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Analog Science Fiction and Fact, Volume 124, Issue 11, November 2004
Analog Science Fiction and Fact, November 2004
Editor: Stanley Schmidt
Cover: David A. Hardy
Contains the following Fiction and Essays:
Attack of the Giant Oxymorons [Editorial] essay by Stanley Schmidt
The Ghost Within by Rajnar Vajra
Fat Mice, Eating Machines, and Biochemical Treason essay by Richard A. Lovett, Ph.D.
What Engineers Know by Arlan Andrews
Gun Control by Edward Muller
The Strange Redemption of Sister Mary Ann by Mike Moscoe
How Much Can One Man Matter? essay by Jeffery D. Kooistra
Extra Innings by Robert Scherrer
Paparazzi of Dreams by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
In Times to Come essay by uncredited
An Old-Fashioned Martian Girl (Part 4 of 4) serial by Mary A. Turzillo
The Reference Library essay by Tom Easton
Brass Tacks essay by Stanley Schmidt
Upcoming Events essay by Anthony Lewis
Editor: Stanley Schmidt
Cover: David A. Hardy
Contains the following Fiction and Essays:
Attack of the Giant Oxymorons [Editorial] essay by Stanley Schmidt
The Ghost Within by Rajnar Vajra
Fat Mice, Eating Machines, and Biochemical Treason essay by Richard A. Lovett, Ph.D.
What Engineers Know by Arlan Andrews
Gun Control by Edward Muller
The Strange Redemption of Sister Mary Ann by Mike Moscoe
How Much Can One Man Matter? essay by Jeffery D. Kooistra
Extra Innings by Robert Scherrer
Paparazzi of Dreams by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
In Times to Come essay by uncredited
An Old-Fashioned Martian Girl (Part 4 of 4) serial by Mary A. Turzillo
The Reference Library essay by Tom Easton
Brass Tacks essay by Stanley Schmidt
Upcoming Events essay by Anthony Lewis
- GenresScience Fiction
144 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2004
6 people want to read
About the author
Stanley Schmidt
503 books6 followersStanley Schmidt is an American science fiction author. Between 1978 and 2012 he served as editor of
Analog Science Fiction and Fact
magazine.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 16, 2019
A pretty good issue with nice stories.
The Ghost Within • novelette by Rajnar Vajra
A private detective is hired to find out if “a ghost” in a virtual reality really is a ghost or some sort of computer glitch or something. That is found out by uploading to the computer. The strange thing turns out to be something…something potentially very dangerous. The “problem” solves itself far too easily, otherwise a pretty nice story. ***+
Gun Control • shortstory by Edward Muller
A junior diplomat has some problems with an intelligent gun and a proud tribe of aboriginal warriors. There is a lot of backstory which just implied and the story feels like it were a part of a series. It works fairly well, though. ***+
The Strange Redemption of Sister Mary Ann • shortstory by Mike Moscoe
A woman is dying from cancer in a nunnery. The souls of children she miscarried start to speak to her. The writing as such is pretty good (vastly, VASTLY better that those over-religious stories which were nominated for Hugo this year) but I don’t really accept the ideology presented in the story – as I don’t believe in souls, especially not in souls which inhabit embryos at conception. ***+
Extra Innings • shortstory by Robert Scherrer
A man and his friend play an extremely detailed baseball simulation game. It is very slow to play, and they don’t finish even one season as children. But life turns out to be very long and there are chances to return to game at some point during the next few billion years. A well written and nice story. ***+
Paparazzi of Dreams • novelette by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
A detective is working undercover. He is trying to find out if the dream recorders infringe copyrights. It is apparently possible to capture people’s dreams even from pretty far. Especially the celebrity dreams may be very valuable, but it is still in the grey zone actually owns the copyright to the dreams. The most famous male actor of (almost) all times seems to have a recurring dream of a murder. He used to live pretty crazy life as a young man. But did he commit a murder? Is it possibly to find out who was the girl in the dream? Should the dream even be used in such way? An excellent story in spite of some plausibility issue. ****
The Ghost Within • novelette by Rajnar Vajra
A private detective is hired to find out if “a ghost” in a virtual reality really is a ghost or some sort of computer glitch or something. That is found out by uploading to the computer. The strange thing turns out to be something…something potentially very dangerous. The “problem” solves itself far too easily, otherwise a pretty nice story. ***+
Gun Control • shortstory by Edward Muller
A junior diplomat has some problems with an intelligent gun and a proud tribe of aboriginal warriors. There is a lot of backstory which just implied and the story feels like it were a part of a series. It works fairly well, though. ***+
The Strange Redemption of Sister Mary Ann • shortstory by Mike Moscoe
A woman is dying from cancer in a nunnery. The souls of children she miscarried start to speak to her. The writing as such is pretty good (vastly, VASTLY better that those over-religious stories which were nominated for Hugo this year) but I don’t really accept the ideology presented in the story – as I don’t believe in souls, especially not in souls which inhabit embryos at conception. ***+
Extra Innings • shortstory by Robert Scherrer
A man and his friend play an extremely detailed baseball simulation game. It is very slow to play, and they don’t finish even one season as children. But life turns out to be very long and there are chances to return to game at some point during the next few billion years. A well written and nice story. ***+
Paparazzi of Dreams • novelette by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
A detective is working undercover. He is trying to find out if the dream recorders infringe copyrights. It is apparently possible to capture people’s dreams even from pretty far. Especially the celebrity dreams may be very valuable, but it is still in the grey zone actually owns the copyright to the dreams. The most famous male actor of (almost) all times seems to have a recurring dream of a murder. He used to live pretty crazy life as a young man. But did he commit a murder? Is it possibly to find out who was the girl in the dream? Should the dream even be used in such way? An excellent story in spite of some plausibility issue. ****
February 18, 2025
8 • The Ghost within • 26 pages by Rajnar Vajra
Very Good/Good. Jimmy gets a case to investigate Potts's claim of having captured a ghost in it’s “Live Forever” technology. The first thing to do is for Jimmy to travel to e-heaven and confirm the claim. When he gets back things feel different, noticeably different when he goes to talk with Potts’s hired goon.
44 • What Engineers Know • 2 pages by Arlan Andrews
OK. Probability Zero. Physicist made award winning theory with inspiration from a remark his colleague made in a stressful moment a couple years prior. Decent pun.
46 • Gun Control • 8 pages by Edward Muller
Very Good. A tribal leader explicitly asks for the most inexperienced negotiator having weapons they can use while their opponents have AI guns that consider both tribes as friendly. It’s up to this diplomat to figure out a peaceful solution.
54 • The Strange Redemption of Sister Mary Ann • 8 pages by Mike Moscoe
Fair/Poor. Mary Ann has successful fertility help. Four kids. Later in life, her husband dies, she becomes a nun, and has dreams of unborn children clamoring for her attention.
66 • Extra Innings • 6 pages by Robert Scherrer
OK/Fair. Jim and Benny play a strategy baseball game as kids, planning big, but only getting a fraction done before the summer ended. Benny goes on to invent a supercomputer that will store consciousnesses. Gets [too] existential about immortality and heat death of the universe, but maybe there’ll be time now to finally continue the game.
72 • Paparazzi of Dreams • 20 pages by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Good/VG. Max (assumed name) is under cover with Dream Merchants trying to get enough evidence to make the harvesting of other people’s dream (e.g. celebrities) outlawed. They get a dream from Xavier. Useless because it’s a repeat. Max says that it might be a memory and gets the go ahead to find out if this rape and murder dream has some substance. Max is an ex-cop so he does have some detective skills.
92 • An Old-Fashioned Martian Girl • 42 pages by Mary A. Turzillo
OK/Good. Part 4, conclusion. Really good for 1950s space opera, but it was written this century. As the star ship is starting its twenty lightyear voyage Nanoannie and Kapera are locked in carapaces starting to be frozen. Pretty much everyone else on the ship, too. Somehow there has to be an escape from the pod and eventually jumping on an escape pod or otherwise staying in the solar system.
Very Good/Good. Jimmy gets a case to investigate Potts's claim of having captured a ghost in it’s “Live Forever” technology. The first thing to do is for Jimmy to travel to e-heaven and confirm the claim. When he gets back things feel different, noticeably different when he goes to talk with Potts’s hired goon.
44 • What Engineers Know • 2 pages by Arlan Andrews
OK. Probability Zero. Physicist made award winning theory with inspiration from a remark his colleague made in a stressful moment a couple years prior. Decent pun.
46 • Gun Control • 8 pages by Edward Muller
Very Good. A tribal leader explicitly asks for the most inexperienced negotiator having weapons they can use while their opponents have AI guns that consider both tribes as friendly. It’s up to this diplomat to figure out a peaceful solution.
54 • The Strange Redemption of Sister Mary Ann • 8 pages by Mike Moscoe
Fair/Poor. Mary Ann has successful fertility help. Four kids. Later in life, her husband dies, she becomes a nun, and has dreams of unborn children clamoring for her attention.
66 • Extra Innings • 6 pages by Robert Scherrer
OK/Fair. Jim and Benny play a strategy baseball game as kids, planning big, but only getting a fraction done before the summer ended. Benny goes on to invent a supercomputer that will store consciousnesses. Gets [too] existential about immortality and heat death of the universe, but maybe there’ll be time now to finally continue the game.
72 • Paparazzi of Dreams • 20 pages by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Good/VG. Max (assumed name) is under cover with Dream Merchants trying to get enough evidence to make the harvesting of other people’s dream (e.g. celebrities) outlawed. They get a dream from Xavier. Useless because it’s a repeat. Max says that it might be a memory and gets the go ahead to find out if this rape and murder dream has some substance. Max is an ex-cop so he does have some detective skills.
92 • An Old-Fashioned Martian Girl • 42 pages by Mary A. Turzillo
OK/Good. Part 4, conclusion. Really good for 1950s space opera, but it was written this century. As the star ship is starting its twenty lightyear voyage Nanoannie and Kapera are locked in carapaces starting to be frozen. Pretty much everyone else on the ship, too. Somehow there has to be an escape from the pod and eventually jumping on an escape pod or otherwise staying in the solar system.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews