Size / / /

It's a Saturday night

at the Accelerator Club.

The band is playing a quantum reel,

while atoms trade photons and gravitons

like dance cards.

Particles particular about how they interact

are pulled together,

or forced apart.

Some nights are slow,

relatively speaking,

weighed down with talk of dark matters,

while others are a frenzy, a frenetic exchange

of flirts and whispers

of who's coming together and who's breaking up.

But it is never dull.

There is always the chance

of a spectacle;

the nobility passing through

without so much as a condescending nod,

or some unstable debutante coming apart

under the pressure,

and you should see the chaos on the floor when

dancers collide.




M. J. Kirby has twice been a finalist for the Isaac Asimov Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing. He is currently completing his Master's degree and beginning a career in school psychology. He lives in northern Utah with his wife and their dog.
Current Issue
22 Apr 2024

We’d been on holiday at the Shoon Sea only three days when the incident occurred. Dr. Gar had been staying there a few months for medical research and had urged me and my friend Shooshooey to visit.
...
Tu enfiles longuement la chemise des murs,/ tout comme d’autres le font avec la chemise de la mort.
The little monster was not born like a human child, yelling with cold and terror as he left his mother’s womb. He had come to life little by little, on the high, three-legged bench. When his eyes had opened, they met the eyes of the broad-shouldered sculptor, watching them tenderly.
Le petit monstre n’était pas né comme un enfant des hommes, criant de froid et de terreur au sortir du ventre maternel. Il avait pris vie peu à peu, sur la haute selle à trois pieds, et quand ses yeux s’étaient ouverts, ils avaient rencontré ceux du sculpteur aux larges épaules, qui le regardaient tendrement.
We're delighted to welcome Nat Paterson to the blog, to tell us more about his translation of Léopold Chauveau's story 'The Little Monster'/ 'Le Petit Monstre', which appears in our April 2024 issue.
For a long time now you’ve put on the shirt of the walls,/just as others might put on a shroud.
Issue 15 Apr 2024
By: Ana Hurtado
Art by: delila
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Issue 12 Feb 2024
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