“I can’t pay no doctor bills
But Whitey’s on the moon
Ten years from now I’ll be paying still
While Whitey’s on the moon”

—Gil Scott-Heron, “Whitey On The Moon” (1970)

Issue 2026.76

Flash fiction

• “Believe Me”, Christine Amsden - art by Toeken

Short stories

• “Titanium Chef”, Crystal Koo - art by Joel Bisaillon
• “The Protector of the Forest”, Katie Conrad - art by Barbara Candiotti
• “Break Free This Ground”, Merc Fenn Wolfmoor - art by Sebastian Timpe
• “The Trident-Tailed Water Monster”, Rae Zalopany - art by Toeken

Poetry

• “Why Would I Be a Woman”, L.A. Hyland - art by Barbara Candiotti
• “In Our Nature”, Colleen Anderson - art by Joel Bisaillon
• “Salt as a Second Language”, Abigail Dereje - art by Sebastian Timpe

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Sometimes speculative fiction (including the relatively new genre of non-science-fictional space travel stories) is timely, feels like it was written totally for today’s news. As we know, science fiction is not really an attempt to foresee the future so much as it is a commentary on the present—whether a scathing critique of runaway technology, AI or unfettered capitalism, or a hopeful world in which we can do better than the predatory burning and thuggish bigotry we see around us.

But at the same time, great art tries to be timeless, to transcend popular culture or pressing concerns of the author and their contemporaries. By this we don’t just mean that the resistance to tyranny and struggle against prejudice are stories as old as our culture, but that our art is about more than just these things.

And so the stories, poems and images in this issue are more than just raging against the horrors of the world we live in (although many of them do that as well). They are also free-standing, beautiful and useful works of art that have the potential to delight our grandchildren or grandparents. Please enjoy the work by Abigail, Barbara, Christine, Colleen, Crystal, Joel, Katie, L.A., Merc, Rae, Sebastian and Toeken, and try to hold on to the hope you need to keep resisting, the joy you need to keep hoping.

Djibril al-Ayad, May 2026

Comment on the stories in this issue on the TFF Press blog.