Status Update • 29 September 2023

Because enough people have asked, here’s a very quick status update. Right now we are up to our eyebrows in the last-minute work needed to get STUPEFYING STORIES 26 finished and released on-time. Everything else, including SHOWCASE, has been pushed to the back burners. If it seems to you as if I’m ignoring email and IMs this week, you’re not mistaken: I’m ignoring email and...

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“Take Me to Your Litter Box” • by Pete Wood

The phone meowed twice. It had never made that noise before. Why would anyone call at three a.m.? Eric picked it up, but there was nobody there. Mr. Ruffles stopped licking his fur and stood on his two hind legs. “Well, that’s the signal.” He looked at Eric. “I guess we cats have collected enough data.” Eric stared at his fat tabby. He had just left the office after spending...

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“Moon-Eye” • by Garick Cooke

At six months, he ate his sister while they were both still inside their mother. On the eve of his birth, then, he emerged fat and one-eyed, with the scars of his first fight still on his hide. For the sun-loving draks, a night birth was ill-omened. They were a cruel people, but even among them, infant cannibalism was a thing of the dark past. Thus, doubly ill-omened,...

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“Harvest Day” • by Jocelyn DeVore

  When I was chosen, my heart swelled with so much pride it threatened to burst with each passing millisecond. Those who led the Harvest Day parade each year were celebrated until the crowning of the next leader the following year. The idea of having my name and likeness on signs for the next four seasons brought tears to my eyes. Me? Why me? Certainly there are...

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“Riddle Me” • by Richard Zwicker

The road stretches in front of me like a two-dimensional wall, the straight line nature abhors. It stops me in my chicken tracks. Ironic, as the purpose of a road is to go somewhere. I sense a wealth of information, poultry and otherwise, but have no memory of myself prior to this moment.  The smooth dark asphalt stretches as far as I can see: rolling hills in the distance,...

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“Black Box Algorithm • by Filip Wiltgren

Go. DecAI-5 is a warrior, a fighter pilot, a sub-space mercenary. He kills Romans, Krauts, Tau Cetans. DecAI-5 kills a lot of them. “Can we use it yet?” The voice is disembodied, hanging like an infinite super-string through DecAI-5’s audio parser, making the entire universe vibrate. “No.” A different voice. “Run it through the sims again.” Go. DecAI-5 dives into the searing,...

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The Pete Wood Challenge • “Nine Lives”

The Pete Wood Challenge is an informal ad hoc story-writing competition. Once a month Pete Wood spots writers the idea for a story, usually in the form of a phrase or a few key words, along with some restrictions on what can be submitted, usually in terms of length. Pete then collects the resulting entries, determines who has best met the challenge, and sends the winners...

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“Worlds at War” • by Guy Stewart

“No one would have believed in the early years of their Twenty-first Century, that Fourth World was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences equal to and yet as mortal as our own. As we busied ourselves about our various secret concerns, we were scrutinized and studied, and with infinite complacency we went about our little affairs, serene in the assurance of our...

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“Thanks for the Memory” • by Rick Danforth

  “Another grocery store robbery isn’t going to cut it,” said Kioxia with a yawn, leaning back on a greasy chair in the back of the van she used as a mobile, and evasive, office. “Why the hell not?” asked Chris. “Do you know how hard it is? Last time that security guard chased me for two miles!” “And that was fantastic, you know it was February’s bestseller?” Chris...

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Stupefying Stories 23, 24, and 25 on Kindle • Buy ‘em Now!

Find out what you’ve been missing! Buy all three latest issues on Kindle with just one click!&nb...

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“The Box™” • by Kai Delmas

Congratulations! You are now the proud owner of The Box™. Anything your heart desires is at your fingertips. The most tender filet mignon you’ve ever tasted? Not a problem. That fancy new piece of jewelry? It’s yours. Warning: Before use, please read the restrictions guide for your own safety. Restrictions Under no circumstances should The Box™ be opened manually. Your...

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“The Avenging Tree” • by Patrick Hurley

Just outside a small Tennessee town, amid the rolling hills and lush valleys, there stood a young apple tree who’d sprung up in a holler a ways away from where her mama had first let her crab apples fall. Though their roots had never quite touched, the young tree loved being near her mama, watching that great tree sway in the breeze, offering shade and fruit to travelers...

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