Here's a group to talk about (and write stories about) that particular blend of science-fiction and horror that Lovecraft charted out and other writers have refined ever since.

This sort of thing usually gets filed under horror alone, but I'd argue there's a strong dose of science-fiction going on in here, and definitely a presentiment of the nuclear age. If the heart of science-fiction is that 'sense of wonder', cosmic horror shows what happens when what you find is something you really wish you hadn't.

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At his personal quarters he sought relaxation among the project’s latest technical evaluations. This sheaf of neutered virgin white documents, firm and reassuring as an ax handle in his grasp, expertly belied the true reality of the past week’s events. Nowhere in its sterile language was any hint of a billion dollars in unforeseen expense, nor a whisper of the pending class action lawsuit from the displaced natives and their slick east coast civil liberties lawyer.

The Magmatic Fear

The only thing on his mind as he finished the final equipment check was a hot meal and a Marlborough 100. Then he heard a lilting oath on the wind followed by a short burst of laughter and his dreams evaporated. Sure enough, there was his boss Freddy Davis charging up the hill inside a greyish cloud of dust; the wind strove desperately to unseat the tan cowboy hat from his head and reveal the pasty bald scalp beneath, but nothing could overcome the force of his hand on the brim.

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The three crew members found Breezy and Rata-tat leaning against the dock’s outer shell, the latter’s head buried in his hands.

Sigrdrifa rushed over. “Captain, what‘s wrong?”

“He’ll be fine,” Breezy said.

“What happened?”

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Rata-tat crawled forward, back arched and chest pointed upwards. Ultro snatched a lance from one of the porters and pointed it at him. “What is the meaning of this?”

Rata-tat’s head swiveled to regard the tall robed man. “I am Vulkululk, keeper of the space between. Thou hath violated my realm with the profanity of thy thoughts, and so shall be punished by mine divine hand.”

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In the darkness, Jack leaped forward and became entangled with another mass. Equal parts covered in sweat and coarse fibers it grunted at him and swatted at his face, but he pushed it aside and stumbled toward a rectangle of light ahead.

Clad in ragged underwear and socks brushing the pockmarked bulges of his knees he emerged in punishing fluorescent light like a groundhog on his eponymous day.

chapter 1

Liquid fuel from the newly eviscerated undercarriage leaked and slid across the broad silver wings, vanishing into the void of space. Cannons firing pointlessly, the ship slammed into the plateau of vacuum blasted rock and fragmented in a constellation of gleaming debris. Reams of protective plating shred off like potato peelings.

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The three crew members huddled close together, an island in an ocean of bodies. Advertisements of flaming red, soothing blue, and invigorating orange hovered around them, hawking in dozens of languages countless number of goods. There were chutes leading to stores everywhere, on the walls, floor, even ceiling. Gravity was a relative thing, and many walked sideways or upside down. Every five seconds an asexual voice announced over hidden speakers, “Welcome to Pan Bolo, Overlorn’s only completely self-sustaining commerce Arcology!”

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“Wait!” Rata-tat shouted just as the lance began its downward arc. The porters froze and looked back at Ultro, who nodded.

“What is it scum?” the robed scarecrow asked.

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Gunner Dempsey was having a wonderful time. He strode down the middle of the elevated walkway, disrupting both lines of human traffic. Soft light filtered through pale blue glass and soaked into his skin, imparting a slight tingling warmth. His feet clacked musically on the floor, upon which was a mosaic of sky much different from the solid cloud cover above. Red flares comprised of thousands of precisely cut tiles morphed together and split apart as pieces slid around according to a simple routine. Only a rare advertisement interrupted the flowing relationship of color.