('Solution!' geddit? Oh, read the story.)
   
• Perchance To Dream by Robert A. Metzger
  Out of sight, out of mind. Reality and illusion can catch up with you when old...
   
• A New Note For Nat by Gareth Owens
  Being a hypersonic rock star is great... until you get too old.
   
• A Better Mousetrap by Mike Resnick
  Pest control in a high-tech space station surely needs to be high tech itself... Doesn't it?
   
• Homo Sapiens Declared Extinct by Bruce Sterling
  The last human on Earth dies and so it is time to pause for a moment of reflection.
   
• Maxo Signals by Charles Stross
  There is a new and unfortunate solution to the Fermi paradox. The aliens are there, but better not return their call.

Feel like writing a Futures story? See the author guidelines.

Still hungry for more science fiction stories?
The check out the 'forthcoming books' sections of our seasonal Science Fiction News page.

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