25 Impossible Tales: A Science Fiction and Fantasy Collection

No matter how hard circumstances are, there is hope for survival, even if it means making one simple choice in the right direction or standing up in the face of impossible odds.
But the question remains: What is the right direction and which way is up?

In these 25 Impossible Tales of Survivors, Flawed Heroes, and Annoyed Villains, we meet over 25 characters faced with impossible odds and difficult choices. Each story offers a unique perspective on what it means to be human, to survive, to live with hard choices, to have purpose, to love, to succeed, and to have hope.

These stories are set in near-future, alternative world, and far future science fiction and fantasy worlds. Some characters fly spaceships, and some wield swords. Some characters are everyday people, and some are extremely strange.

The story lengths range from 300-word micro-fiction stories to full, short stories. Some end with a horizon open, and some with the horizon closed.

Most of these stories end on hopeful notes, but a few of them end with either a sense of "justice" or reckoning.

In brief, the stories are:
In HELP WANTED: CODE: GRAY, a job seeker is invited to a strange interview in a near-future world.
In WHEN LIFE IS ALMOST AS STRANGE AS FICTION, a student attempts to warn others of the coming future.
AM I A MONSTER? is a story about unwanted gifts.
DEAR DREAD LORD is a letter written in the underworld.
SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST? asks us to consider if "anything goes" is a good survival strategy.
OF CLONES AND ROBOPUPPIES is a futuristic tale concerning children's life insurance.
OUT OF MANY, ONE is a micro-fiction tale about cloning.
11:06 THE TIME OF NOW is a surreal tale of survival.
SHIMMER is an urban fantasy centered around a young girl in need of an escape.
NEW ANSWERS involves a character's quest to do right, even if it means failing.
WISHES is an urban fantasy tale.
WAKING UP ALIEN is a story of aliens and humanity.
LIFE POD involves hydroponics and hidden hope.
A LETTER FROM A SURVIVOR attempts to prove foolishness is wisdom in a post-apocalyptic world.
TRUST AND LIES is a time-shifting mix of poetry and prose about long-term relationships on a spaceship.
HEARING THINGS is a micro-fiction story that asks us to consider where our strengths lie.
SHADOW MAGIC is a tale of unexpected magic.
THE GREAT ELEVATOR contains a planet-encompassing elevator and a rigid class system.
OF WORDS AND SWORDS begs the question, can a dragon slayer retire?
ENOUGH TO DO is a flash fiction fantasy about purpose.
THE BLADE SMITH OF BRIN is a bedtime story, from mother to child, about heroism.
HOTHOUSE includes a flawed hero and his intrepid crew.
A COMPANION FOR THE JOURNEY centers around a rogue AI.
NEW AND OLD HORIZONS involves business deals and hope for humanity in a near-future.
HERE THERE BE DRAGONS is a warning to all new adventurers.