Driven towards lifelong learning and writing stories set both in alternate worlds and this one, Eriel Edward Red is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Creative Writing at the University of the Philippines Diliman. Prior to that, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Theology, Major in Church Music Conducting at the Far Eastern Bible Institute and Seminary, pursuing both of his major artistic passions in the process. At the moment, he teaches music in the Philippine Missionary Institute, informing his students in matters of music, theology, and on occasion, stories that he made up and wrote. In addition, he has won several online writing competitions.

Outside of academia, he is an avid catlover, with three cats named Maria, Celestina, and Andronikos. He spends his free time thinking of new story concepts while taking long walks with the aforementioned cats, reading novels, watching science fiction media, and playing the piano.

Some of his other works include “Pictures”, a story of a day in the life of an immortal android serving the same family for centuries; “Drone Strike,” where a drone operator is forced to confront the consequences of his occupation; and “I Will Always Reach Out”, which shows what happens when an adoptive parent lives far longer than the adopted child.

by Eriel Edward Red

Image by Глеб Коровко on Pexels. (All photos and videos on Pexels can be downloaded and used for free).

It didn’t begin with a knock.

A chittering noise echoed through the apartment door, like the kind one would hear from a giant insect. Galen Rodan, junior underwriter and long-time resident of the Olympus Mons Metroplex, froze just as he was about to take a sip of his genetically modified coffee.

Another chittering sound, then the sound of something large shifting its weight. Then, the doorbell, a high-pitched chime, rang.

“All right,” Galen muttered as he took a sip. “They’re actually here.”

The man set down his mug and got off his floating chair. He glanced momentarily at his laptop, which displayed an email from the Bureau of Social Reconciliation and Strategic Housing Efficiency.

  He read the message again. “In accordance with Reintegration Directive 77-B, your dwelling unit has been deemed suitable for cohabitation with a liberated Neosapien citizen undergoing urban acclimatization.”

Mel Loja is a freshman at UP Diliman. He likes reading HG Wells, Isaac Asimov, Dan Simmons, Terry Pratchett, and John Steinbeck.

by Mel Hubahib Loja

I don’t suppose you’ll let me in? All I’m saying is, it would be a lot easier to have this conversation indoors than yelling through the intercom.

No? Well I don’t blame you. Trust is in short supply these days. Among other things.

by Christine V. Lao

Christine V. Lao with her book, “Affidavit of Loss”

In the Philippines, as elsewhere, genre fiction has long had to prove its worth. Often overlooked by academic and literary spaces and dismissed as less serious than realist writing, these stories have thrived in communities—online forums, book and fan clubs, and popular magazines—where writers create for the love of imagining, and readers seek worlds that challenge, delight, or surprise.