Havok Publishing

Science Fiction

Unpixelated Prince

“Come on!” I tug C4t3rp1ll3r’s arm as footsteps thud down the corridor from both directions. “If you escaped that video game only to be killed before I learn your real name, I’ll never forgive you. Even though you saved Alice.”
Saving my little sister won’t

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Ouroboros

Rachel sat up with a groan and instinctively glanced at the holotransponder on her wrist. No signal. Groggily, she activated the recording feature to scan her surroundings.
“This is Science Officer Rachel Birmingham. I’ve teleported to Saecula’s surface, but something went wrong. I was knocked

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The Code of Christmas Present

“Everything can be monetized,” said the businessman at the corner table. “Christmas is a case in point.”
The waiter didn’t want conversation. Now that he’d gotten close to famed investor Eb Scrooge, he had plans. He shifted his feet and asked again, “Can I get you anything else? Top off your water?”

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While Hope Remains

“I spent my entire savings to see my wife again, and you made me relive the moment she took her last breath.” The lanky widower placed the virtual headset on Scrooge’s desk, his expression twisted with pain. “I want my money back.”
Unfazed, Ebenezer Scrooge caressed the frosty hair on his chin.

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A Mystery for Marley

“Our firm must move with the times, Jacob. Renting an automaton will cost us half of what hiring a human clerk will, including the coal to power it. They are less error-prone, as well. Many London businesses are doing so. It’s in The Times.” Scrooge handed the newspaper clipping and his calculations to his partner.

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The Humbug Swarm

Captain Bob Cratchit yawned as he adjusted the holographic scanner, slowly bringing Sector 213A into clearer focus. It had been a long flight between the stars, and all he could think about was getting home to Earth for Christmas.
Alarms suddenly shrieked as the sector

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Saving TIM

Some people count their blessings. Ebenezer Scrooge preferred to count his money, and that’s exactly what he was doing as quitting time approached on Christmas Eve.
He’d programmed the holo-projector to display his wealth in a variety of ways—as thousand-dollar bills strewn on a king-sized bed, as bars of gold, or in today’s selected fashion, as stacks of Canadian two-dollar coins.

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Ascendancy Nexus – A Timekeepers Story

“You’re saying if we don’t stop Dorian from activating these paradox portals, then the entire multiverse will collide into one timeline and destroy reality?” Phezz asked, his bushy tail flicking.
Miriel turned to the squirrel-like Xintixa. “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
“What would that accomplish?” Harmony’s implanted short-term memory processor spoke for the young girl, imbuing her with a British accent.

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Lifesaving Lattes

“Ugh, could you be any slower?”
I risk a glance over my shoulder to look at the current angry customer. She’s dressed in an expensive-looking coat and is staring daggers into the back of Jimmy, my coworker, who is fumbling to spray whipped cream into her mocha.
He doesn’t reply as he drizzles a little chocolate over the cream

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Between Seconds

There’s a child missing. A boy.
From time itself.
That’s what Luke said.
“Children don’t just vanish,” I told him, sitting at my kitchen table sipping coffee.
“Actually, they do, and may the Earl Grey be with you,” he replied, while looking with confusion at my coffee cup. “Waffles have do you?”

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Close Encounters of the Awkward Kind

The corpse on the table had a melted eye socket, no pulse, and a sticky note on its forehead that read: Don’t eat Carl’s yogurt.
Mariana Vale adjusted her gloves. “You’re contaminating a crime scene, Luke.”
Luke James, wearing two left shoes, a NASA hoodie, and a baseball cap that read “Rebel Alliance Flight School,”

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Portal Hopper Crosswire

Therrus never meant to fall into Drovenveil.
HQ had calibrated the portal for Earth—Rio de Janeiro, to be exact. Instead, his body tore through an alien sky, a streak of green cloaked in the illusion of human flesh.
The impact cratered the hillside. Bones snapped, then reset with the efficiency of his

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