Space exploration fiction from Mike L. Downeyhttps://mikeldowney.com/https://mikeldowney.com/alternate-universe/https://mikeldowney.com/alternate-universe/“Mr. President, Chief Bucktooth Dr. Robert of the Haudenosaunee.” “Chief. Please sit.” “Thanks for seeing me on short notice, Mr. President.” “My staff said…Fri, 24 Jul 2026 13:00:00 GMThttps://mikeldowney.com/flaming-pygmies/https://mikeldowney.com/flaming-pygmies/Maynard checked his phone. This was it – a tiny sliver in a humdrum strip mall. The sign blazed “Flaming Pygmies” in human-sized letters. No indication of its…Fri, 17 Jul 2026 13:00:00 GMThttps://mikeldowney.com/they-are-circling-in/https://mikeldowney.com/they-are-circling-in/“What’s the worst thing that could happen?” Binca joked. Phineas and the others forced chuckles at her effort. “Right,” Hodge blurted. “We’re here together –…Fri, 10 Jul 2026 13:00:00 GMThttps://mikeldowney.com/fakebiod/https://mikeldowney.com/fakebiod/“Come in, Mr. Hobart. Todd Lemur. I’ve been reading your . . . colorful bio.” “Please. It’s Clois, Todd.” “Clois. Have a seat.” “Nice office. Here long? Pull…Fri, 03 Jul 2026 13:00:00 GMThttps://mikeldowney.com/bedroom-sounds/https://mikeldowney.com/bedroom-sounds/Tyler IV teleported home early from work to the house he shared with his beloved Cleopatra Delta. The house was silent. Except for sounds of heavy breathing…Fri, 26 Jun 2026 13:00:00 GMThttps://mikeldowney.com/handcard-etc/https://mikeldowney.com/handcard-etc/Spiky and Trun worked the handcart through the rails of the Jupiter mine. The increased gravity forced a stop after a few meters, short of the soldier outpost.…Fri, 19 Jun 2026 13:00:00 GMThttps://mikeldowney.com/butt-dialing/https://mikeldowney.com/butt-dialing/Einstein Tolan opened the 4021 Galactic Scientific conference flamboyantly. Tolan brought a 20th century artifact, a black skinny box with a limp broken wire,…Fri, 12 Jun 2026 13:00:00 GMThttps://mikeldowney.com/pregnancy-announcement/https://mikeldowney.com/pregnancy-announcement/Batman rapped the gavel. “Quiet, Justice Leaguers. I’m leading. Superman has kryptonite poisoning. Again.” Murmurs were stifled when Aquaman thumped his…Sat, 06 Jun 2026 01:30:00 GMThttps://mikeldowney.com/not-from-texas/https://mikeldowney.com/not-from-texas/“Go gather the sheep, time to dock them.” “Dock them what?” “They’re out by the tank.” “The tank?” “Is there an echo in here? Get the lead out and hit the…Fri, 29 May 2026 13:30:00 GMThttps://mikeldowney.com/vampires/https://mikeldowney.com/vampires/“Velcome to my castle.” “Thanks, bro. This place is so excellently retro.” “I vant to drink your blood.” “Eww, swerve. Maybe a latte? What’s that howling?”…Fri, 22 May 2026 13:30:00 GMThttps://mikeldowney.com/peaceful-daemons/https://mikeldowney.com/peaceful-daemons/Mira dropped the yoke at the well. She rubbed aching shoulders. Be worse trudging home with four full buckets. Ducking into the shade, Mira jumped at the man…Fri, 15 May 2026 13:30:00 GMThttps://mikeldowney.com/quest-for-a-hermit/https://mikeldowney.com/quest-for-a-hermit/Pedro sees the small hut silhouetted by the evening sun at the mountain’s crown. His years-long quest is almost over. He clambers until he reaches the wooden…Fri, 08 May 2026 13:30:00 GMThttps://mikeldowney.com/malaprop/https://mikeldowney.com/malaprop/In memory of Gilda Radner who would have been 80 this year. What’s all this dad-gum hubbub I hear about drag greens? Since when does anybody care anything…Fri, 01 May 2026 07:30:00 GMThttps://mikeldowney.com/seance-gone-bad/https://mikeldowney.com/seance-gone-bad/I showed the last guest to the round table and took my place by the door. The room was dark with night and closed drapes, the sole light a flickering candle in…Fri, 24 Apr 2026 07:30:00 GMThttps://mikeldowney.com/red-ink/https://mikeldowney.com/red-ink/The only clue Holmes heard the carriage outside was a pause in the drawing on his pipe. “My dear doctor, this one’s for you,” Holmes said. “How could you know…Fri, 17 Apr 2026 07:30:00 GMThttps://mikeldowney.com/sympathy-for-devil/https://mikeldowney.com/sympathy-for-devil/At the Angel Aerie . . . “Hey, Lucs. Figured I’d find you here.” “Gabe, glad it’s you.” “We go back a-ways.” “Thought I’d get one last view before . . . the…Fri, 10 Apr 2026 13:30:00 GMThttps://mikeldowney.com/equine-vampire/https://mikeldowney.com/equine-vampire/“Trigger? This is Silver. The worst has happened.” “Uh, Silver, how we holding a phone?” “Just go with it.” “Great oats, man. What is it?” “It’s Black Beauty,…Fri, 03 Apr 2026 14:04:23 GMThttps://mikeldowney.com/existential-dread/https://mikeldowney.com/existential-dread/“Hey, Murph.” “Thad.” “A question.” “Yes, grasshopper?” “Is this another obscure TV reference?” “Your question, padawan?” “Better. What’s existential dread?”…Fri, 03 Apr 2026 14:02:56 GMThttps://mikeldowney.com/cant-find-shoes/https://mikeldowney.com/cant-find-shoes/The palace was crowded with lords and ladies and lackeys, breathlessly – well, they were still alive - awaiting the royal proclamation. The bearers carried…Fri, 03 Apr 2026 14:01:11 GMThttps://mikeldowney.com/baggly/https://mikeldowney.com/baggly/The building was fully engulfed in flames when the fire serpents arrived with Hans just after dusk. “Helga, you and Freda douse the fire on the backside,” Hans…Fri, 03 Apr 2026 13:32:56 GMThttps://mikeldowney.com/inconvenience-stores/https://mikeldowney.com/inconvenience-stores/Gabbie never heard of a 7-12 store, so she pulled in the lot populated with a single rust-pocked El Camino with mismatched tires. “Hmm, no gas pumps,” she…Wed, 11 Mar 2026 23:55:09 GMThttps://mikeldowney.com/the-muse/https://mikeldowney.com/the-muse/“My muse staggers in a couple of times a week, smelling of week-old cheese, kerosene, and urinal cakes. The slept-in grayish suit jacket and pants have lost…Wed, 11 Mar 2026 23:54:35 GMThttps://mikeldowney.com/alien-school/https://mikeldowney.com/alien-school/Looks like the typical mixed-aliens class. Time for roll. “Uther.” “Here,” said a goat-faced biped. “Arek-ta-Dew.” “Here,” chirped a winged robinesque perched…Wed, 11 Mar 2026 23:53:43 GMThttps://mikeldowney.com/micro-fiction-3/https://mikeldowney.com/micro-fiction-3/“Hello” was the first concept we figured. The Cuboids – what else? – have transparent spaceships. Three days ago, they appeared, matching orbit with the…Sun, 08 Mar 2026 19:33:57 GMThttps://mikeldowney.com/micro-fiction-2/https://mikeldowney.com/micro-fiction-2/“Okay, settle down. Somebody untangle the buggy whips. Down in front, trebuchets. The punch cards here? Oh, right. Let’s get the meeting going. The floppy…Sun, 08 Mar 2026 19:33:38 GMThttps://mikeldowney.com/hello-world/https://mikeldowney.com/hello-world/The two crept in darkness toward the warehouse hideout. Then Hank froze. Burt stopped. “Can’t remember the password.” “What?” “It’s some animal, starts with…Sat, 31 Jan 2026 18:30:46 GMT