Dirk Strasser’s historical fantasy novel Conquist (Roundfire Books) was published on 1 September 2024. See what all the fuss is about.
This time they invaded a new world that refused to be conquered.
In this issue
Great new stories, articles and reviews. What more do you want? Oh alright, you can have fantastic art as well.
Read extracts
Edited by
Stephen Higgins
From the Cloud
The world is slowly growing into the past of science fiction. The vehicles used by SpaceX and Blue Origin are straight out of the past of both science fiction and science fact. The rockets owe a lot to the Saturn V rockets and, of course, to the V2 rockets of the Second World War. I await the plans for the proposed Mars colonisation suggested by various business interests, and I hope to see sleek rockets helping to build that future instead of the clunky Apollo lunar landing vehicles. I mean, yeah, they worked but didn’t anyone check the aesthetics?
If we keep getting companies building these rockets, I think we can look forward to big spiral space stations being serviced by aerodynamic ships that are aerodynamic just for the sake of it and visually appealing moon bases and Mars bases that will attract settlers.
Do I really think we are going to get all of this? No, I do not.
The thrust toward private businesses pushing the new space race is going to result in vehicles that look good and operate well. And they will be guided by AI. They will be a bit like the Blue Origin ship that took some celebrities into space recently. There will not be a lot for the passengers to do. The actual design of the machines being used to get into low orbit is pretty much determined by the fact that the current design seems to be the best and most cost-effective way to get people up there. But, once they are in orbit, the sky is the limit… If you know what I mean. I can see awards being distributed for ships that please the eye. People would deign to travel with the ‘right’ companies, while the hoi poloi suffer in the future version of cattle class. The right companies will be ones that provide good looking space crafts. The ones that will look good in an Instagram feed. The people who will be able to afford these things will want to be seen in the best ships, not some tin can with lots of bits attached. Yes, transport hulks will continue to just be lumps of functionality, but the mystique and joy of space travel will belong to the people who can afford to do it.
Recently, I was on a panel at a convention discussing ‘Bad book covers’ with Michael Pryor. The book covers we discussed had to be from our own collections. We had to put in this proviso, otherwise it would have just degenerated into a Google image search for bad SF art. The fact that the covers came from books we had purchased gave the exercise a little more meaning. For a start, it meant trawling through our libraries looking for dodgy art.
This was when I really began to appreciate the fact that blueprints for future spaceship designs already existed. The variety of craft already imagined is breathtaking. I mean, I must have hundreds of examples just in my own modest library. Oddly, some books that have nothing to do with space have depictions of space craft on the cover. I think that some art departments at the time just thought ‘science fiction = space’ and went and plonked a zippy looking spaceship on the covers of books about dystopian slums on Earth. Anyway, for any budding Jeff Bezoses or Elon Musks out there, do check out the pictorial history of science fiction. You can save a mint on designers.
From I Need Help
Lorna’s eyes adjust to soft moonlight while ears that hear less than they used to strain to identify whatever it was that woke her. She sorts through the familiar sounds of her world: the choking sputter of her brother in the bedroom next door, the groaning of their decrepit farmhouse, the scratching of gum trees and banksia trying to swallow it whole. None of them ideal, but none of them unusual. None of them worth waking for—
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat.
Ah.
From CompanionClub
The maitre d’roid smiled, its teeth shining an impossible shade of white. ‘I am Watson. Welcome to CompanionClub, a place for humans and androids to connect––’
‘Here to acquaint with…’ Jeweli’s words caught on his name, ‘…Robeo.’
A holographic screen appeared between them, and a cascade of glowing symbols rained down. Watson’s synthetic, manicured fingers danced around complex code. Imitating a clean-cut male, it stood poised in an inky-coloured suit, deep-sea sapphire hair bordering on black. A strong jaw framed its neat nose and sculpted cheekbones. The robot’s complexion mimicked epidermis, but its flawlessness made the droid ageless. If Jeweli had to guess, it appeared to be designed as late twenties. Like Daneel, when I lost him, the recollection sparked before she could shut it down.
From Harmony in Ninths
Neravin Terat closed the door to the headmaster’s study and hurried to the cabinet where the entrance exams were filed. Two weeks, a stolen key and, finally, a little luck to catch him in a distracted moment and neglecting to resume the magical wards on the door. She might have only a few minutes before he returned.
His filing system was meticulous. She quickly found her sister’s exam. Her heart settled. Cildys had fretted for days, even talked about breaking into the office for answers. Neravin had convinced her not to, but she knew it wouldn’t hold. She had to save Cildys from herself. Far better that Neravin be punished, even if it meant she was expelled. No one would miss her mediocre music skills.