Short story "Petroglyphs" is out now in Every Day Fiction.
When their ships landed on the porous soil of Blue-and-a-Rock, the hatchlings rushed out to preserve the petroglyphs.
They moved like a flood: overrunning the fields and valleys of the
moribund world, clogging up the caves, prodding with claws and feet at
the remains of that which had so recently ended. Gales scattered the
hatchlings across beaches where they drank the waters and sated
themselves with sand; waves pushed them outward to distant islands and
open seas; maelstroms pulled them down to dark ocean depths.
(Continue reading.)
Monochrome Wish
The blog of Damien Krsteski, writer of science fiction
Monday, June 29, 2020
Sunday, May 10, 2020
Reprint: The Trader
My post-apocalyptic story "The Trader" is out now in the Best Vegan Science Fiction & Fantasy 2019 anthology.
The story was originally published in the Score anthology last year.
You can pick up a copy from Amazon.
The story was originally published in the Score anthology last year.
You can pick up a copy from Amazon.
Friday, April 3, 2020
Bullies
My latest short story "Bullies" out now in Theme of Absence. Alongside the story, a short author interview with me was published.
“It’s okay,” Jon’s therapist said. “They’re gone. Just breathe.”
Tears
came to Jon’s eyes, fogging up his smart specs; he took the glasses
off, and the AI therapist slipped out of view. He flung his backpack
against the concrete wall.
He was taking shallow breaths, so he made an effort to slow and deepen his breathing.
When
he put his glasses back on, they notified him he was two minutes late
for History, building B, classroom 12. He picked up his backpack, said,
“I’m not feeling well,” to his specs, and headed home. In the
background, his therapist informed the school and his parents, and
purchased one tram ticket for him.
On
the ride home, he watched the city in the tram’s window passing by,
buildings, people, trees, materializing and disappearing frame by frame,
and he thought of them the way he liked to think about everything: in
matters of optimized CPU cycles, in graphics shaders, in the processing
power made available once these complex geometries slipped out of view.
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Podcast: Garden
My short story "Garden", a musical and narrative collaboration with dark ambient musician Nanohex from 2017, is out now in the SubverCity Transmit podcast.
It is a fantastic production, with Nanohex's music playing in the background while the story is read, which is exactly how the project was intended to be experienced.
You can listen to the music and story wherever the SubverCity Transmit podcast is available, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
It is a fantastic production, with Nanohex's music playing in the background while the story is read, which is exactly how the project was intended to be experienced.
You can listen to the music and story wherever the SubverCity Transmit podcast is available, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Friday, November 1, 2019
Big Sister
"Big Sister" -- a story about growing up with an AI-aged version of yourself in your head -- is out now in Unfading Daydream, issue #9.
Try as she might, Mina couldn't reach the cherry pit in her head. She closed her eyes in concentration, and she gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, and yet—nothing. Silence rung hollow.
Try as she might, Mina couldn't reach the cherry pit in her head. She closed her eyes in concentration, and she gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, and yet—nothing. Silence rung hollow.
It was her mother who gave her the
imagery back when she was a child: when
you pop a cherry in your mouth your teeth chomp on fruit flesh while
effortlessly avoiding the hard pit, then your tongue rolls it around
as you swallow the pulp, before you finally spit the cherry pit out.
In much the same way, her mother had gone on to explain, she would
learn to isolate the pea-sized implant she carried in her, to roll it
around in her thoughts and wake it and speak to it. Speak to herself,
at a different age.
Tuesday, July 16, 2019
Voices in the Things
"Voices in the Things" is out now in the Labor Issue of Big Echo.
Anna's phone rang, and shrill voices packed into circuits screamed a polyphonic melody: Liliana, calling from out of country. She jumped out of bed and picked up.
“I'm through,” Liliana said, and the voices in the electronics quieted down. “We're now ten, down from a hundred.”
“That's great,” Anna said, almost meaning it.
“Won't have time for much coordinating before the final round, so you better be ready by then.”
“I will,” she said, pacing the bedroom. “We will.” She opened a blind to reveal a muddy dark sky. She said, “Good luck.”
Liliana was quiet, as if mulling something over—or perhaps it was the delay in the signal—then she thanked her and hung up.
It was not quite morning but Anna could see the horizon bruising, so she decided against going back to sleep.
(Continue reading...)
Anna's phone rang, and shrill voices packed into circuits screamed a polyphonic melody: Liliana, calling from out of country. She jumped out of bed and picked up.
“I'm through,” Liliana said, and the voices in the electronics quieted down. “We're now ten, down from a hundred.”
“That's great,” Anna said, almost meaning it.
“Won't have time for much coordinating before the final round, so you better be ready by then.”
“I will,” she said, pacing the bedroom. “We will.” She opened a blind to reveal a muddy dark sky. She said, “Good luck.”
Liliana was quiet, as if mulling something over—or perhaps it was the delay in the signal—then she thanked her and hung up.
It was not quite morning but Anna could see the horizon bruising, so she decided against going back to sleep.
(Continue reading...)
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
Interview: The Trader
A short interview about my story "The Trader" can be found on the Metaphorosis Books website.
"The Trader" is available in the Score Anthology.
"The Trader" is available in the Score Anthology.
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