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Written by Ripley Patton
Read by Stefanie Gallacher

When I was young, mortality seemed tremendously romantic. I left the Mountain of the Gods when I came of age, filled with youthful wanderlust and strong desire to thumb my nose at my family, though I wouldn't have admitted it then. I wasn't a goddess yet. Most humans think all immortals are divine, but within our pantheon, men are born gods, and only the women who marry them become goddesses.

It wasn't until much later, after I'd married a human I loved and began to age, that I questioned the wisdom of my defection. Now, after sixty human years, mortality looms. Saulos knows my dilemma even though I have not spoken a word of it. He knows, as I pack my small satchel with a favorite brush, a pair of comfortable slippers, a bit of parchment and a well­worn quill, that I may not come back.

"Do you have a gift?" he asks, knowing I rarely think of such things. I was raised with the gods, and we don't give gifts; we are the gift. Old habits die hard.

• Ripley Patton
• Ripley's Blog

Theme music Balrog Boogie by Diablo Swing Orchestra (http://jamendo.com/)

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Ident: Bob Souer with The Lords of War from StudioMig (Podsafe Music Network)

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Written by R J Astruc
Read by Paul W Campbell

The cop was bluffing—you didn’t have to be a psyche to work that out. With three spades already on the table, she was trying to fake a flush, but her eyes betrayed her: too manic, too desperate. Mink sensed the cards she clutched were a nine of hearts and an ace, probably a spade. That’d get her a pair of nines—an okay hand, sure, but not when Mink’s employer could make the straight.

Mink smiled and slid a hand under the table, pressing her knuckles twice against Sampson’s upper thigh. It was a prearranged signal, something she’d worked out with the conman months ago; it meant: Break her.

‘I’m feeling lucky,’ said Sampson. ‘Maybe I’ll call you.’

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Theme music Balrog Boogie by Diablo Swing Orchestra (http://jamendo.com/)

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Ident: Bob Souer with The Lords of War from StudioMig (Podsafe Music Network)

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Written by Georgina Kamsika
Read by Rachel Beveridge

Fluffed up blonde hair, baby blue eyes and lips red like the cherry she still has, Britney’s working that street corner like she’s been doing it for years. Fifteen going on twenty, she has the pimps wrapped around her finger so we can stake out this spot no trouble. My best friend since infant school, she’s always been the leader, she doesn’t feel the fear that crawls in my gut. She sticks out a skinny hip and wiggles at a lone car as it cruises past, swinging her bulky shoulder bag like a flag.

The streetlight flickers, illuminating the broken down houses, the street littered with rubbish. Peeling posters decorate the brick walls, photos of missing children with lank hair and dead eyes. A black triangle symbol is sprayed over them, a red five inside the shape.

Another car crawls past, slithering like a slug, the driver not liking what we’re selling. Rainbow neon disguises the colour, but not the age. Rust drips, a geriatric skin disease. Everything here is old, except us.

Theme music Balrog Boogie by Diablo Swing Orchestra (http://jamendo.com/)

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Special thanks to J.C. Hutchins, our first donator. Check out his awesome techno-thriller trilogy about human cloning for free at podiobooks.com, or buy the print edition of book one: [UK]/[US]

Cossmass Productions Ident: Bob Souer with The Lords of War from StudioMig (Podsafe Music Network)
 

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Written by Joshua Reynolds
Read by Rachel Beveridge

"Venusian?" the woman asked, poppy smoke curling out of her nostrils. She took another drag on the cigarette and glanced over her shoulder at the spare, short man with a big nose standing respectfully behind her. He smiled, displaying blunt, nicotine-colored teeth.

"Martian, Countess Felluci."

"Of course. So easy to get those fellows confused, donchaknow." She looked up at the strange, metal mechanism hanging from the ceiling of the dirigible hangar and waved a gloved hand for emphasis. She wore military jodhpurs and a lavender Hussar's jacket, buttoned to the neck. Leather gloves and knee-high riding boots completed the ensemble. It contrasted sharply to the little man's own rather hum-drum appearance. He could've been a banker or a lawyer, rather than a scientist.

Theme music Balrog Boogie by Diablo Swing Orchestra (http://jamendo.com/)

Joshua's Blog: Hunting Monsters

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