December 2023, Seattle I lay face-down on the damp asphalt in two states: Washington, and incapacitation. My plexus felt about as solar as the drizzly evening. Who was she? Why did she knock me down? And how in God's green city did she know my name? It was a calm, misty night in a city that knew how to look beautiful, as long as you don’t look too close. By the way, Emerald City is not what you call it. You call it Cloud...

I shot awake in bed, just before midnight. You know how something terrible starts happening in a dream, and you try to scream for help, but you just can’t? In the dream, your voice is stifled, and nothing comes out? It was one of those dreams, although it was far from the scariest dream. No one was being murdered or dismembered, certainly nothing to justify a scream. What happened was that someone broke into my house, sto...

Seattle, August 12, 2037 “Hey! My salmon!” The paper-wrapped package of fresh fish whizzed past me, splatting on the floor and sliding under one of the vendor tables. I'd heard someone yell my name, "Joe!" and turned to walk into the porky arms of two big dudes in suits. I fought back, applying some of my training. I even managed to chop a leg high enough to kick one of the snouts of these pig-eyed sacks of shit, drawing...