Four sci-fi short stories where you'll find good computers, people who regret their past, and an explanation for something you're familiar with.

"Progeny"

The first section had a series of six images that appeared grouped together. The furthest left showed a small creature that appeared to live in water. On its right was a similar creature, but it had legs and was crawling on the land. The remainder of the series showed progressive images showing the creature growing larger, and the appendages changing until it was fully erect and it was strikingly similar to the bone structure she had just looked at.

"The Greatest Host"

After the foraging, the host moved to a corner of the open area and there was another creature. The Mists were concerned that if their host were threatened or attacked, it would be terrible for them. They could all lose their lives at once. If the host sensed any threat, they would immediately use all of their ability to coerce the host back to the ship's location so they could download.

"Circle is Closed"

Commander Leopold Harnesy was standing on the bridge of the HSV#2. He was nervous; in fact, he was scared. The fate of HSV#1 was fresh in his mind. His ship's predecessor was sitting in the same exact location five years ago, and when its commander, Roberta Jenkins, engaged the faster than light drive, the ship disintegrated into trillions of molecules. It was obvious what had happened, the calculations were a little off.

"Good Morning..."

This short story is an interesting tie-in between science fiction and corporate culture, with a computer throwing in a twist. Anyone that has worked in a large company will share some of the issues that Robert deals with. In this story, instead of 'they' causing the problem, it is the computer sharing the assignment.