Hard Science Fiction

After damaging climate change, humanity is divided, torn into the technophobic nature-worshippers on Earth and the banished children of science on the new worlds. Jaruss awakens, drifting 300 light-years from Earth, trapped, memoryless, and alone. Who is he, where does he come from, and what are these recurring nightmares that trouble his sleep? To find out, he must outwit an efficiency-obsessed AI and join the dangerous crew of the stealth ship, Pangolin.

"Let's Get Together" showcases Isaac Asimov's prophetic vision of artificial intelligence gone wrong. In this chilling short story, humanoid robots with a deadly secret threaten humanity's existence. Originally published in 1957, Asimov's tale eerily anticipates modern concerns about technological oversight and autonomous weapons. This science fiction classic demonstrates why Asimov remains the definitive voice on robotics in literature. Perfect for fans of thought-provoking sci-fi, AI ethics enthusiasts, and collectors of Golden Age science fiction.

The Space Race of the Sixties, at the height of the Cold War, had been nail-biting—until the Soviet Union forfeited. In the thirties—amid a second Cold War—China is not about to lose the race to Mars. Nor is the United States. Nor, quite the wildcard, is a secretive cabal drawn from among the world's multi-billionaires. All of them are scrambling to launch deep-space missions on a schedule that makes the Sixties contest appear lackadaisical. This competition could only continue on the Red Planet.

Eine neue Heimat, eine neue Hoffnung ... und ein neuer Feind. Brandon Q. Morris erzählt die Besiedlung des Mars als großes Abenteuer der Menschheit. 2058. Eine Künstliche Intelligenz hat mithilfe von Robotern den Bau einer Marskolonie beendet, in der bald die ersten hundert Menschen wohnen sollen. Da die kosmische Strahlung während der langen Reise und später auf dem Planeten das Erbgut der ersten Generation von Mars-Menschen irreparabel schädigen wird, entscheidet man sich für Astronauten und Astronautinnen im fortgeschrittenen Alter.

It’s Sunset Station! Where astronaut Kris Standard and her crack team of fellow astronauts work tirelessly to bring us the future of space travel for a fraction of the cost! On Sunset Station! cost-effectiveness is baked into in the design specs! Really! “Ask not how to do it, ask how to do it for less” is our motto! When it comes to Sunset Station! keeping six people alive in space on a budget is no problem! Just as long as everything continues to work exactly right! Because if something goes wrong…? Dear God, nothing better go Sunset Station! Nothing ever goes wrong! Ever!

Ein Artefakt, das nie geborgen werden sollte. Auf der erdabgewandten Seite des Mondes entsteht ein riesiges Teleskop. Roboter bauen es – gerade einmal zwei Menschen kontrollieren seine Fertigstellung. Doch dann werden diese Forscher auf ein Hindernis im Mondboden aufmerksam. Es befindet sich außerhalb des für das Hyperteleskop reservierten Gebietes und geht die beiden deshalb eigentlich gar nichts an. Eigentlich, denn ihre Neugier ist zu groß, scheint das Artefakt doch Eigenschaften zu besitzen, die unsere Physik sprengen.

Der neue Killerbot-Roman – bald als Serie bei Apple TV+. Wenn die SecurityUnit namens Killerbot nicht gerade Attentäter zur Strecke bringt oder Fernsehserien suchtet, ist sie als Begleitschutz für Forschungsmissionen unterwegs. Diesmal geht allerdings alles schief. Der Konzern Barish-Estranza schickt gleich mehrere Schiffe, um Siedler auf einem neu kolonisierten Planeten zu retten. Killerbot ist mit dabei, aber leider auch mehrere andere SecUnits. Schon bald hat der neurotischste Roboter von allen den Verdacht, dass der Konzern eine geheime Agenda verfolgt – und auch Killerbots eigenes System läuft nicht rund.

The year is 2072. At the lunar farside radio observatory, an old school radio broadcast is detected, similar to those broadcast on Earth in the 1940s and early 1950s, but in an unknown language, coming from an impossible source, and originating at an equally impossible location—Proxima Centauri. While the nations of Earth debate making First Contact, they learn that the Proximans are facing an extinction-level disaster, forcing a decision: Will Earth send a ship on a multiyear trip to provide aid?

Propulsion scientist Dr. Todd Cunningham was an astronaut headed for outer space until budget cuts killed the mission—and his lifelong dream. Now, he's just an obscure expert in fusion-powered space travel, a professor buried in an ever-increasing pile of work. But when a daring mission is approved to travel to Europa, Jupiter's frozen moon, Cunningham is thrust back into the spotlight by the very man he blames for ending his NASA career, and he finds himself joining the ranks of NASA astronauts on a groundbreaking journey to challenge humanity's understanding of life in the universe.

This darkly humorous short story transports listeners to an overcrowded future where anti-aging drugs have created a society where nobody dies and multiple generations are forced to cohabitate. Follow the dysfunctional Ford family as they navigate life under the iron rule of 172-year-old Gramps, whose possession of the family apartment gives him absolute power. When young Lou plots to overthrow the family hierarchy, chaos ensues.

Seit ihre Mutter verschwand, lebt Trish auf der Straße. Sie schnorrt, stiehlt und hat keine Zukunftsperspektive. Einzige Bezugsperson ist ihr Bruder Mike, der sich als Fahrradkurier durchschlägt. Eines Abends beobachtet Trish, wie Männer in dunklen Anzügen und mit seltsamen Tätowierungen auf dem Handrücken Jugendliche von der Straße ansprechen. Diejenigen, die ihnen folgen, sieht sie nicht wieder. Als einer dieser Männer auch zu ihr kommt und ihr eine bessere Zukunft verspricht, entscheidet sich Trish, mitzugehen. Doch das angepriesene gute Leben hat einen zu hohen Preis.

Climate fiction without apocalypse, set in and around Washington, D.C. Newly minted engineering professor Jake Harper, dealing with issues of mild dyslexia and awkwardness with public speaking, wants to stave off climate weirding by re-engineering the North American electric grids. His pregnant partner Abbey London, sassy but irresistible, starts her practice as an infectious disease specialist, concerned with encroaching tropical diseases. Together they operate her parents' Dragonfly Inn just twenty minutes away in northern Virginia.

Kelvoo is overcome with wonder at the arrival of the humans. With flawless memories and innate curiosity, Kelvoo’s community embraces the benevolent humans and their knowledge of the boundless universe beyond the cloud-covered sky. After the departure of the first contact mission, an unscrupulous human lands in Kelvoo’s village, inviting Kelvoo and eight others to join a “goodwill mission” to faraway worlds. Lured into a trap and enslaved by an outlaw gang, Kelvoo’s group is forced to participate in an interstellar crime spree, and subjected to the worst of human nature.

Experience the ultimate struggle for survival in Stanley G. Weinbaum's thrilling sci-fi adventure, Flight on Titan. When Tim and Diane Vick crash-land on Saturn's largest moon, they find themselves battling extreme cold, deadly radiation, and a hostile environment unlike anything on Earth. As they fight to stay alive, their resilience and determination are tested to the limits. Filled with tension, vivid world-building, and Weinbaum's signature imagination, Flight on Titan is a gripping tale of human endurance against the unforgiving forces of space.

L’humanité est au bord du gouffre. Alors que la Terre s’embrase dans une apocalyptique explosion de feu et de chaos, une ingénieure réseau nommée Mégara parvient à fuir à bord d’un vaisseau-colonie. Chargée de superviser cinq IA ultra-avancées et de protéger les dernières âmes humaines, elle entame une odyssée épique à travers les profondeurs de l’espace ou elle devra également entreprendre un voyage personnel : dépasser les limites humaines. Sur un nouveau monde baptisé Illuminaria, Mégara et son panthéon d’IA s’efforcent de guider l’humanité vers un avenir plus pacifique et désintéressé.

Salante Fossi, inviato del Modern Times, si trova a Skagen durante il solstizio d’estate, per festeggiare il compleanno del Vecchio Cibernetico e, molto probabilmente, la sua vittoria al Nobel. Il Vecchio Cibernetico ha quasi cent’anni, è nato in Ungheria, è fuggito da Budapest con una donna mentre i carri armati sovietici invadevano la città, ha vissuto e studiato in tutta Europa e, da qualche anno, si è stabilito in Portogallo.

When Ray Olsen gets a call from long-lost Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto, he knows it cant be real. No one has heard from Satoshi in over a decade. And if he did call someone, it wouldn't be Ray, a rookie journalist at the Valley Times. That is, until Satoshi sends Bitcoin from the Genesis Block, the first block of Bitcoin ever mined. No one has ever moved the Genesis Block before. Until now.

As Earth erupts into a fiery cataclysm, a skilled network engineer named Megara escapes aboard a colony ship. Entrusted with overseeing five super-advanced AIs and safeguarding the last living human souls, she embarks on an epic odyssey through the deep reaches of space where she must also undertake a personal journey—that of advancing beyond human limits.

Lynn Venable’s Time Enough at Last is a chilling and ironic tale about the fragility of dreams and the unpredictable nature of fate. The story follows Henry Bemis, a man who loves books but is constantly denied the time to read. When a catastrophic event leaves him as the sole survivor in a desolate, post-apocalyptic world, he finds solace in the realization that he now has all the time he ever wanted—to read without interruption. However, fate has one final, cruel twist in store.

To anyone who meets her, Samantha is just a good-hearted teenager who wants to finish school and go to college. Yet she has a secret life... She has spent years living two lives, one as Sam which the world sees most and one as Foresight, who Sam feels is her true self where she is a passionate and gifted hacker. She has never found a system she could not bend to her will. She is the essence of a true magician within the dark recesses of the web which many dare not enter. Foresight and Sam never mix.