An Indian actor in a future Mumbai has authorized politicians, entertainers, and businesses to use his likeness. When he discovers his image is being used as a tool for repression—and when two kids he’s close to disappear—the actor is forced to confront what he really gave away.
Moira Shourie returns to Mumbai, the city she once called home while working at MTV India. She reflects on how a culture of celebrity, rampant inequality, and complex urban design divide some residents and bring others together.
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How will artificial intelligence transform warfare? Andrew Liptak’s story brings us to the front lines to see how a glitchy combat AI deals with the tricky task of balancing the demands of a mission with the unpredictability of the battlefield.
What happens as AI systems become embedded in military operations? Candace Rondeaux explores how command structures are already reorganizing around AI black boxes—and what it would look like to design decisionmaking structures that combine technical capacity with human expertise.
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Professor, medievalist, and writer Erin K. Wagner discusses “The Middle,” her August 2025 short story for Future Tense Fiction.
In Margrét Helgadóttir’s “Tunnel Fever,” an isolated roadside bar buried in a vast network of tunnels on the floor of the Arctic Ocean is staffed by a claustrophobic waitress who dreams of life above the surface. When a pair of outlaws tries to rob the bar, its patrons and employees are forced to work together […]
