Author: marylowd

Breathing the Air at Wespirtech

by Mary E. Lowd

Originally published in Welcome to Wespirtech, October 2023

“Doesn’t it bother you that we live in a galaxy filled with all kinds of different aliens, but almost everyone here is human?”

The girl was science; chemistry personified, manifested in a physical form.  This is not to say that the other scientists of Wespirtech were lining up in a snaky queue through the Daedalus Complex halls to see her, study her, consult with her like she was some sort of oracle.  At least, Keida didn’t think so.  Her new roommate, Rhiannon, was too quiet, and serious, to draw that kind of attention.

No, it meant Keida could see chemistry thoughts as they formed in Rhiannon’s brain.  The evidence was perfectly clear on her face; a look that bespoke particles and molecules moving, joining, breaking apart and reforming in an abstract space she saw, approximately five inches above her own head.  Keida was afraid to interrupt.  A single word from her might break the spell.  All those invisible molecules would dissipate and undo hours of silent work. Continue reading “Breathing the Air at Wespirtech”

Otters In Space 3 – Chapter 34: Kipper

by Mary E. Lowd

An excerpt from Otters In Space 3: Octopus Ascending.  If you’d prefer, you can start with Chapter 1 or return to the previous chapter.

“The future was full of new possibilities for a tabby cat with a space program to run.”

Alistair’s orange striped tabby face appeared on the Jolly Barracuda main viewscreen.  The entire crew had gathered on the bridge to watch his message.  Alistair was wearing a navy blue suit that contrasted his fiery fur nicely, and two secret service greyhounds wearing sunglasses and wires stood coolly behind him.  He looked very presidential, but to Kipper, he just looked like her brother.

“Congratulations and our sincerest thanks from all of us here on Earth to the brave officers on the Jolly Barracuda!”  Alistair’s mouth moved, and Kipper wished she could hear his voice, but she had to settle for reading the captions beneath him. Continue reading “Otters In Space 3 – Chapter 34: Kipper”

Otters In Space 3 – Chapter 33: Jenny

by Mary E. Lowd

An excerpt from Otters In Space 3: Octopus Ascending.  If you’d prefer, you can start with Chapter 1, return to the previous chapter, or skip ahead.

“…her scientists brought her a treasure trove of ancient octopus technology.”

“Are you sure?” Jenny signed to Felix and Ordol.

The otter physicist and octopus translator were at one of the workstations inside the flooded Europa base, and cryptic iconography scrolled hectically over the ancient-yet-insanely-advanced computer screen in front of them.  The octopus and otter shared a look — enigmatic on both ends due to Ordol’s lack of a mammalian face and the breathing apparatus obscuring Felix’s nose and mouth — and then Felix shrugged.  “Pretty sure,” he signed. Continue reading “Otters In Space 3 – Chapter 33: Jenny”

Otters In Space 3 – Chapter 32: Kipper

by Mary E. Lowd

An excerpt from Otters In Space 3: Octopus Ascending.  If you’d prefer, you can start with Chapter 1, return to the previous chapter, or skip ahead.

“She didn’t know if she was signing to an octopus controlling a raptor or to a raptor controlling an octopus, but either way, it seemed safest to be polite.”

Kipper couldn’t convince Captain Cod to stop singing.  The captain led his merry band of imprisoned otters in one round of sailing ditties after another, insisting it was the only otterly way to face certain death.

Kipper wasn’t sure she liked it any better than she’d liked facing death with a lobster-sabre in her paws.  She thought that perhaps the best way to face death might be with a strong dose of catnip, a rich mug of cream, and quiet contemplation.  Though she wasn’t sure.  All the boisterous singing around her made it too noisy for her to properly contemplate it. Continue reading “Otters In Space 3 – Chapter 32: Kipper”

Otters In Space 3 – Chapter 31: The Oligarch and the Raptor

by Mary E. Lowd

An excerpt from Otters In Space 3: Octopus Ascending.  If you’d prefer, you can start with Chapter 1, return to the previous chapter, or skip ahead.

“Drowning in memories together, Enzz’rr’kk and Emily sensed each other — each of them infinitely young in comparison to the silver tentacle — and clung to one another, trying not to lose their individual selves entirely to the tentacle’s wealth of being.”

Enzz’rr’kk was a junior officer whose pin-feathers had barely come in.  Only a few months before, he’d been covered in downy speckling instead of regal raven black with bursts of purple on his elbows and cranium.  Now he was a full-fledged warrior, complete with the tools of his trade — pliant octopus tentacles to extend his reach and capabilities.

Unfortunately, his octopus had been injured while fighting the fuzzy brown creature on the spaceship his squadron had been sent to secure.  It had lost several tentacles, and the pain the octopus felt was distracting.  So when Enzz’rr’kk saw the two octopuses on the galley table — one mangled beyond use but the other in perfect condition — he decided to trade for an upgrade. Continue reading “Otters In Space 3 – Chapter 31: The Oligarch and the Raptor”

Queen Hazel and Beloved Beverly – Part VIII

by Mary E. Lowd

An excerpt from Queen Hazel and Beloved Beverly. If you’d prefer, you can start with Part I, return to the previous part, or pick up a hard cover or e-copy to keep.

Queen Hazel and Beverly looked at each other without speaking for a long time.  Silence rang through the throne room like an old song that you can’t quite remember the words to, but the melody haunts you.

Queen Hazel and Beverly stared at each other long enough that the present melted away, the years fell aside, and they were no longer women in their thirties, weighed down by decades of life.  They were two young girls who had just discovered someone who understood them. Continue reading “Queen Hazel and Beloved Beverly – Part VIII”

Queen Hazel and Beloved Beverly – Part VII

by Mary E. Lowd

An excerpt from Queen Hazel and Beloved Beverly. If you’d prefer, you can start with Part I, return to the previous part, or skip ahead.

Before they were all the way past the village, Beverly realized she’d traded screaming pain in her feet for splitting pain in her thighs and behind.  She wasn’t used to riding horses, and she wasn’t at all sure she liked it.  But at least they were moving at a good clip.

The scattered buildings on the fringe of the village passed swiftly by, and the black mare carried Beverly and knight up a craggy passage to the first of several fields of poppies.  Beverly looked at the flowers, passing by in a blur, and half expected them to release a dizzying fog that would put her, the knight, and the horse all to sleep, as if they were merely characters in The Wizard of Oz.  In that metaphor, who would be the wicked witch?  Was it Queen Hazel?  Or was she the wizard? Continue reading “Queen Hazel and Beloved Beverly – Part VII”

Queen Hazel and Beloved Beverly – Part VI

by Mary E. Lowd

An excerpt from Queen Hazel and Beloved Beverly. If you’d prefer, you can start with Part I, return to the previous part, or skip ahead.

When Beverly reached the first building — a small cottage, not dissimilar to the one she stayed in her first night, with the family of bears — she stopped, leaned forward with her arms braced against her legs, and heaved until she caught her breath.  Then she looked back.  She couldn’t see Rocky and Ginny, so she wasn’t sure if they could see her.

Help from Ginny or not — and she had no right to expect any help from Ginny — it was time for Beverly to take the next step.  She needed to ensconce herself in a crowd as soon as possible.  They’d passed so many knights in the last two days…  She dared not face one alone, without Ginny there to protect her. Continue reading “Queen Hazel and Beloved Beverly – Part VI”

Queen Hazel and Beloved Beverly – Part V

by Mary E. Lowd

An excerpt from Queen Hazel and Beloved Beverly. If you’d prefer, you can start with Part I, return to the previous part, or skip ahead.

The horse ran away before the knight and Ginny were done tangling with each other, and Beverly found herself pulled away, led by Rocky’s gentle paws.  The raccoon guided her away from the fight and into the nearest bushes.  More shrubs to hide in.  Beverly didn’t think her life would ever make sense again.

Even the humans here were playing out parts in a fantasy.  It was too much.  It was inescapable.  She would have to follow the rules of this world for as long as she was here. Continue reading “Queen Hazel and Beloved Beverly – Part V”

Queen Hazel and Beloved Beverly – Part IV

by Mary E. Lowd

An excerpt from Queen Hazel and Beloved Beverly. If you’d prefer, you can start with Part I, return to the previous part, or skip ahead.

Beverly jostled awake as Ginny changed her gait.  The wolf slowed to a stop, and Beverly gazed through bleary, sleep-crusted eyes at the dark forest all around.  She saw small lights, moving amongst the greenery, casting shadows and twinkling as leaves blocked and unblocked their light.

“Where are we?” Beverly asked.  “What’s happening?”  The lights made her think of the Christmas lights strung up year-round, across the shrubberies in her parents’ backyard.  But in this world, they wouldn’t be anything so mundane.  Besides, they moved, more like fireflies than anything stationary. Continue reading “Queen Hazel and Beloved Beverly – Part IV”