Showing results for "The Ascent" in Science Fiction

When an unauthorized oil rig appears offshore of Ecuador, a military team is sent to investigate. The deep-water platform has no markings, no drilling rig, and no workers—but it's surrounded by a curious bank of fog. When their helicopter closes in, it's swallowed without a trace.

The Five Hundred, the elite families who rule the Terran Federation and control its political power and its wealth, have grown steadily wealthier and more powerful, thanks to the war against the Terran League. War may be hard on the people who get caught in its path, but it's very good for business in the short term, and the Five Hundred own the shipyards that build the Navy's ships. They own virtually all the industry that produces the weapons and material the war consumes so voraciously... and they've made damn sure someone else does the dying.

In their battle to save Earth from becoming another conquest of the alien Kasari Collective, Mark and Heather Smythe have struck crucial blows against the enemy. But their best efforts have still failed to derail the completion of the wormhole gateway that would give the insidious extraterrestrial invaders access to the planet - and doom humankind as helpless slaves of the Kasari hive mind.

The Aliomenti village is in ruins, destroyed by one of their own, its population nearly eliminated in the calamity. From the ruins, the Aliomenti rise to international prominence, influencing buyers and sellers, warriors and bureaucrats, as they patiently and invisibly expand their empire. Will Stark serves as the driving force behind that expansion. Whether he's creating their innovations or offering subtle hints, few of their revolutionary progressions are made without his influence.

They thought revealing New Origins' plans would be enough, that they could go on to live normal lives. But nobody knows Space Station Horus like Marick and Alicia, and they're asked to lead the assault. It's time to return to space, now with an army at their backs. Meanwhile, their war isn't the only one they have to worry about, as the criminal leader of Space Station Ramiel is on a warpath against Marick and any who would stand on his side. But now he has his own team, a ragtag group of enhanced super soldiers, hackers, and former criminals with access to alien technology.

For more than fifty years, the Terran Republic and the Terran League have been killing one another. The death toll has climbed ever higher, year after year, with no end in sight. But the members of the Five Hundred, the social elite of the Republic's Heart Worlds, don't care.

As a newly anointed member of the Mage's Guild, Gunnar begins his training under Darion and Eanos. Resistance, staves, and ranged fighting are all staples of any mage, but the pride of being a member of the guild is access to a strange device that helps its members locate areas of powerful magic. During a routine outing with another mage, a group of mysterious Magi attack and know more about Gunnar than any outsiders should.

This is the tale of a 228 year old man, born in 1690, telling about his interactions with Dr. Samuel Johnson. A large part focuses on their belonging to a literary club and the other men who also participated in the club. It is a simple observance of social interactions, as put forth by a very old man and his dated voice.

A chilling short story from the author of Dracula. In the Valley of the Shadow is a tale about a delirious man and his hallucinations while hospitalized.

This is the recollection of a man facing the end of his life and the sweet refuge that sleep offers. The man desired to find the way into his dream land permanently - the latch that would allow him through the gate. He finds a yellowed papyrus that tells of conflicting experiences on the other side of the gate, some of wonderful things and other horrifying and terrible. Although not sure which to believe, his desire to cross through intensified. He then finds that the answer to his dilemma may lie with a certain drug.

Celaphais tells the story of a man who is the sole survivor of his family and just a nameless face among the other inhabitants of London. Depressed and fed up with life, he begins to favor the alternate reality he discovers while dreaming and even creates a new identity for himself, Kuranes. While "living" as Kuranes, he discovers his dream utopia of Celaphais in the Valley of Ooth-Nargai. Much to his disappointment, Kuranes is continually pulled away from Celaphais and begins to try harder and harder to find it again and live there forever.

"Under the Sunset" was Bram Stoker's first short story collection written in 1881. These short stories were intended for children and includes the following stories: "Under The Sunset", "The Rose Prince", "The Invisible Giant", and much more.