Tying Knots by Ken Liu (Science Fiction)
The spirits like to play jokes on us. I have seen more in my lifetime than any Nan in recorded history, and yet I am also the most shortsighted, practically blind.
Blindsight by Robert Silverberg (Science Fiction)
"I don't see. Not really. I'm just as blind as you think I am. It's called blindsight," Farkas said. "Proprioceptive vision."
First Principle by Nancy Kress (Science Fiction)
The light green of my epidermal photosynthetic cells uses the weak Martian sunlight to augment the energy from my food intake.
Pitcher Plant by Adam-Troy Castro (Horror)
At the end of the hall you find him. He sits slumped on a marble throne in a chamber with more dust than air. He is as old as any human being you have ever seen ...
Soulcatcher by James Patrick Kelly (Science Fiction)
Klary has paid an outrageous price to bait the trap, has discreetly encouraged the rumors about her illegal acquisition.
The Red Phone by John Kessel (Science Fiction)
You wish these people would show a little more imagination. And why the garter belt if she’s not wearing hose? You can see her as she really is, sitting in her kitchen wearing a ragged sweatsuit, eating cookie dough out of a plastic container.
The Blitz Experience by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Science Fiction)
Grand raises her head. Her eyes seem brighter than usual. "You can't know. Not unless you go through something like that yourself. And I fervently wish each and every day that no one I love will ever experience anything approaching those years. Although one can't control history, now can one?"
Exotic Pets by Ken Liu (Science Fiction)
A werk is a work of art. It is a chimera made from the genetic material of two zygotes, a mixture of tissues from two species. It is a creature sprung from the mind and curiosity of Man.
Faithful Sister by James Patrick Kelly (Fantasy)
Faithful sister, you’ve been staring at the horizon for all these long years, standing to your shoulders in the restless sea.
Craters by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Science Fiction)
What they don’t tell you when you sign up is that the work takes a certain amount of trust.
Not Our Brother by Robert Silverberg (Fantasy)
This part of Mexico was famous for its masks, grotesque and terrifying ones portraying devils and monsters and fiends.
Stealing Happy Hours by Paul Di Filippo (Fantasy, Horror)
The wedding reception could have been mistaken for a wake.
Art of War by Nancy Kress (Science Fiction)
“Search for survivors,” the colonel ordered, just before she passed out from wounds that would have killed a lesser soldier, and all soldiers were lesser than she . . .
Every Angel is Terrifying by John Kessel (Fantasy)
Like the cat. Pleasure lived that way all the time. The cat didn’t know about Jesus’ sacrifice, about angels and devils. That cat looked at him and saw what was there.
The Silk Merchant by Ken Liu (Horror)
So this was the secret of shimmer silk. Not silkworms, but spiders. “I want this,” I said.