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For millions of people worldwide, the boundaries of reality are more permeable than solid. This short story suggests that even if the boundaries for some may not always be watertight, what spills through can be far preferable—and sometimes more pleasurable—than the rest of us can imagine.
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Physical host control, a little known but fascinating characteristic of some of the most virulent real-world parasitic species, often plays a critical role in their complex life cycles. “Psuedotuberosum Paulanthia” takes an imaginative look at a very frightful form of host control. Keep an eye on those potatoes. Don’t sleep naked.
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Compulsive litter hoarding is one of the strangest psychological peculiarities I've ever heard of. I’m probably not alone on this. In "Stewart's Intruder" you’ll find a colorful character who thinks living with thirty years-worth of his own trash is quite normal. The little monster he finds living in the trash with him is a different matter altogether...
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You just never know who can do what. “Genius” takes a look at what can happen when groundless assumptions about another’s apparent shortcomings lead us to make foolhardy and very dangerous blunders.
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When our good nature works to our disadvantage we may find ourselves pulled down some ugly or dangerous road with a stiff and phony smile plastered on our face when we should have bared our teeth, dug in our heels and saved ourselves. “Tea With Sophia” takes a look at what can happen when niceness wins out against our better judgment, in this case with appalling consequences.
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Who among us with any imagination hasn’t at one time or another entertained the possibility of being mugged or attacked during that otherwise peaceful, secluded picnic in the park? But what would happen if the perpetrator didn’t fit the jaundiced image of urban treachery our imaginations usually dream up, but was instead a sub-normal and psychopathic seven-year-old boy? “Picka Bum” explores just that possibility. Hide your hotdogs. Watch your babies.
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"Itch" reminds us that even nature’s non-mobile, chlorophyll-producing members can muster effective and surprising defenses -- and that the great Karmic engine doesn’t operate on Earth alone.
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“Dumpster Diva” is a bit of a morality play that reminds us that if we tip the scales of justice too far and too long in the wrong direction, we may suddenly find ourselves with a ton of grief on our side – unless of course we’re able to offset the burden with the weight of some spare change.
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