Fireworks rupture the smoke gold stars like sky-sealed approval burst trickle down green triangles ... [+]
A.J. is a writer and English teacher from Chicago. He specialized in the study of speculative fiction while pursuing his M.A.. Now he writes SFF criticism and his own short fiction. Find his work at: theymightbewindmills.com. "And One Day Soon Your Many Worlds" is in Short Circuit #13, Short Édition's quarterly review.
The Mine was due to rise in thirty minutes, and Regge wanted to grab a bowl of ramen planetside before his shift started. He biked through the smoke and stirring bodies and boss-bots buzzing around the port and headed for Gatt's Salvage Shop on the outskirts of town. He wasn't bound for the shop itself, but for the little ramen stand hunkered in its shadow. You could get tak from just about anywhere in the port, but that stand was the only place for a million ticks in any direction capable of converting the stuff into something worth eating.A circle of hoverbikes was already waiting when Regge