The Girl Who Could Hear the Stars Sing

by Mary E. Lowd

Originally published in Beyond Wespirtech, November 2023

“If the stars had chosen her — somehow — to be their scribe, then it was not for her to turn the role down.”

It was so beautiful that the weight of it made her feel weak inside.  She cried, and no one knew why.  No one else could hear the music.  But Brianna could hear it inside.

Brianna’s parents didn’t understand.  They thought their child simply had an artistic sensitive soul, and perhaps, she was unusually susceptible to sunstroke.  They tried to keep her inside on sunny days, especially in the middle of the summer.  But Brianna craved the sun.  It made her cry, but it also made her giggly and manic.  Sunlight could make her happier than anything else — that voice whispering in her heart, rising and falling, raising expectations, holding out a moment longer than she thought she could stand, and then resolving.  The music Brianna heard was the fabric of her life. Continue reading “The Girl Who Could Hear the Stars Sing”

Summers on Sylverra

by Mary E. Lowd

Originally published in Beyond Wespirtech, November 2023

“She’d grown up on a normal planet with actual cities full of people, not some weird backwater world where literally every sentient creature had been created by one mad scientist, drunk with his own abilities, high on his own power.”

The ship shifting into orbit woke Tara up, but she kept her eyes closed, listening to her parents talk.

“It always scares me coming here,” Tara’s mother said.  “Your dad makes such beautiful illusions for Tara.  I’m afraid some day that she’ll choose not to come home.”

Tara was curled up on the ratty old couch on the back of their starhopper’s bridge.  It was a loveseat and not meant to be slept on; she barely fit on it anymore.  Her parents were sitting in the pilot and co-pilot seats, right in front of the viewscreen that must have shown the emerald and azure sphere of Grandpa Brent’s planet, Sylverra. Continue reading “Summers on Sylverra”

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”