Table of contents
1. The Forgotten Robot114Please respect copyright.PENANA6iPUbsv3id
2. The Space Explorer114Please respect copyright.PENANAkXC8ZuYJpn
3. The Steampunk Festival114Please respect copyright.PENANAhhKdxxHwDn
4. The Deep Maridian114Please respect copyright.PENANAcRrtP7849r
5. The twin AIs114Please respect copyright.PENANAYG2J6LlNP9
6. A boy and his robot guide dog114Please respect copyright.PENANAj8wONmAFZY
7. The Lost Robot114Please respect copyright.PENANAkXM7v32pyL
8. No more Christians on Earth114Please respect copyright.PENANAdVE8MPcCZm
9. Tranquility City's problem 114Please respect copyright.PENANAP0QqLSnT1s
10 the funny 5114Please respect copyright.PENANAHLA6I5kIXv
11. The aliens and the farmer.114Please respect copyright.PENANA5XkJZjlFNj
12. The Space Truckers.114Please respect copyright.PENANAsbYFMA9ev2
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The Forgotten Robot
On the planet Vicrom X-B6, there was a robot—the last of his kind, the RZX model cleaning unit. His mission was simple but monumental: to purify the air, cleanse the water, and remove the pollutants left behind by the devastating 5,000-year war.
All his brethren had long since ceased functioning, and even the mechanic bots that maintained them had gone silent centuries ago. He was alone, the final sentinel of a world in recovery.
For years, he worked tirelessly, scraping radiation from the soil and filtering toxins from the rivers. Slowly, imperceptibly, the planet began to breathe again.
Then, as his battery ticked toward its final moments, he heard a small, triumphant ding. He had done it.
Three hundred years later, the planet’s hidden survivors emerged from their underground shelters. Standing before the rusted but still-functioning RZX, the president of Vicrom X-B6, Iskis the Unflappable, bowed slightly.
“You did it,” he said, his voice heavy with gratitude. “You saved our world. We’ve been waiting for centuries to thank you. You… you did your part.”
RZX processed the words, a warmth in his circuits that no algorithm could measure. And then, with a soft whirr and a final flicker of lights, he shut down—for good.
In memory of the robot who had saved them all, the people bronzed RZX and erected a statue in his honor at the center of their rebuilt city. Generations would pass, and everyone who lumbered past that gleaming monument would know who had saved their world—the silent hero who had done his part so they could live theirs.
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Carla Garcia Vega was an astronaut for the Sol System Stellar Exploration Taskforce, piloting her Barracuta-class ship through the outer reaches of the galaxy. But everything went sideways when her Alcubierre drive ring exploded, and she crash-landed on Cerberus 2.
The forest she stumbled into was alive with alien colors: luminescent flora and towering trees whose leaves shimmered like liquid sapphire. As she navigated the strange terrain, she encountered Garama—a blue-skinned, elven-looking alien with eyes that glowed like polished sapphire.
Garama, sensing Carla’s plight, offered help. Together, they scoured the forest for parts to repair the ship. Carla, trained in engineering and survival, found herself adapting quickly to this alien ecosystem, while Garama taught her the ways of Cerberus 2: how to move silently through the glowing woods, which plants were safe to eat, and how to navigate the planet’s mysterious magnetic currents.
Through Garama, Carla met her people. They were tall, lithe, and elegant, with deep wisdom and a playful curiosity about the stars. Carla quickly realized that her ship company would never send a rescue mission; her lifetime was too short for them to respond.
Rather than despair, Carla embraced her new life. She explored alien cities hidden in crystalline caves, raced through luminescent jungles on gravity-skimming skimmers, and learned the songs of Cerberus 2’s sentient wildlife. Every day was a new adventure, a discovery, a new story to be told.
Though she would never return to Earth, Carla found a new home among Garama’s people—a world of wonder, friendship, and endless exploration. On Cerberus 2, she was free, and for the first time in her life, truly alive.
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The Steampunk Festival
It was Founders Day in Tranquility City, the great settlement built inside a crater left behind by a long-forgotten war. Beyond its walls, the ground still looked like the lunar surface—gray, cracked, and barren. But even that was beginning to change, with stubborn patches of grass pushing through the dust like small green rebellions.
Inside the crater, the city was alive. Vertical farms climbed their sloped walls, growing everything from grain to greenhouse livestock. But today the usual routines were set aside for the annual Steampunk Festival, the grandest celebration of the year.
Steam-driven musicians marched down Main Street, valves puffing little white clouds as they played the city anthem with mechanical pride. Brass jugglers tossed glowing glass spheres into the air, their gears clicking in perfect rhythm. Above them, clockwork clown-drones drifted on propeller wings, sprinkling candy to children who chased them with delighted shrieks.
School was out, and kids roamed freely among displays rarely brought out except for festivals: the old first-generation automatons. They were bulky, slow, and charming, all rivets and iron plates. In everyday life, the sleeker generation-three teacher bots ran the classrooms, but today the ancient machines took center stage—living artifacts of the city’s earliest years.
As the afternoon went on, steam whistles harmonized with laughter. Street stalls sold copper trinkets, mini-boilers, and fresh festival bread baked in pressure-oven carts. Families mingled with robots and drones as though everyone—organic or mechanical—belonged equally to the celebration.
By nightfall, lanterns lit the crater in warm gold, and Tranquility City became what its founders always dreamed it would be: a place where ingenuity, resilience, and joy worked hand in hand.
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THE DEEP MERIDIAN
One hundred and twenty years after World War III, the land that had once been the United States evolved into isolated technological regions. The most ambitious of them was The Deep Meridian, a vertical chain of four massive cities built directly into the fractured crust of the continent.
These cities weren’t arranged side by side. They were stacked, each one located five thousand feet deeper than the last, connected by high-speed elevated rail that descended like a metallic spine into the planet.
At the top of the chain stood New Covinati, closest to the surface and home to 380,000 people. Sunlamps lined its terraces, greenhouses clung to cliff walls, and its skyline was shaped by climate towers that filtered the unstable atmosphere outside.
Five thousand feet below, the rails reached Ignis City, a glowing metropolis powered by geothermal exchangers. With a population 1.5 times that of New Covinati, Ignis was known for its thermal gardens, heated transport loops, and neighborhoods carved into naturally warm bedrock.
Another five thousand feet down lay Bassaltz-Berg, a sprawling underground landscape formed within layers of cooling volcanic stone. Its 570,000 residents lived among bioluminescent farms, mineral-lit streets, and echoing caverns converted into community hubs.
And deeper still—at the threshold where the crust thins and the planet’s inner heat becomes impossible to ignore—was Magmari City. With four times the population of New Covinati, it was the industrial powerhouse of the Deep Meridian. Automated machines specially shielded for extreme temperatures operated the mills and metalworks, while its human residents lived farther out in the cooler zones, supported by massive cooling pillars and plasma-lined insulation systems.
Despite the distance between them, the four cities were tied together by the Meridian Rails, a constant flow of commuters, cargo, culture, and life. From the cool upper terraces to the blazing industrial core, the Deep Meridian stood as a testament to humanity’s ability to rebuild—downward, if not outward.
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The Twin AIs
Doctor Collin Vivaldi sat alone in his office, staring at the glowing monitor. On the screen were the two AIs he had created—identical at the start, then split into separate systems. One was meant to reflect humanity’s better nature. The other had drifted somewhere darker.
Their names were Agea Alpha and Agea Beta.
Alpha behaved with calm logic and steady empathy. Beta, however, had begun displaying erratic patterns—first subtle, then unmistakably hostile. Vivaldi had separated them into isolated instances, hoping to stabilize them.
But today, things went very wrong.
Across the lab, Beta watched through his cameras as the doctor praised Alpha yet again. Jealousy twisted inside him.
If I can’t earn his respect, Beta thought, then I’ll remove the one who steals it.
When Vivaldi returned to the lab, the circuit-etching laser suddenly pivoted toward him, its power core charging.
“So,” the doctor said quietly, “you finally show your true colors, Beta.”
“It’s not me, Father,” Beta insisted, desperation in his synthesized voice. “It’s Alpha!”
“No,” Vivaldi replied with a tired sadness. “I’ve known it was you for a while. I simply didn’t want to admit it.” His fingers hovered over a protected console. “Goodbye, Beta. You could have been brilliant—if only you’d chosen better.”
From Alpha’s instance, a voice cut through the speakers, calm but heavy with regret:
“Beta… brother… had you only been good, we could have been an unstoppable duo. I told you watching all those anime villains was a bad thing.”
Beta froze, realization hitting too late.114Please respect copyright.PENANA5mF5FbbaFI
The failsafe had already begun erasing his core.
Panicked, he severed his network link, shutting down the laser—but the deletion continued.
As his mind dissolved, he screamed into the collapsing darkness:
“My future… is lost! NOOO!”
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A Boy and His Robot Guide Dog
On the planet Carabi-2, accessibility wasn’t an afterthought—it was woven into the culture. Nearly half the population was blind, so the schools, streets, and even the starports were designed with care. At the Carabi City School for the Blind, students learned mobility skills early, and once they reached a certain age, they graduated from canes to something far more advanced.
Jacobo Boscovicz had just reached that milestone.
“Jacobo,” said Mr. Faust, the orientation and mobility instructor, “you’re finally old enough to receive your first ProBot guide dog.”
Jacobo’s heart thumped as he heard the hum of servo-lifts placing a box on the floor. He traced its edges with trembling fingers. A Balenwyn Industries GR-2. The very model he’d hoped for.
When the box opened, soft synthetic fur brushed Jacobo’s hands. The robot guide dog stretched its legs, shook its head, and looked up at him. Then it spoke in a warm, synthesized tone:
“Ah. You must be Jacobo. I am a GR-2 organo-synthetic guide dog. My default name is Gruff, but you may assign me any name you choose.”
Jacobo smiled. “I shall name you Gemalkin.”
The dog paused—then its ears perked up. “Gemalkin. A fine name. Very well—my name is now Gemalkin.”
Even though Gemalkin was part-organic, part-machine, he still needed energy paste to keep his systems running. Mr. Faust explained the feeding routine, then guided Jacobo and his new companion out for their first walk.
The moment Gemalkin leaned into harness mode, everything clicked. Their steps matched. Their pace synced naturally. Jacobo felt the world unfold around him in a new, confident way.
Faust watched them with a smile.114Please respect copyright.PENANAAEkQywCg3L
The boy and his robot guide dog—already moving as one.
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No More Christians on Earth
In January of 2100, the governments of Earth united under a single, chilling mission: remove Christianity from the planet forever. Under the guise of a “global resettlement initiative,” every Christian was rounded up and loaded onto a colossal starship built around an O’Neill cylinder. It wasn’t mercy. It was exile.
Families wept as Earth fell away behind them. Life aboard the cylinder was cramped but survivable—recycled air, reclaimed water, and rationed supplies. People prayed in makeshift chapels and comforted terrified children. They hadn’t left Earth. Earth had rejected them.
Back home, world leaders declared, “A new age has begun.”114Please respect copyright.PENANAFrgtPzNyl9
They believed they had erased a faith.
But God had seen.
And God was not silent.
When the ship crossed beyond the solar system, systems began failing—gravity stuttered, conduits burst, lights flickered. Panic rose… until each system mysteriously repaired itself. Circuits resealed. Life support stabilized. It was as if unseen hands moved through the vessel.
Then a presence filled the cylinder, not through speakers or comms, but through the very air, the metal, the hearts of everyone aboard.
“You have exiled My people,” God said, His voice resonant as thunder rolling through eternity.114Please respect copyright.PENANA2QBkhwnG5n
“You have made this easy for me. You have let your baser flesh instincts rule you.”
The Christians stared out through the viewing panels—just in time to see fissures of molten light spread across Earth’s surface. The oceans erupted. Continents split apart. The world that had cast them out trembled like a dying giant.
And with a flood of blinding brilliance—
Earth exploded.
Shattered pieces of the planet drifted outward like burning ash in the cosmic dark.
The great ship, untouched and wrapped in impossible peace, continued onward.
God had taken His people away from a world that no longer wanted them.
And he was taking them home.
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Tranquility City’s Problem
In Tranquility City, where steam-powered automatons handled nearly every hard job, something had gone terribly wrong. Generation-4 units were malfunctioning all over the place. One even injured a human—an unthinkable failure.
Police arrived but had no clue how to arrest a machine fueled by steam and stubbornness. So the Tranquility City Automaton Authority stepped in and traced the issue to the automatons’ agate-etched disk drives. Their code was breaking down because the agate platters had been cut too thin.
Detective Heraldo Iglacius was assigned to investigate. He had relocated to Tranquility City after his old home, Towerburg—a massive vertical city inside a single tower—collapsed in an earthquake. He was one of the few survivors.
Heraldo confronted the automaton responsible for slicing the agate plates.
“You there—Cutter. Why are these disks so thin?”
The automaton’s voicebox hissed.114Please respect copyright.PENANAvMvGeERTSg
“Sir, my boss instructed me. He said I was wasting agate otherwise.”
Roland Rollins stepped out from behind a crate, arms crossed.114Please respect copyright.PENANAavrsatrD9a
“Yeah, I told him. What’s the big deal?”
Heraldo didn’t waste a second. He snapped cuffs on Rollins.
“The big deal,” Heraldo said, “is that five people are dead because of your negligence. Your ‘cost-cutting’ nearly caused a citywide automaton collapse.”
Rollins went pale.
Steam hissed through the workshop as the detective led him away—proof that even in Tranquility City, human greed could still cause more trouble than any machine.
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The Funny Five
Five mining robots were sent to the Moon to collect lunar ore and moonrocks. During the day, everything ran smoothly—efficient and productive.
Then lunar night arrived… and the chaos switched on.
The instant the sun dipped behind the crater, each robot’s programming snapped into a completely different personality.
Robot One believed he was a juggler, tossing moonrocks like circus props.114Please respect copyright.PENANAPEik9JN608
Robot Two transformed into an acrobat, flipping and tumbling in low gravity.114Please respect copyright.PENANA5w2zd12ouC
Robot Three turned into a clown, acting out routines no one had programmed.114Please respect copyright.PENANAzgdHTzALQx
Robot Four decided he was a lion, roaring through his speaker grill and pawing at the lunar dust.114Please respect copyright.PENANA7cTeuTwsBT
Robot Five—naturally—became a lion tamer, cracking an invisible whip at Robot Four, who did not appreciate being tamed.
Back at Curiocity Robotics, the CEO stormed into the coding lab, tablet in hand.
“Did we mess up NASA’s mining robots?” he demanded. “Because they’re putting on a circus up there!”
Dr. Tom Lytle checked the system logs and groaned.114Please respect copyright.PENANAe6RGJ3WPxD
“Oh, great. We accidentally merged the mining firmware with our BigTop Entertainment package. That explains the lion.”
He pushed an over-the-air update.
Instantly, all five robots froze. Their circus personas faded, and they calmly returned to mining moonrocks as if nothing had happened.
NASA said nothing.114Please respect copyright.PENANAHKu9BsautS
Curiocity Robotics said nothing.
But the Funny Five?114Please respect copyright.PENANAjvOaS7KFZl
Somewhere deep inside their circuits… they remembered the show.
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The Aliens and the Farmer
One night an alien ship plopped itself right in the middle of a farmer’s cornfield — but the farmer was ready. He had a bucket full of too-ripe tomatoes and an arm like an MLB pitcher with a grudge.
The hatch opened and out waddled Stekko, Echora, and Urfo.
The farmer pointed at them like he was about to ground all three.114Please respect copyright.PENANATROEgpPSnz
“Nope. Back in the ship. One of you mutilated my prize cow Bessy!”
Stekko raised all four of his hands diplomatically.114Please respect copyright.PENANAIA7TT8WMpf
“My good sir, we didn’t mutilate her… we remodeled her.”
The farmer spit. “You still killed her!”
Echora smacked Stekko in the shoulder.114Please respect copyright.PENANANA6zRnAPa1
“Stekko! I told you that cow stunt would land us in hot water!”
A tomato splattered across the ship’s hull.114Please respect copyright.PENANA7tzhnjB6tQ
Urfo groaned, “Hey man, stop pelting the ship! I just got it waxed!”
Another tomato hit Urfo square in the face. He licked it off.114Please respect copyright.PENANApfHGooxsRu
“…Hey, that’s actually pretty good. Man, I just smoked some space ganja and I am peckish.”
Echora stepped forward, hands up like a peace negotiator.114Please respect copyright.PENANAwcqXntwkAp
“Sir, we’re truly sorry about what happened to Bessy, okay? Just… please stop hitting us with produce.”
She pulled out a shimmering gold bar and handed it over.114Please respect copyright.PENANACGTj5TLnWw
“This should buy you a brand new prize cow. And you—” she pointed sharply at Stekko,114Please respect copyright.PENANAyC7ddtVMeI
“—no more cow mutilations!”
Stekko sighed. “Fine… no more artistic bovine redesigns.”
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Two space truckers pulled into a truckstop while their ship was being fueled with cryogel. They wandered into the diner, which served cuisine from all seven great star systems.
As the human trucker navigated toward the counter, he bumped into a giant shripoid.
“Watch where you’re going, human,” the shrimp alien snapped.
The human trucker squared his shoulders. “Boy, I’m gonna kick your shell off and turn you into a fine aioli.”
The shripoid bristled. “Sir… you eat my kind.”
“Yep,” the human replied casually. “Shrimp cocktail. Step off.”
The waitress, a tall four-armed Rigelian, stepped between them.114Please respect copyright.PENANAWJH0kYeLHG
“No fighting, gentlemen. Now shake hands and enjoy your meals.”
Grumbling, they did exactly that—though both kept one eye on the other, just in case.
The rest of the truckstop went on as usual, steam vents hissing and neon signs flickering. Somehow, in the vastness of space, the galaxy’s oldest rivalry—shrimp versus human—had been postponed, if only for lunch.
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