This publication is a compilation of two science fiction/speculative fiction short stories. It is reprinted from Mindscapes: Ten Science Fiction and Speculative Fiction Short Stories (C) 2014, 2023 by Victor D. López.... more>>

In the first short story, "Justice", a man is being tried for the last remaining capital offense in a kinder, gentler, truly unified world in the not too distant future. In the second, "Riddle of the Sphinx: Solved" the secrets of the Sphinx are finally revealed to a curious world in prime time by the world's most famous Egyptologist in a live event reminiscent of the disastrous, much hyped opening of Al Capone's vault by Geraldo Rivera in prime time some years back. No empty bottle will be found in the chamber beneath the right paw of the Sphinx. No, not this time. Alas. <<less

Clint is a good guy and a hard worker at Papa Ronan's 24-Hour Pizza Delivery; no matter what, he delivers on time. So, when he's tasked with the most dangerous pizza delivery of all time, his courage and wits are tested.... more>>

(This is another story I have a few small ideas swirling around in my head for, but until I end up penning those, I'm going to mark this as completed) <<less

Two brothers. One Infection. In a city of the undead, tough decisions must be made. Halloween Prompt #19: Infection

A Very Short Story:
In this zombie apocalypse world, humans, plants, animals, and zombies have evolved and developed abilities to survive the harsh conditions that the world has become. ... more>>

They strived to live 'till the end and for that they needed resources.

Thus, Battle Arenas are created for the sole purpose of giving the worthy of their needs.

Post-Apocalypse, Fish, Monster, Sun

Wattpad:
Written: 06/13/23
Published: 06/16/23

Neobook:
Written: 06/13/23
Published: 06/16/23

ScribbleHub:
Written: 06/13/23
Published: 06/16/23

Completed

Warning: Very very veeryyy mild cussing. <<less

Mocha is the Lavender Kunoichi. She is on a mission to infiltrate Omega, the last city in the world, to rescue and lead refugees on... more>> an exodus through the wastelands prowled by beasts. <<less

They designed him to be the ultimate infiltration model and he was. The perfect imitation of life. Including, they realized too late, free will. ... more>>

Chan Yi has been hiding in Dock City for seven years, always within sight of the lab where he lost his lover.

Wu DaQi is a man without a memory because of a sensory augmentation gone wrong. He's trying to piece together his life.

When their paths cross unexpectedly, neither is prepared for the truth that will be revealed. Will they survive it together? Or will they end up back in the lab where it all started?

An M/M cyberpunk story about lost loves and saving the world. <<less

Roxom is a slumbering god awoken by a great disturbance

The crew has narrowly escaped to the forested lands to the far north, hoping the distance will make Javelin loose their trail. A fuel shortage forces them to land in a misarble town haunted by a giant monsters and regular attacks from a strange form of mutants.
Their next job leads them to discover old world secrets that perhaps should have been left burried.... more>>

Cover from https://unsplash.com/s/photos/dark-sea?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText <<less

“Does this unit have a soul?” Kai is a military veteran that served during the American Civil War of 2024. Finding life bleak and pointless,... more>> he seeks solace in the embrace of an artificial intelligence named Domina, a virtual siren previously deemed too volatile for companionship. Together they traverse the dystopian landscape of the New World under the watchful eye of Sovereign. <<less

What happened to us? Us humans? How did we let things get this out of hand? Tether.001.001 is a look at three particular humans who... more>> find themselves in the 2050s after the great calamities of the Dark Sun Decade, a period of mass floods, rapid temperature rise and the most devastating solar flare humanity had ever faced. It is an Earth that feels almost too real and yet so distant. Join the Tether Project and add your voice to the discussion. <<less

Earth was overtaken by the Calumnia ten years ago and if it weren't for the alien Occisio race who saved the remnants of humanity, Indi's race would have gone extinct. Now, at the age of sixteen, Indi and the other surviving children are about to complete their training and return to Earth to kill the monster that destroyed their world and killed their parents.
However, the children on the Occisio's spaceship have been dismissed one by one in training tests and only a few of them remain. Will Indi prove himself skilled enough to become a soldier? Or will he fail humanity as his parents did? ... more>>

This short story (in 13 parts) is a love letter to fans of Ender's Game and Maze Runner. (I may eventually turn this into a novel but for now, I hope you enjoy this 10,000 word story about hope and overcoming one's weakness.)
[This story will appear on other websites as well, such as Wattpad and Royal Road.] <<less

Ti Lepus, is a planet in turmoil, who can save it? Deadly forces scheme to break with the Empire and its Sovereign, spreading lies and... more>> committing act of vandalism. Some stand against the terrorists while others seek to master them and bend them to their evil design.
Rentap Dressiler and Trem De Markus are friends who resist these forces; one will be destroyed along with his family in the fight against murderous forces who would lead the planet to its destruction. The other may save it …
Leja Leves; the councillor who cunningly hides his leadership in the campaign against the Empire orchestrated by Nikie and Kirkrup Di Frim who are his unwitting dupes. He would die before admitting defeat …
And...
Cami sis Nep; an innocent fourteen year old girl who is caught in a fight between powerful competing forces but who may bring great change to her planet, even as she risks loosening it as well as her life…,
But … The wild card …
The Dark Lord, Supreme Ruler of the Empire, an entity with strange powers and skills who is working behind the scenes to effect change before it is too late …. Will he succeed? <<less

The last "maverick" roams a lifeless desert, filled with monsters of all kinds.... more>>

(First Tale in Songs of the Ancients) <<less

On the 16th of October, 2022, the end of the world began not with a whimper, but an overpowering bang.
Who, or what, was behind this attack, there is no way of ever knowing for certain.
What we do know with great precision however, is how it happened.
These are the records that attest to humanity's downfall.... more>>

(Hey reader, I decided to stop writing this story before it really began. Frankly there just doesn't seem to have been much interest, which I understand; it was pretty experimental. It was fun while it lasted.) <<less

Cami, a Girl and a Planet. Synopsis
On TI LEPUS, a planet in a galaxy called Markers Star, one of many galaxies and planets that... more>> are part of an Empire ruled by The DARK LORD, thirteen year old CAMI SIS NEP takes a lunch to her mother where she is working. While there, CAMI is surprised to be asked to carry out a simple duty, one which she does not realise is actually a test. After leaving her mother, CAMI worries about what happened and thinks over her life. This leads her to the decision that she will do whatever she needs to do to better herself and resolves to let nothing get in her way.
The surprise test results in CAMI being offered a contract in a salon called the Trigon Club located in LEPUS MAL the capital of TI LEPUS. These salons are a way for young girls to enter houses of people of high status or gaining other contracts. After she turns fourteen CAMI moves to the capital where she works at the club and meets CHEAINE DRESSILER, the wife of RENTAP DRESSILER. CHEAINE takes an option on CAMIS contract and returns the next day with her husband. They accept CAMIS contract and she becomes part of their family.
Life is good for CAMI and it seems that she has obtained the first of her goals, that is bettering herself, but there are other forces at work. Unrest, fostered by professional agitators NIKIE and KIRKRUP DI FRIM, is becoming dangerous. The two work undercover for Councillor LEJA LEVES who is the actual leader of the agitation and is hungry for power. NIKIE, who knows and hates CHEAINE, has another idea, to create and train a group of suicide assassins.
The DARK LORD has sensed all this and returns to Tihab, the administrative center of the empire. With him are some of the LADIES OF THE CIRCLE who are his closest advisors. In a bid to reduce the tension and unrest he sends six of the LADIES as his ambassadors to Ti Lepus. Before they can arrive, the DRESSILERS and LORENA MAKAPET, Rentaps mistress are murdered in an act of terror inspired by NIKIE DI FRIM. CAMI SIS NEP escapes and go’s on the run. She makes her way to NETHER WEST where the underclass, who are workers of the lowest status live. ILARI NE PATOR, one of the leaders of the underclass tries to help CAMI but she is stabbed in an attack. The DARK LORD arrives, heals CAMI using his powers and then returns to his palace on Tihab taking CAMI with him.
While CAMI is convalescing in the palace, the Ambassadors arrive at Ti Lepus to try to negotiate with LEVES. Meetings between the ambassadors and LEJA LEVES, now Chief Minister, are unsuccessful and a deadline is imposed. Before the deadline expires, the DARK LORD arrives and speaks with other leaders of the planet who are opposed to LEJA LEVES. These include TREM DE MARKUS who has organised a group of the planets leaders as they realise that LEVES will also murder them. The DARK LORD also brings CAMI SIS NEP who speaks to all the planets population explaining what happened and revealing who ordered the murders of the DRESSILARS as well as speaking against all their societies’ unfair rules. She is so effective that her speech sparks a revolt against the many problems that plague their society. TREM DE MARKUS and his supporters begin the process of reforming the planets society. The DARK LORD gives them one thousand years to complete the process and hides the planet behind a story that he destroyed it.
CAMI leaves TI LEPUS with the DARK LORD as she realises that if she stays she would become the focus of resentment and a focal point for the forces that will be resisting change to rally against. The DARK LORD sends her, her two sisters and two of her brothers who he has collected along with some others to another planet in another galaxy. There she finishes growing up and finds love. <<less

An amnesiac hunter and a rebellious healer are tied together to set off the strings of fate.... more>>

(Second Tale in Songs of the Ancients) <<less

Caleb works as an engineer for a abusive drunk in slums of the Capital, main city of the tyranical Empire. The world is bleak, wasting... more>> away with little meaning to life. One day is does change when he gets approached to do a job for a famous crime lord that could finally enable him to leave and start a new life.
Unfortunately the plan goes to hell and Caleb barely escapes with his life, the only thing he grabbed was a strange metal cube.
He now has the choice of dying, or do anything he can to survive. Even if that means joining a smuggler and pirate crew in desperate need of a engineer, with the mysterious leader of the Empire hunting that very cube. <<less

Sym is just a normal girl until her Grandmother’s vice catches up with her family.

They said that the end of the world would be long and painful, with plenty of signs and disaster. Well, there were none. Everything was gone in less than a second.... more>>

A sudden unknown electromagnetic wave swept the Earth, mutating ninety percent of humanity into fast and strong zombies. Dr William Toh should have been one of them, except he retained his mental capacity and gained a unique physiology instead.

And he was not alone.

The dangers of this new world lurk in every corner as he embarks on his journey to reverse the mutation wave. Will he succeed? Or will he succumb to the deadly politics and war that could potentially wipe out what's left of humanity instead?

Side Note:

This is my very first story written over the course of a year, so please be understanding if I make some rookie mistakes here and there!
Nevertheless, I try to write to the best of my ability so do feel free to leave a comment and vote if you liked my chapter.

And with that, I hope you enjoy the story! <<less

Ceit is a young girl working on her family’s dairy farm, trying to get her to find her path forward after a traumatic experience.

(Inspired by a certain virus)
A man living with a life-threatening disease finally died, but not before wishing to God that everyone else in the world feel even an inch of his pain of being isolated in a hospital room. God granted him that wish, and so... he became the first person in the world to carry the most devastating virus on Earth.... more>>

Yeah, this is a stupid idea. Of course, this is potentially and definitely offensive for some people.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Cover is by user https://www.pixiv.net/en/users/12547265, if you wish to take the cover down, i will do so.
(Reposted because it didn't show on series for some reason) <<less

A good-hearted yet deeply troubled criminal attempts to protect himself and his chosen family of outlaws in a backwards society plagued by a devastating... more>> disease What was intended to be the creation of a new medicine drug that rejuvenated youth and revitalised the spirits, ended up leading to an accident that caused the old to die and the young to lose any sense they once had. Thus a society of disease and violence was formed. One where anyone will do anything for a cure or a chance to survive a day longer. <<less

A deadly disease. The world has ended. Civilization has collapsed. Cities stay silent, barely a remnant of times past, humanity's broken legacy.... more>>

In this dark and ruined world, Nora tries desperately to survive. Not only for herself, but also for her friend Claire and her little sister Lilian. She struggles to overcome her own weakness. She struggles to run away from her own inner demons. She struggles in a world that gives no second chances. <<less

Burn for your tribe. Teach the children. Master longevity chess.... more>>

Life in the Burrows isn't easy. The planet's environment is unforgiving, and life is short. Trother does his best to prepare the children of the Burrows to serve their tribe, but all are caught by surprise when one of the settlements on the planet suddenly goes dark, and there is news of the return of an ancient evil.

However, not all hope is lost. A prodigy is born in these dark times, and it's up to Trother to nurture the ember that will burn the ancient evil away. Follow Trother's and Eli's journey as they try to save their tribe and the fragile society of Ignians.

Planet Ignis is a hard sci-fi dystopian novel reminiscent of Dune and Red Rising. Read along if you like chess, dystopian tribal societies, class systems, and smart characters.

You can purchase read this novel on Kindle or purchase it on Amazon.

What to expect from the story:
Each chapter is 1500-2000 words long;
Alternating POVs between the MCs of the story;
Post-apocalyptic setting;
Wholesome, clean fiction. <<less

An accident or an act of sabotage? What these strangers find on the other side of the travel gates is a crueler fate than they could have dreamed.... more>>

Sick of the small life imposed on her, sixteen year old Angharad is seeking escape. When she wakes up on the other side of the Gate what she gets instead is a tighter prison than she's ever known. With no way out and no way to find her mysterious jailer, she finds herself relying on the people trapped with her: Tsuyoshi, an angry Canadian art student, well-meaning Josephine, the secretive Dr Yeoh, and Jin, a child soldier. But not everyone is who they seem, and even Angharad lives a lie.

Tests from their mysterious overlord lead to new encounters and strange bedfellows. For Jin and Angharad, their quest to find the truth may risk everything.

And when things take a darker and more desperate turn, not everyone they know will survive. <<less