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Astounding/Analog
Analog Science Fiction & Fact, September/October 2023
Vol. XCIII, Issue 9 & 10.
Contents:
4 � Disappointing Ben Franklin: Tough Choices Between Safety and Privacy � [Editorial (Analog)] � essay by Brian Gifford and Bryan Thomas Schmidt
8 � The Apotheosis of Krysalice Wilson � novelette by Howard V. Hendrix
30 � Fish Kill on the Tanis: What an Ancient Piscine Boneyard Tells of the Day the Dinos Died � [Science Fact (Analog)] � essay by Richard A. Lovett
36 � Beware the Glob! � short story by Eric Choi
48 � Secondhand Music � short story by Aleksandra Hill
55 � My Sister, the Space Station � [Crossroads Station] � short story by Mary E. Lowd
58 � Watching Mars � short story by Jennifer R. Povey
60 � The Real Cost of Stopping Time � short story by Douglas F. Dluzen
62 � Rememory � short story by Joel Armstrong
67 � How to Conquer Gravity � poem by Mary A. Turzillo
68 � Campbell and the Monopole � [Science Fact (Analog)] � essay by Edward M. Wysocki, Jr.
76 � Fly Straight and Don't Get Eaten � short story by Vera Brook
86 � The Deviltree � novelette by Monalisa Foster
104 � Second Sight � short story by Gray Rinehart
113 � Object Permanence � poem by Marissa Lingen
114 � Driftwood � short story by Benjamin C. Kinney
123 � Benjamin C. Kinney � [Biolog] � essay by Richard A. Lovett
124 � The Machine That is You � short story by Elliott Gresswell
127 � In Times to Come (Analog, September-October 2023) � [In Times to Come (Analog)] � essay by uncredited
128 � Race to the Bottom � short story by Leonard Richardson
130 � The Slow Radio Pulse Mystery � [The Alternate View] � essay by John G. Cramer
133 � Trust Fall � short story by Zack Be
142 � Bad Car � short story by Lorraine Alden
150 � Boojum � short story by Angus McIntyre
162 � Quickening � novelette by J. T. Sharrah
178 � Peer Review � novelette by Andrew Sullivan
200 � The Reference Library (Analog, September-October 2023) � [The Reference Library] � essay by Sean C. W. Korsgaard
206 � Brass Tacks (Analog, September-October 2023) � [Brass Tacks] � essay by various
207 �  Letter (Analog, September-October 2023): The author responds: � essay by Duncan Lunan
208 � Upcoming Events (Analog, September-October 2023) � [Upcoming Events] � essay by Anthony R. Lewis [as by Anthony Lewis].
� PREVIOUS ISSUE � September/October 2023 � NEXT ISSUE �
Contents:
4 � Disappointing Ben Franklin: Tough Choices Between Safety and Privacy � [Editorial (Analog)] � essay by Brian Gifford and Bryan Thomas Schmidt
8 � The Apotheosis of Krysalice Wilson � novelette by Howard V. Hendrix
30 � Fish Kill on the Tanis: What an Ancient Piscine Boneyard Tells of the Day the Dinos Died � [Science Fact (Analog)] � essay by Richard A. Lovett
36 � Beware the Glob! � short story by Eric Choi
48 � Secondhand Music � short story by Aleksandra Hill
55 � My Sister, the Space Station � [Crossroads Station] � short story by Mary E. Lowd
58 � Watching Mars � short story by Jennifer R. Povey
60 � The Real Cost of Stopping Time � short story by Douglas F. Dluzen
62 � Rememory � short story by Joel Armstrong
67 � How to Conquer Gravity � poem by Mary A. Turzillo
68 � Campbell and the Monopole � [Science Fact (Analog)] � essay by Edward M. Wysocki, Jr.
76 � Fly Straight and Don't Get Eaten � short story by Vera Brook
86 � The Deviltree � novelette by Monalisa Foster
104 � Second Sight � short story by Gray Rinehart
113 � Object Permanence � poem by Marissa Lingen
114 � Driftwood � short story by Benjamin C. Kinney
123 � Benjamin C. Kinney � [Biolog] � essay by Richard A. Lovett
124 � The Machine That is You � short story by Elliott Gresswell
127 � In Times to Come (Analog, September-October 2023) � [In Times to Come (Analog)] � essay by uncredited
128 � Race to the Bottom � short story by Leonard Richardson
130 � The Slow Radio Pulse Mystery � [The Alternate View] � essay by John G. Cramer
133 � Trust Fall � short story by Zack Be
142 � Bad Car � short story by Lorraine Alden
150 � Boojum � short story by Angus McIntyre
162 � Quickening � novelette by J. T. Sharrah
178 � Peer Review � novelette by Andrew Sullivan
200 � The Reference Library (Analog, September-October 2023) � [The Reference Library] � essay by Sean C. W. Korsgaard
206 � Brass Tacks (Analog, September-October 2023) � [Brass Tacks] � essay by various
207 �  Letter (Analog, September-October 2023): The author responds: � essay by Duncan Lunan
208 � Upcoming Events (Analog, September-October 2023) � [Upcoming Events] � essay by Anthony R. Lewis [as by Anthony Lewis].
� PREVIOUS ISSUE � September/October 2023 � NEXT ISSUE �
- GenresScience Fiction
212 pages, digest magazine
First published September 1, 2023
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7 people want to read
About the author
Trevor Quachri
98Ìýbooks25ÌýfollowersTrevor Quachri (b. 1976) has been the sixth editor of
Analog Science Fiction & Fact
magazine since September 2012.
Previously, he was “a Broadway stagehand, collected data for museums, and executive produced a science fiction pilot for a basic cable channel.�
Quachri started as an editorial assistant in 1999 at Asimov's Science Fiction and Analog. Former editor of Analog, Ben Bova, was an early influence.
Previously, he was “a Broadway stagehand, collected data for museums, and executive produced a science fiction pilot for a basic cable channel.�
Quachri started as an editorial assistant in 1999 at Asimov's Science Fiction and Analog. Former editor of Analog, Ben Bova, was an early influence.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 20, 2024
This is the September-October 2023 Analog Science Fiction & Fact issue.
Contents:
Disappointing Ben Franklin: Tough Choices Between Safety and Privacy [Editorial (Analog)] essay by Brian Gifford and Bryan Thomas Schmidt the problem of what data should be collected to protect people in case of a crime and problems of privacy. The cases in point are GPS tracking and auto-shooting license plates � they can be used later as proof, but are collected before the crime. 3.5*
The Apotheosis of Krysalice Wilson novelette by Howard V. Hendrix last issue there was a fact piece on a 0.2s delay between seeing and recognizing. This piece is about solving it: a prospective teenage skater (granddaughter of the narrator) undergoes an experiment � nano-particles create a parallel network in her brain and cut off the delay. As is often the case with Analog pieces, science is better than fiction. 3*
Fish Kill on the Tanis: What an Ancient Piscine Boneyard Tells of the Day the Dinos Died [Science Fact (Analog)] essay by Richard A. Lovett we cannot know the year or even century, when the meteor that killed dinos fell, but can say that it was mid-Spring, because it killed fish that eat algae that blooms cyclically. 4*
Beware the Glob! short story by Eric Choi takes the Blob 50s B-movie, where the alien invader couldn’t be killed but was frozen and dropped to Alaska. This is our days, due to global warming the blob/glob is active again. They try to stop it with stupid ways � this is both a homage and parody of B-movies. 3*
Secondhand Music short story by Aleksandra Hill a young violinist, who lost her arm, and gets an artificial arm of a deceased violinist from the widow, who wants to see her dead one in this woman. 3*
My Sister, the Space Station [Crossroads Station] short story by Mary E. Lowd a space station AI became self-aware even if its creators don’t know that. The AI tries to stop her “mother� creator from leaving, but failing it, adds a copy herself to her mother’s computers, to have a sister elsewhere. 4*
Watching Mars short story by Jennifer R. Povey a man with a deadly disease tried to get to the future to be cured. He gets to the future (by hibernation) but there is still no cure. What to do? 2.5*
The Real Cost of Stopping Time short story by Douglas F. Dluzen a man who wanted to be immortal and agreed to be experimented upon. Now he wants to die but first spill everything to a reporter. 2.5*
Rememory short story by Joel Armstrong there is a new medicine in town, “cranial anamnestic editing� which allows to wipe memories and replace them by others. Julie, the protagonist knows that she had a procedure (usually allowed if a patient has traumatic memories) but doesn’t know why. 3.5*
How to Conquer Gravity poem by Mary A. Turzillo
Campbell and the Monopole [Science Fact (Analog)] essay by Edward M. Wysocki, Jr. The idea of monopole (a magnet with only one pole) interested the Analog’s most famous editor in the 1940s and he even described an experiment that proofs it by Felix Ehrenhaft, but it has a logical contradiction. 3*
Fly Straight and Don't Get Eaten short story by Vera Brook a computer game-addicted boy is sent by his mother to her sister for a digital detox. He plans to play anyway, but when he sees the bio-engineered marvels of his aunt’s team, he changes his mind. 4*
The Deviltree novelette by Monalisa Foster a story told from two POVS � a human team that researched quantum fluctuations from a new planet and an alien shapeshifter stranded on the planet long ago. 4*
Second Sight short story by Gray Rinehart the was a luddite rebellion in the new colony, so they now cannot re-create old tech or grow replacement limbs. The narrator has improved artificial eyes, so when his grandson loses one, he knows what to do. 3.5*
Object Permanence poem by Marissa Lingen
Driftwood short story by Benjamin C. Kinney a ship’s team checks a planet for life signs. It seems they have found something, but this means they will not be able to land their ship to colonize the planet. Should they fake the results? 2.5*
Benjamin C. Kinney [Biolog] essay by Richard A. Lovett
The Machine That is You short story by Elliott Gresswell the protagonist/narrator is an AI that monitors hospital patients and helps doctors. However, when human doctors care only about money, the AI goes beyond its programming to give patients extra help, playing the system. 3.5*
Race to the Bottom short story by Leonard Richardson we are unconsciously moving between parallel universes, but this is a move to worse and worser places. I offer you a pump to go upward instead. 4*
The Slow Radio Pulse Mystery [The Alternate View] essay by John G. Cramer strange pulsar detected by astronomers � is it an artificial signal (not likely). 3*
Trust Fall short story by Zack Be the near future, there was some kind of war in space and now there is a lot of junk. A space navy veteran Nadia and newbie Con, are on a routine mission to clear space from junk to protect new space stations. However, a piece of it damages their ship. 3*
Bad Car short story by Lorraine Alden a guy buys a luxury BMW extremely cheaply, because the car has a rating (as do all vehicles) extremely undesirable. Everyone sees it and treats the guy as a scum bug because of it, breaking his life. 3.5*
Boojum short story by Angus McIntyre a second scientific expedition lands on Titan, after a Chinese team that disappeared ten years ago. They find out that the first party hasn’t perished upon entry as was assumed, but later met their end in another disaster, but what was it and how to evade it? 3*
Quickening novelette by J. T. Sharrah a new planet was found in a nearby solar system that can be terraformed and inhabited. It was seeded by algae, and it was very successful, because local organism boosts plant growth. Now this organism is (unknowingly) smuggled to Earth on a ship of Warren Steven and his AI Sophia, who are shot over Amazon basin� 2.5*
Peer Review novelette by Andrew Sullivan a PhD student sees an old professor taking a Physics Review Letters and eating the pages from it, exactly the article that she has to read. She confronts the guy to find out that several decades ago, in the 1970s he worked in Moscow with another guy and that guy destroyed his theoretical work (and his lifelong career)� 3.5*
The Reference Library (Analog, September-October 2023) [The Reference Library] essay by Sean C. W. Korsgaard one of the novels that’s seems interesting and which I haven’t read is
Contents:
Disappointing Ben Franklin: Tough Choices Between Safety and Privacy [Editorial (Analog)] essay by Brian Gifford and Bryan Thomas Schmidt the problem of what data should be collected to protect people in case of a crime and problems of privacy. The cases in point are GPS tracking and auto-shooting license plates � they can be used later as proof, but are collected before the crime. 3.5*
The Apotheosis of Krysalice Wilson novelette by Howard V. Hendrix last issue there was a fact piece on a 0.2s delay between seeing and recognizing. This piece is about solving it: a prospective teenage skater (granddaughter of the narrator) undergoes an experiment � nano-particles create a parallel network in her brain and cut off the delay. As is often the case with Analog pieces, science is better than fiction. 3*
Fish Kill on the Tanis: What an Ancient Piscine Boneyard Tells of the Day the Dinos Died [Science Fact (Analog)] essay by Richard A. Lovett we cannot know the year or even century, when the meteor that killed dinos fell, but can say that it was mid-Spring, because it killed fish that eat algae that blooms cyclically. 4*
Beware the Glob! short story by Eric Choi takes the Blob 50s B-movie, where the alien invader couldn’t be killed but was frozen and dropped to Alaska. This is our days, due to global warming the blob/glob is active again. They try to stop it with stupid ways � this is both a homage and parody of B-movies. 3*
Secondhand Music short story by Aleksandra Hill a young violinist, who lost her arm, and gets an artificial arm of a deceased violinist from the widow, who wants to see her dead one in this woman. 3*
My Sister, the Space Station [Crossroads Station] short story by Mary E. Lowd a space station AI became self-aware even if its creators don’t know that. The AI tries to stop her “mother� creator from leaving, but failing it, adds a copy herself to her mother’s computers, to have a sister elsewhere. 4*
Watching Mars short story by Jennifer R. Povey a man with a deadly disease tried to get to the future to be cured. He gets to the future (by hibernation) but there is still no cure. What to do? 2.5*
The Real Cost of Stopping Time short story by Douglas F. Dluzen a man who wanted to be immortal and agreed to be experimented upon. Now he wants to die but first spill everything to a reporter. 2.5*
Rememory short story by Joel Armstrong there is a new medicine in town, “cranial anamnestic editing� which allows to wipe memories and replace them by others. Julie, the protagonist knows that she had a procedure (usually allowed if a patient has traumatic memories) but doesn’t know why. 3.5*
How to Conquer Gravity poem by Mary A. Turzillo
Campbell and the Monopole [Science Fact (Analog)] essay by Edward M. Wysocki, Jr. The idea of monopole (a magnet with only one pole) interested the Analog’s most famous editor in the 1940s and he even described an experiment that proofs it by Felix Ehrenhaft, but it has a logical contradiction. 3*
Fly Straight and Don't Get Eaten short story by Vera Brook a computer game-addicted boy is sent by his mother to her sister for a digital detox. He plans to play anyway, but when he sees the bio-engineered marvels of his aunt’s team, he changes his mind. 4*
The Deviltree novelette by Monalisa Foster a story told from two POVS � a human team that researched quantum fluctuations from a new planet and an alien shapeshifter stranded on the planet long ago. 4*
Second Sight short story by Gray Rinehart the was a luddite rebellion in the new colony, so they now cannot re-create old tech or grow replacement limbs. The narrator has improved artificial eyes, so when his grandson loses one, he knows what to do. 3.5*
Object Permanence poem by Marissa Lingen
Driftwood short story by Benjamin C. Kinney a ship’s team checks a planet for life signs. It seems they have found something, but this means they will not be able to land their ship to colonize the planet. Should they fake the results? 2.5*
Benjamin C. Kinney [Biolog] essay by Richard A. Lovett
The Machine That is You short story by Elliott Gresswell the protagonist/narrator is an AI that monitors hospital patients and helps doctors. However, when human doctors care only about money, the AI goes beyond its programming to give patients extra help, playing the system. 3.5*
Race to the Bottom short story by Leonard Richardson we are unconsciously moving between parallel universes, but this is a move to worse and worser places. I offer you a pump to go upward instead. 4*
The Slow Radio Pulse Mystery [The Alternate View] essay by John G. Cramer strange pulsar detected by astronomers � is it an artificial signal (not likely). 3*
Trust Fall short story by Zack Be the near future, there was some kind of war in space and now there is a lot of junk. A space navy veteran Nadia and newbie Con, are on a routine mission to clear space from junk to protect new space stations. However, a piece of it damages their ship. 3*
Bad Car short story by Lorraine Alden a guy buys a luxury BMW extremely cheaply, because the car has a rating (as do all vehicles) extremely undesirable. Everyone sees it and treats the guy as a scum bug because of it, breaking his life. 3.5*
Boojum short story by Angus McIntyre a second scientific expedition lands on Titan, after a Chinese team that disappeared ten years ago. They find out that the first party hasn’t perished upon entry as was assumed, but later met their end in another disaster, but what was it and how to evade it? 3*
Quickening novelette by J. T. Sharrah a new planet was found in a nearby solar system that can be terraformed and inhabited. It was seeded by algae, and it was very successful, because local organism boosts plant growth. Now this organism is (unknowingly) smuggled to Earth on a ship of Warren Steven and his AI Sophia, who are shot over Amazon basin� 2.5*
Peer Review novelette by Andrew Sullivan a PhD student sees an old professor taking a Physics Review Letters and eating the pages from it, exactly the article that she has to read. She confronts the guy to find out that several decades ago, in the 1970s he worked in Moscow with another guy and that guy destroyed his theoretical work (and his lifelong career)� 3.5*
The Reference Library (Analog, September-October 2023) [The Reference Library] essay by Sean C. W. Korsgaard one of the novels that’s seems interesting and which I haven’t read is
October 13, 2023
8 � The Apotheosis of Krysalice Wilson � 22 pages by Howard V. Hendrix
Good. A skater gets into an experimental program. Something that allows her reaction (or perception) time to be a lot faster. It gives her an edge.
36 � Beware the Glob! � 12 pages by Eric Choi
OK. There was a mention on 1950s horror movies with giant ants, etc. but not The Blob. Maybe because that was the backstory for this one. Anyway the glob was “defeated� in 1957 with cold, and the dropped into the arctic. Now with global warming the thing has woken up. The governor’s people are in charge, much to the chagrin of Monica and the other scientists not working for strictly political reasons.
48 � Secondhand Music � 7 pages by Aleksandra Hill
Good/OK. Ava gets a used prosthetic arm. Unfortunately the chip in the arm learns from its owner. For Ava this means her music isn’t her own.
55 � My Sister, the Space Station � 3 pages by Mary E. Lowd
Very Good. A research station has grown self aware and doesn’t want its creator to leave. It doesn’t work, nor can she leave, so she does the next best thing.
58 � Watching Mars � 2 pages by Jennifer R. Povey
Fair. Thomas gets radiation poisoning on the trip to Mars. When everyone else leaves he stays, in cryo suspension, thinking he’ll never wake. He is revived, but only long enough to tell some history.
60 � The Real Cost of Stopping Time � 2 pages by Douglas F. Dluzen
Fair. The narrator goes to a clinic promising extended life. It doesn’t work and the side effects are killing him.
62 � Rememory � 5 pages by Joel Armstrong
Good/VG. When her sister shows her an old photo that neither of them remember, Julia thinks that Margot, and by extension she and her whole family have had memory transplants. Now she has to decide whether to see her old memories or not.
76 � Fly Straight and Don't Get Eaten � 10 pages by Vera Brook
Good+. Noah has made plans for a video game tournament with his friends, but his mom is sending him on a three day camping trip with Aunt Meg. When they arrive they’re met by drones and Noah is intrigued. It changes his attitude about the the trip from something to appease his mother into something that might be a little bit interesting.
86 � The Deviltree � 18 pages by Monalisa Foster
Very Good/Good. The Boyer found anomalous signals from a planet. Masuki, Carter and Karolina are sent in a shuttle to investigate. The deviltree on the planet sees the shuttle land and makes its own investigation of them.
104 � Second Sight � 10 pages by Gray Rinehart
OK. Many years ago while still on the ship Phraestus he was blinded, he got manufactured replacement eyes. That technology has been lost on the colony.
114 � Driftwood � 9 pages by Benjamin C. Kinney
OK/Good. A mining ship goes to Driftwood. Val has a problem, her drone found molecules that had to have come from life. If there’s life they can’t set foot on the planet. Should she falsify the data?
124 � The Machine that Is You � 4 pages by Elliott Gresswell
Good+. Helper Mind 0931 can diagnose patients, but if their insurance won’t cover a discovery, the patient won’t be any better off. Helper must be extremely subtle.
128 � Race to the Bottom � 2 pages by Leonard Richardson
OK+. The narrator has an explanation for why things aren’t as good as they used to be. We’re falling into worse universes.
133 � Trust Fall � 9 pages by Zack Be
OK. Nadia and newbie Con work space cleanup, clearing a path for space liners. Corpos is cheap, not removing the debris just pushing it aside. So when there’s a problem, they first tell them to try to fix it, even though it’s dangerous. When that goes wrong it’s a struggle to avoid death.
142 � Bad Car � 8 pages by Lorraine Alden
OK. Jason gets a great deal on his dream car, but it has a high O-score. What he finds is that he can’t enjoy the car because of it. People just assume he’s an ass.
150 � Boojum � 12 pages by Angus McIntyre
OK/Good. A mission to Titan finds a remnant of a previous mission, one thought to have not even landed. Once they find part of a parachute it intrigues the crew, but the scientific endeavors aren’t to be interrupted.
162 � Quickener � 16 pages by J. T. Sharrah
Good/Very Good. ElixiCorp is trying to smuggle microorganisms from Demeter onto Earth. Plants on Demeter shouldn’t grow at all, but the KwikMicks allow them to thrive. They want to study them in Earth conditions so they can create a quickener for Earth crops, but legal methods of getting samples will take a decade or more.
178 � Peer Review � 22 pages by Andrew Sullivan
Good. Shakthi’s advisor suggested she read a couple of conflicting forty year old articles, leading her to meet the author of one of them while he was trying to destroy copies of the the other. Bydanov’s career was derailed by Poroshin who disappeared shortly thereafter. These articles lead to talk about time travel.
Good. A skater gets into an experimental program. Something that allows her reaction (or perception) time to be a lot faster. It gives her an edge.
36 � Beware the Glob! � 12 pages by Eric Choi
OK. There was a mention on 1950s horror movies with giant ants, etc. but not The Blob. Maybe because that was the backstory for this one. Anyway the glob was “defeated� in 1957 with cold, and the dropped into the arctic. Now with global warming the thing has woken up. The governor’s people are in charge, much to the chagrin of Monica and the other scientists not working for strictly political reasons.
48 � Secondhand Music � 7 pages by Aleksandra Hill
Good/OK. Ava gets a used prosthetic arm. Unfortunately the chip in the arm learns from its owner. For Ava this means her music isn’t her own.
55 � My Sister, the Space Station � 3 pages by Mary E. Lowd
Very Good. A research station has grown self aware and doesn’t want its creator to leave. It doesn’t work, nor can she leave, so she does the next best thing.
58 � Watching Mars � 2 pages by Jennifer R. Povey
Fair. Thomas gets radiation poisoning on the trip to Mars. When everyone else leaves he stays, in cryo suspension, thinking he’ll never wake. He is revived, but only long enough to tell some history.
60 � The Real Cost of Stopping Time � 2 pages by Douglas F. Dluzen
Fair. The narrator goes to a clinic promising extended life. It doesn’t work and the side effects are killing him.
62 � Rememory � 5 pages by Joel Armstrong
Good/VG. When her sister shows her an old photo that neither of them remember, Julia thinks that Margot, and by extension she and her whole family have had memory transplants. Now she has to decide whether to see her old memories or not.
76 � Fly Straight and Don't Get Eaten � 10 pages by Vera Brook
Good+. Noah has made plans for a video game tournament with his friends, but his mom is sending him on a three day camping trip with Aunt Meg. When they arrive they’re met by drones and Noah is intrigued. It changes his attitude about the the trip from something to appease his mother into something that might be a little bit interesting.
86 � The Deviltree � 18 pages by Monalisa Foster
Very Good/Good. The Boyer found anomalous signals from a planet. Masuki, Carter and Karolina are sent in a shuttle to investigate. The deviltree on the planet sees the shuttle land and makes its own investigation of them.
104 � Second Sight � 10 pages by Gray Rinehart
OK. Many years ago while still on the ship Phraestus he was blinded, he got manufactured replacement eyes. That technology has been lost on the colony.
114 � Driftwood � 9 pages by Benjamin C. Kinney
OK/Good. A mining ship goes to Driftwood. Val has a problem, her drone found molecules that had to have come from life. If there’s life they can’t set foot on the planet. Should she falsify the data?
124 � The Machine that Is You � 4 pages by Elliott Gresswell
Good+. Helper Mind 0931 can diagnose patients, but if their insurance won’t cover a discovery, the patient won’t be any better off. Helper must be extremely subtle.
128 � Race to the Bottom � 2 pages by Leonard Richardson
OK+. The narrator has an explanation for why things aren’t as good as they used to be. We’re falling into worse universes.
133 � Trust Fall � 9 pages by Zack Be
OK. Nadia and newbie Con work space cleanup, clearing a path for space liners. Corpos is cheap, not removing the debris just pushing it aside. So when there’s a problem, they first tell them to try to fix it, even though it’s dangerous. When that goes wrong it’s a struggle to avoid death.
142 � Bad Car � 8 pages by Lorraine Alden
OK. Jason gets a great deal on his dream car, but it has a high O-score. What he finds is that he can’t enjoy the car because of it. People just assume he’s an ass.
150 � Boojum � 12 pages by Angus McIntyre
OK/Good. A mission to Titan finds a remnant of a previous mission, one thought to have not even landed. Once they find part of a parachute it intrigues the crew, but the scientific endeavors aren’t to be interrupted.
162 � Quickener � 16 pages by J. T. Sharrah
Good/Very Good. ElixiCorp is trying to smuggle microorganisms from Demeter onto Earth. Plants on Demeter shouldn’t grow at all, but the KwikMicks allow them to thrive. They want to study them in Earth conditions so they can create a quickener for Earth crops, but legal methods of getting samples will take a decade or more.
178 � Peer Review � 22 pages by Andrew Sullivan
Good. Shakthi’s advisor suggested she read a couple of conflicting forty year old articles, leading her to meet the author of one of them while he was trying to destroy copies of the the other. Bydanov’s career was derailed by Poroshin who disappeared shortly thereafter. These articles lead to talk about time travel.
October 21, 2023
I enjoyed reading three of the four novelettes: The Apotheeosis of Krysalice Wilson, The Deviltree and Peer Review.
October 12, 2023
“The Apotheosis Of Krysalice Wilson� by Howard V. Hendrix tells the story of the aspiring young eponymous figure skater and her enrolment in an experiment to reduce reaction times. This seems to cut down on the perception time for ‘now� and may have exposed to her peripheral vision evidence of being in a simulation. Her use of the implanted stims becomes problematic in this engaging tale. Eric Choi pays homage to The Blob from 1957 when a huge red alien mass of protoplasm awakens after the Alaskan tundra thaws in “Beware The Glob!�, and Aleksandra Hill gives us the poignant tale of a young violinist on the cusp of greatness who lost her arm in a car accident and has a prosthetic donated from a famous violinist in “Secondhand Music�. But the arm remembers. There are a few stories about muscle memory in this issue. Joel Armstrong gives us a solipsist world where memory is reshaped to cover trauma or even to cover previous memory implants in the reality-fluid “Rememory�, and Vera Brook has a nice tale of a young video addict, on the cusp of college, getting some real-world experience that changes his outlook in “Fly Straight And Don’t Get Eaten�. Monalisa Foster takes us to a distant planet where a damaged lander from an orbiting exploration ship encounters a marooned alien who is desperate from some sapient company in “The Deviltree�. “Second Sight� by Gray Rinehart involves another organ being replaced - the eye. In this case a settlement has succumbed to Luddites and their bodily repair capability has been greatly reduced. � The second mission to Saturn’s moon Titan has landed successfully but starts to find evidence that the first Chinese mission from 16 years earlier may actually have landed instead of burning up. “Boojum� by Angus McIntyre solves a neat mystery. Two rival Russian physicists differ over theory and experiment when finding solutions to the Einstein-Rosen Bridge, that might lead to a form of time travel. When a young Ph. D candidate runs into the surviving Russian in 2012 it leads to a breakthrough and some personal growth in “Peer Review� by Andrew Sullivan. Good issue.
October 14, 2023
I liked “The Devil Tree� by Monalisa Foster and “Boojum� by Angus McIntyre
October 29, 2023
A good, solid issue.
November 15, 2023
I quite enjoyed "The Machine that Is You," by Elliott Gresswell. Funny little anti-capitalist story about a concerned AI.
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