David Demaret

Sebastian Hue

Stephan Martiniere

Alexei Vella

Leon Tukker

Saiful Haque

A flight from Tokyo to San Francisco jumps through time and lands 20 years in the future. That's the short version of a writing prompt taken up by 22 of today's most exciting science fiction writers, each of whom contributed stories about the flight's temporally dislocated passengers to an anthology called Seat 14C. Now you can read the book for free online, and I guarantee you'll be engrossed.

You'll find original stories by Hugh Howey, Nancy Kress, Chen Qiufan, Bruce Sterling, Charles Yu, Charlie Jane Anders, Margaret Atwood, Madeline Ashby, Gregory Benford, Daniel Wilson, Eileen Gunn, and more. Each author interpreted the prompt in his or her own way, resulting in a fascinating selection of very different kinds of stories. Twenty-two incredible artists illustrated the stories, and we have a selection of their work in the gallery above. Some of these tales are about weird new technologies, some are about social changes, and others are about the tragedy of being marooned in an unknown future.

This anthology is first project of the Science Fiction Advisory Council XPRIZE (full disclosure: I'm on the council, but I did not work on this project). That means this anthology is also a contest—so you can submit your own story about the flight. The author of the best story gets a $10,000 prize package, including a trip for two to Tokyo.

Here's the full prompt for the stories:

At 4:58 am on June 28, 2017, passengers on board ANA Flight 008 on route from Tokyo to San Francisco are cruising at an altitude of 37,000 feet, approximately 1,500 nautical miles off the West Coast of the United States when the following apparently unremarkable incidents occur: 26A, earbuds in, mouth open, leaning against the window, shifts in her sleep;

4C, halfway through the first episode of "Westworld," is slightly confused; and

19B coughs–almost a non-cough, as if simply pretending to cough. ANA Flight 008 then passes through a temporary wrinkle in the local region of space-time, experienced inside the cabin as a barely perceptible bout of turbulence. Beverage service continues, uninterrupted. The in-flight movie glitches, then resumes. As the Boeing 777 descends through the clouds for its approach into SFO, only a few of the passengers suspect they have arrived at the wrong destination. Which is incorrect, sort of. They have arrived at San Francisco International Airport... on June 28, 2037. The wrinkle has transported them 20 years into the future.

Spend the weekend reading these tales of reluctant (and a few not-so-reluctant) time travelers. And if you get inspired, write your own and enter the contest!

Listing image by Saiful Haque