Size / / /

Occasionally a mirror reflects
out of boredom a dreamy face,
two eyes glittering with life
and a paper-creased forehead,
as I flip, zoom, turn, and pinch, 
and shift my attention 
from the gorilla screen 
to five straw-fitted elephants,
riding an Indian saucer, 
honking a wind chime
with their baby trunks.

Twenty-five centuries of space 
and time trapped inside a library 
of a gold-teethed memory chip.
Isn't it amazing? 
A time machine made out 
of zeroes and ones entirely!

Our existence has reduced to binary digits,
to be summoned by strangers at their will; 
awakened by man’s memory,
his loneliness and her curiosity.




Salik Shah is a writer, filmmaker, and the founding editor of Mithila Review, the journal of international science fiction and fantasy (2015-). His work has appeared on Asimov’s Science Fiction, Strange Horizons, Tor.com, and The Gollancz Book of South Asian Science Fiction (Volume 2). Twitter: @salik. Website: salikshah.com.
Current Issue
16 Jun 2025

When I met the young Mr Turing, I had not yet ascended as Autumn’s King. Nowadays it has become fashionable for the sons and daughters of the lesser fey gentry to improve their position in the shifting hierarchy of the Courts by virtue of intrigue, scandal, and the naked blade; but in those times, it was the custom to advance one’s position through the collection of human bagatelles.
When women cross the border, / coyotes get rooms at motels.
With their noses shaped like rockets and ancient vacuum cleaners
By: Ariel Marken Jack
Podcast read by: Emmie Christie
In this episode of the Strange Horizons Fiction podcast, Michael Ireland presents Ariel Marken Jack's 'Sister, Silkie, Siren, Shark' read by Emmie Christie. Subscribe to the Strange Horizons podcast: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠
Friday: Dengue Boy by Michel Nieva, translated by Rahul Bery 
Issue 9 Jun 2025
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In the Year of the Wedding 
Do Ghosts Have Department Stores? 
The Ache of Hollow Places 
No Defeat is Final: Kerry Ryan interviews Pat Cadigan and Nicola Griffith 
Wednesday: The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar 
Issue 2 Jun 2025
By: R.B. Lemberg
Podcast read by: Jenna Hanchey
Issue 26 May 2025
Issue 19 May 2025
By: Elle Engel
Podcast read by: Emmie Christie
Issue 12 May 2025
Issue 5 May 2025
Issue 21 Apr 2025
By: Premee Mohamed
Podcast read by: Kat Kourbeti
Issue 14 Apr 2025
Strange Horizons
Strange Horizons
Issue 7 Apr 2025
By: Lowry Poletti
Podcast read by: Emmie Christie
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