A very varied collection of short (or very short) stories, a recount, a bit of polemic, and one poem. Exploring environmental issues, the human mind, relationships, politics and more... Some are set in the recent past, some in the present, some in the near future, and many in the distant future; two are set in space, but most are firmly on the ground - two in India, two in Antarctica, two at sea; most could be almost anywhere on Earth. Many but not all have a post-apocalyptic flavour - sometimes so far post-apocalyptic that the apocalypse is forgotten. Only three involve highly advanced technology, and that scientifically reasonably credible; none involve any magic or anything fantastical. Most but not all of the protagonists are human.

A collection of mindful, intelligent stories by a group of authors as diverse as their story telling. Some of us are family; we're all friends. Some of us were at school together in the 1960s, or were house-mates in the 1970s. Some of us only know each other online. Our ages range from the early twenties to the early eighties. Most of us are native English speakers, but Grace's mother-tongue is Hindi, Lovie's is Icelandic, Marko's is Croatian, and Meryem's is French. We all wrote in English apart from Meryem, whose story Clive translated with her approval. Please enjoy reading as much as we enjoyed writing.