A collection of 18 short, speculative fictions by William Mangieri: Bugging Out Change is hard to deal, but what do you do when everything you know is disappearing around you? A lonely, cantankerous shopkeeper struggles to keep what's left of his world. The Unreliability of the Mature Mind It's frustrating to deal with the inconsistencies of dementia and it's effects on maturing minds, but what if our defense against a future invader depended on that unreliability? Can mind control work on someone who can't control their own mind? My Brother's Keeper A space traveler contends with the backwards philosophy of some brown-robed brethren as he tries to rescue his own brother's spirit. What would you be willing to do to save a soul from oblivion? The Black Spot An asteroid miner is exposed to something...different. The company doctor says it's just in his head, but that doesn't mean it's nothing. Flee Markets Small town doldrums can leave your imagination wanting to flee, taking you to far-away places. Samantha Sanger has a chance encounter with a disreputable merchant and learns that purveyors of controlled artifacts must choose their customers carefully. Cannabis alienus 'alien dope' L.D. had always been an unapologetic pot-head, but now he's fallen off the radar. Eric returns home for what he thinks is going to be a simple intervention, but turns into... something else. Be careful what you smoke... Mutiny on the Star-Bound Martin Henshaw, a humble mechanic, is tricked into a job with Transgalaxian tending cybers far from home. But when he finds himself in the middle of a mutiny on the Star-Bound, Martin begins to wonder: who's rebelling against whom? Reconcilable Differences Madeline doesn't have much hope for her forty-six year marriage; Carl just refuses to remember what 's important. Maybe Memory Replacement Therapy holds the answer. New Antiques Tim Crabtree wonders why his new neighbors have built a forty-foot pole in their backyard. Are they trying to get hit by lightning? If he only knew... Dead End Jobs Bryan Riggins doesn't know how long he's been drifting, but he needs a change, and finds himself waiting in line for a job interview. But what waits for him behind that door? The Re-Entanglement of Grant Decker Grant can't keep his reality in focus, and he doesn't know whether his life is coming apart or coming together. He's never been one to talk to himself, but maybe it's time. Anti-Social A home body struggles to break social conventions and reach out into a world that's becoming less and less substantial. How do you make yourself real? The Red Barrens Mabel Jeffers is sentenced to the Edge, where she's forced to terraform a resistant planet with the same Agent Purple that killed her husband. But there are things worse than death - things that could drive her over The Edge and into The Barrens... Dempsey's Debut Abducted by alien mantises for live entertainment, Jack Dempsey feels 'boxed' in when he's forced to carry on the family name. He certainly doesn't want to become part of the Krills' warped mating ritual. Look Both Ways Even if you knew every twist and turn of their potential timelines, would your children listen? The Final Ending? Faced with a seemingly immutable fate written by a hard-hearted author, what would you do? John Charming wants desperately to rescue his true love, but the creator of his story expects John to just sit back and accept his destiny. John has other plans. Close Enough Could a Messier object be any messier? See Max deal with an uppity A.I., an unhelpful helpdesk, and a comet named Napoleon as he works to minimize the impact of this sudden impact on their already shaky relationship. The Wolves Will Come The Tribe is leaving for a new home, but Bear is too old for the journey, and it isn't in him to run from his enemies, nor abandon his home. It's just a matter of time before the Exiled find him - or will age and the wolves get to him first?