“Warren’s Tentacle” by Susan Palwick – 3.3
Lightspeed, February 2026 Warren wakes from surgery after an accident to find that AI surgical bots have drastically altered his body. Rather than simply repairing his injuries, the bots have…
“Six Sides of a Fairy Tale” by Audrey Zhou – 3.5
Lightspeed, February 2026 “Six Sides of a Fairy Tale” is a second-person fantasy story told from six distinct perspectives, each labeled like the facets of a geometric shape. The central…
“Sensor Ghosts” by Deborah L. Davitt – 3.5
Lightspeed, February 2026 “Sensor Ghosts” is a science fiction story set on Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, where two investigators are sent to check on a research vessel that has gone…
“Dream Destinations (From the Lost Traveler’s Tour Guide)” by Alexander Weinstein – 2.9
Lightspeed, February 2026 “Dream Destinations” is a work of speculative fiction framed as a travel guide to impossible, surreal locations on a mysterious eighth continent that has suddenly appeared on…
“Death Echoes Overlapping” by Megan Chee – 2.1
Lightspeed, February 2026 The story opens on the necropolis space station of the ancient Tau Andromeda megacivilization, where specially trained keepers harvested “death echoes” — a mysterious energy released at…