The Ediacarian Machine by Craig DeLancey was a well written piece exploring the means by which an ancient, alien civilisation might explore the galaxy. The idea behind the story was interesting and some of the ideas around future technology trends were engaging.
Mother’s Tattoos by Richard A. Lovett contained an interesting exploration of where government surveillance and advertising might go into the future. The body as a billboard seems to be a bit of a theme in a few short stories I’ve read lately. The main character in this story was a bit irritating, but then I suspect he was supposed to be.
Upon Their Backs by Kyle Kirkland also had a big brother theme. I particularly liked the conceit of “just in time” identity creation – the idea that government surveillance is so ubiquitous that an agent can just mention some details and government computers will automatically fill in the blanks and create a full identity on the fly.
Also in this issue:
- Part II of Triggers by Robert J. Sawyer (review once I’ve read the whole thing)
- Ernesto by Alec Nevala-Lee
This work by Mark Webb is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Australia License.