Cory Doctorow: “Visit the Sins“

“Sean had a way of getting his way - a way of delivering argument that implied that everyone in earshot was savvy and bold, and that the diatribe-du-jour was directed at the Enemies of Art ranged without. His thesis advisor bought it every time. Sean turned in his due-diligence, a bunch of theses written in the last century: collected memoirs of the survivors of electroshock, lobotomies, thalidomide. His advisor signed off and within twenty-four hours, he was debarking in Orlando and renting a car to take him to the Home.”

John Scalzi: “Alien Animal Encounters“

“Each week, we here at SSWR step right outside of our offices here on 54th and ask folks on the street our Question of the Week - sometimes topical, sometimes whimsical, always intriguing. Our question this week:
What is the most interesting encounter you’ve ever had with an alien animal species?”

Nancy Kress: “Spillage“

“When the coach broke for the third time, the second coachman was flung sideways over the shrieking axle and down an embankment. He rolled in the moonless darkness, over and over, brambles tearing at the velvet of his livery and whipping across his face. He uttered no sound. There was water at the bottom, a desultory and dirty little stream: the coachman lay in it quietly, blinking in pain at the stars, blood trickling from one temple.”