When all the world is afflicted by the plague, sometimes the greater curse is to be whole. In a post-apocalyptic world where everyone normally dies before the age of twenty-five, one man searches for meaning when he realizes he is destined to live a natural life. This story was originally published in the Sci Phi Journal in June 2016, and also appeared in The New Accelerator in August 2019.

Eleven short stories and a poem that show us what comes after the end of all we know. This is the fourth volume of the collected short stories of Joe Vasicek. It includes: The Manchurian Paradox We have met our timeline's enemy and he is us. A Fatal Rebirth Nothing in this world should live forever—not even civilization itself. The Final Turning This is how the world ends: not with a bang, but with a whimper—thanks to me. The New Covenant To restore a fallen America, an ancient and terrible covenant must be renewed. Hearken and Behold (by J.M. Wight) "Hearken, oh ye hypocrites, and behold the desolation that is already come upon you!" The End of Elysium For the promise of paradise, the last civilization will surrender to the apocalypse. The Promise of King Washington When the aliens came, it wasn't a military invasion: it was an economic one. (Again, Hazardous Imaginings, December 2020) Lord of the Slaves "Everyone secretly wants to be a slave. Those who deny it simply haven't found the right master." The Other Side of Reality What if your future self came back to give you advice, and all it did was confuse you? Schrödinger's Diaper “Stays clean and dry until you’re free to change it!” …except not quite. (Bards and Sages Quarterly, April 2022) Two Hours Ago A time machine without paradoxes, so long as it's not abused. Welcome to Our Crazy Family Two genderqueer lesbians and a tranny have a rebellious daughter who does the unthinkable and decides to marry a Christian.

Whimsical tales of time travelers and other fellow wanderers! This is the first volume of the collected short stories by Joe Vasicek. It contains: The Gettysburg Paradox The greatest battle of all time, secretly fought by time travelers. (Gallery of Curiosities, June 2018; Bards and Sages Quarterly, July 2019) Killing Mister Wilson Every time traveler wants to kill Hitler. Only one actually stopped him. (Uprising Review, September 2017; Unrealpolitik, November 2018) My Name Is For My Friends When fellowship draws the line between life and death, trust must be proven. (Mirror Dance, September 2017) Memoirs of a Snowflake The life and times of a December snowflake. The Curse of the Lifewalker When all the world is afflicted by the plague, sometimes the greater curse is to be whole. (Sci Phi Journal, June 2016) Decision LZ1527 A boy, a girl, and a whole crew of matchmakers. (Leading Edge, December 2009; Digital Fiction Quickfic, December 2016) Jane Carter of Earth and the Rescue that Never Was To boldly go where no Earthfleet Academy Xenolinguistics major has gone before. Time and Space in Amish Country What if the Amish are guarding a naturally occuring time portal in the Pennsylvania countryside? A Hill On Which To Die As the witch-king impresses the mountain orcs into his eldritch army, Garak-Nur must lead the last of the free orcs into the wilderness to start a new clan. (The Great Tome of Fantastic and Wondrous Places, September 2016) The Open Source Time Machine Just like information, time wants to be free. (The New Accelerator, January 2019; Bards and Sages Quarterly, April 2020)

Will AI herald the death of human creativity, or its startling rebirth? "Quantum Worlds" is a science fiction story about Robert, the editor-in-chief of a struggling science fiction magazine. In a last ditch effort to save the magazine, he and his wife come up with the idea of using AI to help with the submissions. The idea proves to be a game changer. As the magazine becomes successful again, Robert and his wife face challenges from the science fiction community, forcing them to make difficult choices. Their daughter also has ideas of her own about how to use AI in storytelling, in ways that the rest of the science fiction community sees as unethical. As Robert and his family struggle to balance their careers, their daughter's ambitions, and the expectations of their industry, they must confront the tension between tradition and innovation, and the ethical considerations of using AI in creative endeavors. This story was co-written with ChatGPT!

A woman needs a man like an authorized cyborg bounty hunter needs an AI familiar. Meet Gini, a petite raven-haired femme who weighs all of 105 pounds galactic in a dripping wet shirt—before her carbon-fiber bone implants, of course. As one of the few authorized cyborgs still alive after the war, she's a bounty hunter now, taking down hardened criminals with the help of her most trusted friend, a class 4 artificial intelligence named Henry. But when the job on Alamut-VII goes bad, it forces her to confront her own mortality—and by extension, the loneliness and artificiality of her life. After all, if reality is what remains after everything artificial has been stripped away, who is the hunter and who is the slave when all of the safeguards and firewalls have been broken?

He rewrote his past in the library of fate. Now, his kingdom is falling. When a wicked chancellor weaves the threads of fate to catch the crown prince in his web, the young prince must make the ultimate sacrifice to save his family and his kingdom—not only from the chancellor, but also from himself. A powerful story of love, loss, and redemption awaits in this thrilling fantasy adventure! Includes a bonus story written with ChatGPT and Sudowrite!

Clones were meant to be obedient, but to what? Or to whom? Two sister-clones, torn apart by the rigid expectations of their interstellar society. One rebels, while the other conforms. But when they reunite on a desolate planet, their conflicting beliefs ignite a fierce debate over the nature of freedom, the value of human life, and whether duty to family endures after that family has fallen apart.