Otters In Space 3 – Chapter 19: 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.

“The raptor fledglings hadn’t even grown up on a world where they could see the stars. Their sky was a blanket of amber, muffling out the sun, let alone the pinpoint of light that was the small blue-green world their species had come from millions of years ago.”

While Kipper and Petra waited in their prisons — two tabby cats desperate to save Earth yet incarcerated by their own allies — Jenny parleyed with the enemy.

That was generous.

The otter wasn’t parleying with the enemy, she was playing games with the enemies’ children

Jenny and the two raptor chicks were in a room at the top of the giant mechanical redwood, and the walls were as clear as glass.  Jenny had seen the tree from the outside and knew it looked opaque, but from the inside it looked like she was standing on an open platform.  She could see out over the jagged green tops of all the real trees.  In the distance, more of these mechanical trees stuck out of the forest like towers — much taller and larger around than the real trees.  And behind it all, loomed the ruddy agate Jovian sky. Continue reading “Otters In Space 3 – Chapter 19: Jenny”

Otters In Space 3 – Chapter 18: 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.

“The octopuses hadn’t come back through the sealed hatch in the underwater floor, but occasionally they sent in a dolphin with a puzzle for them.”

Except, Kipper wasn’t talking to octopuses.  Kipper, Trugger, and Captain Cod had been shut in a small room with several feet of air at the ceiling and a ledge around the edges.  Sitting on the ledge felt like sitting at the edge of a public swimming pool, reminding her of cattery days when over-enthusiastic dogs had required all the reluctant kittens to take swimming lessons.  Except this was more claustrophobic due to the low ceiling and near walls. Continue reading “Otters In Space 3 – Chapter 18: Kipper”

Everyone Should Have the Chance to Make Art

It truly bewilders me when people argue against AI because if artists can’t support themselves then they’ll have to get other jobs and won’t be able to make art.

That’s not an argument against AI.

That’s an argument against other jobs underpaying for how much time they take. Continue reading “Everyone Should Have the Chance to Make Art”

Otters In Space 3 – Chapter 17: Petra

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.

“Somehow, whenever a dog went missing, the police always found a way to discover what had happened. That wasn’t the case with cats.”

Petra could have walked home — if it weren’t for the locked doors, and the iron bars, and dogs with guns.  She might as well have been on Jupiter for all the certainty she felt that she’d be going home again.  She knew about cats getting arrested and disappearing.  That’s something cats did.  Disappear.  Somehow, whenever a dog went missing, the police always found a way to discover what had happened.  That wasn’t the case with cats.  Sometimes, you just didn’t get to know.  Sometimes, the case was closed, and the cat never showed up.

Petra told herself that wouldn’t happen to her.  She was the president’s sister.  She was high profile.  There’d be questions if she disappeared.  Questions and riots and violence. Continue reading “Otters In Space 3 – Chapter 17: Petra”

Beyond Wespirtech: 2nd Edition

Last month, we released the 2nd edition of Mary E. Lowd’s iconic short story collection, Welcome to Wespirtech, and now, we’re proud to announce the release of its companion collection, Beyond Wespirtech!

Like the previous collection, Beyond Wespirtech’s 2nd edition includes a new introduction, new stories, and a shiny new cover.  In fact, two of the new stories — “Summers on Sylverra” and “The Girl Who Could Hear the Stars Sing” — are exclusive to Beyond Wespirtech and have never been published before! Continue reading “Beyond Wespirtech: 2nd Edition”