Showing results for "Humans" in Short Stories

An old man wakes inside his comatose, completely nonresponsive body. According to his insurance company, in order to return to his life and family, he must pass a test. As if coming out of a coma weren’t enough of a challenge, our patient must also pass the Turing test, i.e., prove he’s human to an AI resuscitation machine. This satirical but heartfelt tale reminiscent of Kurt Vonnegut and Ted Chiang asks the question: Can a person articulate the deepest truths he knows to be real?

An undocumented woman answers a job posting only to find herself held hostage, a group of outcasts obsess over boys drowned while surfing, and an unhappy couple finds themselves trapped in a terrifying maze. With scalpel-like precision, Ampuero considers the price paid by those on the margins so that the elite might lounge comfortably, considering themselves safe in their homes.

From the dog who interviews potential owners to the cat who writes Yelp reviews about her human, this hilarious and heartwarming flash fiction collection celebrates the glorious mess of life with adopted pets. Whether it’s a puppy submitting a resume ("Skills: Professional Cuddler, Amateur Sock Thief") or a shelter cat staging a protest for better treats, these 100 bite-sized stories are packed with love, laughter, and heart-tugging surprises—plus one powerful truth: adopting a pet might just be the best decision you ever make (even if they chew the evidence).

It is said that dreams are harmless, that they are nothing more than the meaningless fancies of an unconscious mind. It’s only a dream. It’s only a dream. It’s only a dream. This, of course, is something we tell ourselves when we wake up screaming in the dead of night. We repeat the mantra in order to bring ourselves back to reality, in order to remind ourselves that there is nothing to fear.

It was supposed to be a simple rescue mission: secure the doctor and exfil to the surface. A task that Nade Wilhelm and Pip Damon of A.L.P.H.A Team could be forgiven for considering beneath them. But there are things thriving in the underground facility that would have been better off undiscovered.

Step one: Perfect the smile. Step two: Master the routine. Step three: Never let them see what’s underneath. Through this series of haunting tales, Gerden Ibrahim guides us into a realm where beautiful surfaces hide monstrous depths. I was the star of Dr. Warly’s adventure club: a children’s show that doesn’t exist. My sister disappeared five years ago, but last night she knocked on our door. Never leave a chair empty in your bedroom at night. You don’t want to know who might take a seat while you sleep. I just got a job at a lamp store. Turns out we don’t actually sell lamps…

The Human Moments Collection brings together the complete James Ellery trilogy— Turning Points, Beautiful Cracks, and Brief Encounters—in one definitive volume. Thirty-six stories about the moments that redirect us, the failures that reveal us, and the connections that sustain us. Three books. One complete portrait of what it means to be human in the unremarkable, quietly astonishing texture of everyday life.

In the not-too-distant future, UNIT JHEU198, a Safety and Street ROBO, has malfunctioned. It has attacked an innocent man. This shouldn’t be possible. No one was truly harmed, and no real blood was spilled, but still, Amir has the board breathing down his neck for answers.

Recipe? Two parts evil, one part dark, fill the rest with fear. Add a dash of sarcasm and serve it with a beer! A collection of horror stories from the author of Demon and Other Inconveniences. Not a cook book.

Dark, moving and eccentric, GENTLEMAN'S RELISH is Patrick Gale's second collection of subversive and exhilarating short stories 'The short story form suits Gale's ability to zoom in on the smallest nuances of a relationship' Kate Saunders, The Times A lonely prison governor's wife develops a...

Award-winning comedian Andrew Heaton brings wit and warmth to his vision of humanity, the supernatural, and bureaucrats in his debut short story collection. Learn the pitfalls of settling resurrected Neanderthals in Detroit. Explore the work-life balance of a professional who assumes other people’s hangovers. Or the travails of a State Department diplomat posted to a planet with relentless boredom and allergies. Discover the challenges time-travel regulators face when everyone tries to kill Hitler.

It is 2068 and humans are attempting to colonize Mars. Patricia Vicarro, director of a Mars colonization project, has selected HWR-001-046-QF Andrea to send to Mars in the first of a three-stage project to build a colony. Everything must be perfect. Andrea spent nearly three years in isolation, preparing for astronaut Adam Copelane's arrival. He will be the first human on Mars and will join Andrea in building the colony pods for the third phase. Now, with everything ready for Adam, she watches the Martian sky eagerly.

Lonely, observant, and quietly hopeful—what does it mean to truly see life unfold around you? Step into Miss Brill by Katherine Mansfield, a masterful short story that illuminates the beauty, longing, and subtle heartbreak of everyday life.

"Human Is" is a science fiction short story by American writer Philip K. Dick. It was first published in Startling Stories, Winter 1955. The plot centers on the crisis facing a woman whose cold and emotionally abusive husband returns from a survey mission to the dying planet Rexor IV, changed for the better—his psyche was replaced by a Rexorian, glad to have escaped the confines of its dying planet. The story was adapted by Jessica Mecklenburg for an episode of the 2017 TV series, Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams.

Untouched by Human Hands consists of 13 stories of beings who dwell on the strange borders of reality. Some of these stories tell of people you know or of events that might happen - but haven't yet. Some will take you to the furthermost reaches of the sky and to planets whose names are unknown this side of Arcturus. And some - perhaps the richest and most memorable of these stories - open into the interior of strange minds to reveal the reflection of ourselves.

"My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you." If you just heaved a contented sigh at Mr. Darcy's heartfelt words, then you, dear listener, are in good company. Here is a delightful collection of never-before-published stories inspired by Jane Austen - her novels, her life, her wit, her world.

Liam, a twenty year old man, is sick of wiping asses for a living, so when he applies for a position at a local restaurant, he sees a way out. He meets the beautiful Abby—barmaid, seductress, abductor—and his world falls into chaos. She likes men like him. She also likes cheese, boiling hot cheese, and the way it sizzles through flesh.

A collection of thirty short stories that move along the edges of the existential and the social, the tender and the ironic. Set against the backdrop of Greece , and drawing deeply from its unique spirit and contradictions, each story reveals a subtle fracture in the surface of daily life, where a person confronts themselves, the systems that enclose them, and the illusions they invent just to endure. These are finely tuned explorations of the human psyche —part microscope, part mirror— unveiling the quiet absurdities we all share .

What if the truest witnesses to our world walked on four legs, offering comfort without judgment and love without condition? Paws for Thought is a moving collection of 100 short stories told through the eyes of pets—dogs, cats, rabbits, parrots, and more—who quietly observe the joys and injustices of human life. From poverty and racism to illness, aging, and inequality, these animals stand by their humans through it all, offering loyalty, warmth, and a kind of wisdom that often goes unseen.

From the first campfire to the iPhone, the world’s greatest inventions looked very different from the floor—right beside the water bowl. In Paws of Progress, S. M. Lucky serves up 50 laugh-out-loud, heart-squeeze tales in which dogs, cats, parrots, raccoons, goldfish, and more witness (and frequently sabotage) human genius. A wolf-dog drafts the original leash manifesto. A monastery cat edits the printing press with paw-notes.