In a dark dystopian future, a courier must make a timely delivery while nefarious forces try to slow him down. Will he miss his deadline? This episode features "Twenty-One-Oh" by Ari Marmell (mouseferatu.com), first published in 2012 anthology Foreshadows: Ghosts of Zero (http://foreshadows.net/). Music (and some sound effects) comes from Looperman…

What's a humble salvage captain to do when a beautiful woman in a warsuit asks for his help? This episode features "Laying the Ghost" by Eric Brown (https://ericbrown.co.uk/), first published in the October 2010 issue of Clarkesworld Magazine. Music (and some sound effects) comes from Looperman (looperman.com), specifically users JoFunktastic, abel…

Does Guy Burckhardt have what it takes to push through his trauma to fiind out the truth? This episode features "The Tunnel Under the World" by Frederick Pohl. First published in the January 1955 issue of Galaxy magazine, this story is about a man who realizes his whole town is reliving the same day over and over again. Some of the music comes from…

Will zombies help the aliens stop universe-ending technology? This episode features "Plan of the Space-Borne Grave Robbers" by S. R. Algernon (sralgernon.wordpress.com), a poetic retelling of the plot of Plan 9 from Outer Space (the 1959 Ed Wood classic) in the form of "Rime of the Ancient Mariner." It helps to be familiar with that movie. This epi…

Time travelers are the worst friends. This episode features "10^16 to 1" by James Patrick Kelly (jimkelly.net) originally published in the June 1999 issue of Asimov's Science Fiction, ultimately winning the 2000 Hugo Award for Best Novelette. This story is about a young teen who befriends a time traveling robot from a terrifying future. After readi…

Who needs kids, anyway? This episode features "The Children of Crèche" by James Alan Gardner (jamesalangardner.com). Originally an entry in the 1989 Writers of the Future Contest (where it won Grand Prize) and later anthologized in Gardner's 2005 book, Gravity Wells, this story is about an art critic who comes to an isolated colony of artists able …

Get ready to listen to the wettest science fiction story ever featured on AE Reads Skiffily. This episode's story, "The Long Rain” by Ray Bradbury (originally published in the September 1950 issue of Planet Stories and later anthologized in Bradbury’s 1951 collection The Illustrated Man), is about some soldiers who crash on a rainy planet Venus, al…

In this episode, AE and girlfriend Mona join with Mona's sister, Sara, to read "Stuffing" by Jerry Oltion (jerryoltion.com). First published in the 2006 Mammoth Book of Extreme Science Fiction , this story is about a group of photosynthetic humans who decide to rediscover eating just in time for the holidays. Get your ears ready, sit back, and rela…

When all our needs are met, the remaining problems become more frivolous. In this episode, AE and girlfriend Mona read "Utopia, Lol" by Jamie Wahls (jamiewahls.com). Originally published in the June 2017 issue of Strange Horizons, this story is about a cryogenically frozen man waking up to a digital utopian future and the guide who helps him. Sit b…

Addiction comes in many forms, including strange monstrous beings. In this episode, AE and girlfriend Mona read the "A Greater Power" by Benjamin Crowell (lightandmatter.com). Originally published in the Spring 2008 issue of Electric Spec, this story is about a guy who becomes addicted to a tentacle monster. After reading the story, Mona and AE als…

Viruses are way worse with virtual reality hardware. In this episode, AE, Mona, as well as newcomer Robert Valenzuela, read the topical story "Pay Phobetor" by Shale Nelson (shalenelson.com). Originally published in the December 2014 issue of Lightspeed Magazine, this story is about a ransomware virus infecting someone's brain implant. You can read…

In war, soldiers get eaten up and spat out. In this episode's story, "Her Husband's Hands" by Adam-Troy Castro, a woman's soldier husband is killed in combat, but brought back via digital backup to operate what is left of his body, the eponymous hands. Episode 7 features another first for AE Reads Skiffily; after reading the scifi story, Mona and A…

Does the difference between natural and artificial matter when they are indistinguishable? In Episode 5, AE and Mona read "Beneath Impossible Circumstances" by Andrea Kneeland, first published in the April 2012 issue of Strange Horizons. In this story, a lesbian cyborg tries to deal with her wife's desires for a "natural" baby. You can read along h…

How can one keep a tight budget (or waistline) when even the local food truck has innovative culinary delights? From the August 2016 issue of Lightspeed Magazine, Nico (the narrator) is trying to save up to become a freelance accountant, but must battle with his love of food trucks. He discovers that Alberto, an acquaintance from a cooking class he…

Can love fight past the intolerance of the 1950s? What if it's between a human and an alien? For our first episode of AE Reads Skiffily, AE shares an except from Dale Bailey's "Teenagers from Outer Space,"which first appeared in Clarkesworld Magazine in August of 2016. The excerpt depicts Nancy Miller's (the narrator) visit to Bug Town, an alien en…