Future Imperfect: A Collection of Science Fiction Stories

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One night my sleep was disturbed by a thunderous boom. It rattled every window in my bedroom and sent my heart racing. I sat up, momentarily confused, my dreams swirling with reality in my head. For a second, I thought my mother was still there, taking me as a little girl for a long and sunny walk in the woods beyond our village. But then I remembered she had gone, and cold, hard reality slammed down. That joyous summer walk had happened twenty years ago. I no longer lived in a village—but in Dorado, the capital city of Arcadia, where I rented a studio apartment with my sister.

In the darkness, my bed was shaking like a minor tremor had struck the building. A framed picture and some books toppled off a shelf. I sat up, pulling off my sheets as my bed stopped rocking and everything settled into silence. What had caused that boom? My room was too dark to see anything. I called out to my sister. Shada had moved in with me on her eighteenth birthday. She worked as a model and shared the rent, making it possible for us to live in a decent sixtieth-floor apartment with a great view over the city.

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