Analog Science Fiction & Fact, January/February 2025

Astounding/Analog

by Trevor Quachri (Editor), Vera Brook, Tom R. Pike

Vol. XCV No. 1 & 2.

Novella:
- APARTMENT WARS, Vera Brook

Novelettes:
- STRANGE EVENTS AT FLETCHER AND FRONT!, Tom R. Pike
- REJUVE BLUES, John Shirley
- PRINCE OF SPIRALS, Sean McMullen
- GUT CHECK, Robert E. Hampson

Short stories:
- OUR LADY OF THE GYRE, Doug Franklin
- SECOND CHANCE, Sakinah Hofler
- UPGRADE, Mark W. Tiedemann
- FIXATIVE, Jonathan Olfert
- THE ONLY GOD IS US, Sarah Day
- AS ORDINARY THINGS OFTEN DO, Kelly Lagor
- GO YOUR OWN WAY, Chris Barnham
- FLIGHT 454, Virgo Kevonté
- BATTLE BUDDY, Stephen Raab
- PRIME PURPOSE, Steve Rasnic Tem
- QUEST OF THE SETTE COMUNI, Paul Di Filippo

Flash fiction:
- NOTES FROM YOUR DESCENDANTS, Lorraine Alden
- VIGIL, James Van Pelt
- THE SPILL, M.T. Reiten

Science fact:
- SAVING THE SKIES, Richard A. Lovett

Poetry:
- BEYOND THE STANDARD MODEL, Ursula Whitcher
- ‘OUMUAMUA, Geoffrey A. Landis

Reader's departments:
- GUEST EDITORIAL: INFORMATION IS POWER, John J. Vester
- BIOLOG: TOM R. PIKE, Richard A. Lovett
- THE ALTERNATE VIEW, John G. Cramer
- IN TIMES TO COME
- THE REFERENCE LIBRARY, Sean C.W. Korsgaard
- BRASS TACKS
- 2024 INDEX
-ANALYTICAL LABORATORY BALLOT

【 PREVIOUS ISSUE ← January/February 2025 → NEXT ISSUE 】

Genres: Science Fiction

206 pages, digest magazine

Published December 10, 2024

About the author

Trevor 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.

Reviews

[John Loyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

8 • Our Lady of the Gyre • 8 pages by Doug Franklin
Fair. Mel sails on a vessel that sinks carbon into the ocean, trying to alleviate global warming. Alma died during a storm and now Mel is averse to risking anyone else’s life. I couldn’t visualize the setting and didn’t connect with any of the characters.

22 • Strange Events at Fletcher and Front! • 18 pages by Tom R. Pike
Good/OK. George is being attacked by thugs, probably from some rival company trying to weed out any competition, when a door [in the air] opens, someone with a ray gun of some sort neutralizes the would be kidnappers. George wonders what happened, and can only conclude that some future entity saw fit to save him. What for? Those futuristic guns looked dangerous, he really doesn’t want to build weapons. So he takes time off to read newspapers. He finally comes to the conclusion that it is global warming he should worry about fixing, make his solar panels to cut into the growing use of fossil fuels.

40 • Second Chance • 5 pages by Sakinah Hofler
Very Good/Good. Toya dies, but her consciousness is uploaded in time to give her a second chance. Unfortunately they put her in the wrong body. The author was pretty coy about her new body. I thought the big reveal was she got a male body. No, but her family didn’t treat her the same. They were more aloof, leaving her feeling left out.

45 • Upgrade • 7 pages by Mark W. Tiedemann
Good. Costain is being [pretty much] required to get a PAS. Already they’re letting someone with twenty years experience go. Still he’s worried that he’ll lose something, turn into a robot.

52 • Rejuve Blues • 14 pages by John Shirley
Good/VG. Ezra and Laurel win a rejuvenation lottery. He is gung ho about it, she has reservations, but it’s non-transferable. Ezra quickly sees the benefits, starts running and taking a class, but for Laurel the rejuve brought back the PTSD that she had decades ago. Then Ezra is kidnapped by mercenaries wanting to steal corporate secrets in the form of the nanobots inside his kidneys.

66 • Fixative • 6 pages by Jonathan Olfert
Fair/Poor. Fixative is given to a worker to make them more focused, better at their job, etc. Is there some downside? Addictive? Can’t function properly without it? Dainy finished a contract and is dropped off where she finds Masiste who tries to talk her out of another contract where she goes back on the fix. I guess, it wasn’t clear to me.

72 • Notes from Your Descendants • 2 pages by Lorraine Alden
Good/OK. Gene editing allows parents to give their children an advantage. What could go wrong? For example, it’s not an advantage if every child gets it, or you have to sacrifice quality of life.

79 • The Only God Is Us • 7 pages by Sarah Day
OK. Algae engineered to combat global warming has spread out of control. Our narrator is traveling alone, no sign of other humans. She finds algae in a dead bird, not just on the concrete. Will it ever stop? Will she find anyone else?

86 • As Ordinary Things Often Do • 7 pages by Kelly Lagor
OK+. Rhoda is on the ship that will explore a possibly habitable planet, for the moment it’s still here. Rhoda met Sev six months ago and they’re on an enhanced video (VR?) call. She wants to say she loves him, but she’s going soon and will have to leave him behind. Still they have this night [almost] together and probably a few more. Make the most of the time they have left.

93 • Go Your Own Way • 9 pages by Chris Barnham
Very Good. Ferdinand can travel between dimensions. For hundreds of worlds, many like his original, but many more quite different, he never settles down. Then he meets Shona and he has a reason to stay. Then another Ferdy shows up.

102 • Prince of Spirals • 16 pages by Sean McMullen
Good. Angelo is kidnapped for his skills as a forensic archaeologist. Having no chance of escaping he does what they ask, telling them that in order to do it he’ll need such and such.

118 • Flight 454 • 10 pages by Virgo Kevonte
Good/VG. Tyree and Klein investigate some seismic activity and find the remains of flight 454. Klein immediately thinks it’s sabotage from one of his competitors. It’s up to the chief security officer to find the truth.

128 • Vigil • 2 pages by James Van Pelt
OK. While Joan stays by her grandmother’s bed she remembers things that her grandmother has done, such as working on the mural.

130 • Battle Buddy • 4 pages by Stephen Raab
Very Good. A technician is called in to reimage the a Talos unit. No explanation. The technician says reimaging is a last resort. Having no useful details, he checks out the robot.

134 • The Spill • 2 pages by M. T. Reiten
OK+. Runaway nanobot induced disaster.

136 • Prime Purpose • 7 pages by Steve Rasnic Tem
Good. This is the story from John’s perspective of the last years of Harold’s life. John is his robotic caregiver and Harold is getting frailer and having more trouble remembering things.

143 • Gut Check • 13 pages by Robert E. Hampson
OK+. NASA sends two ships on a lunar mission to build a base on the moon and one in orbit. Glenn is a doctor and pilot. He’s not a lead in the construction phase, but does other tasks and also keeps tabs on everyone’s health. When there is a an emergency medical issue he is front and center.

156 • Quest of the Sette Comuni • 10 pages by Paul Di Filippo
Good. Fantina has been sent to retrieve the kidnapped princess. They have to con their way into the Sette Comuni, locate the girl, and then figure out a way to get her out of there unscathed.

166 • Apartment Wars • 28 pages by Vera Brook
Good. The housing authority regulates what size apartment people can have. With Julian gone Helena is now alone in a large apartment and fears it’ll taken from her. Her Daughter and husband have been delayed because she I’d pregnant. Piotr, a colleague of Julian, asks about the professor’s papers prompting her to find a box with a strange device. Her neighbor Marta has a self centered boyfriend that is pushing her to report Helena to the housing board.

[Oleksandr Zholud · Rating 3 out of 5]

TL;DR, a rather weak issue, a few ok stories, plus good essays. I originally read and discussed it at ORBIT – Otherworldly Reads, Bold Ideas, and Tales. SF & F Short Stories and Novelettes group.

Contents:
Information is Power [Editorial (Analog)] essay by John Vester more or less general talk about too many conspiracy theories and believing, not checking. However, what is important IMHO is the final message: Regardless of how it goes, conversing is better than dismissal and retreat into our own corners or silos. It’s important to keep in mind that Flat Earthers, or other adherents to ideas you may find ludicrous, are, for the most part, otherwise good people motivated by the same priorities of survival, family, and safety that move you. 3*
Our Lady of the Gyre short story by Doug Franklin this is the story from the cover. An older man in the near future Earth works on a sea vessel called lily to help drown all excessive carbon sequestered from the enviroment. He years ago lost his love, but now sometimes visits a library to talk with orbital AI, supply it with data from the Eye, which he constantly keeps with himself. This AI has almost a demi-goddess status. One interesting note about sequestering: Biological carbon sequestration is the only plausible solution to global warming on a timescale relevant to humanity or even our fellow vertebrates....Direct air capture was a corporate con job; hundreds of thousands of facilities would have to be built and powered, at what carbon footprint? And how long would they stay operational, as civilization crumbled? Only self-reproducing organisms offer the scale-up potential and longevity required to do the job The story itself is rather flat. 3*
Saving the Skies: How One Small City in Arizona is Pointing the Way to a Better (Darker) Future [Science Fact (Analog)] essay by Richard A. Lovett it turns out that light pollutionm harms not only astronoms and animals, but humans - from the fact that lightly lit night streets may encourage crimes (make victim easier to spot) to the fact that it possibly contributes to cancer. Interesting! 4*
Strange Events at Fletcher and Front! novelette by Tom R. Pike an alt-history, which starts in New York in 1909. The man is ambushed by thugs, but a door in darkness opens and a person from there shots attackers. The man is an inventor, George Cove (a real person see here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_... ) one of the earliest producers of solar panels. In the story, he continues his work, finds an early article about global warming and promotes his panels as a competition to oil/coal barons... 3*
Tom R. Pike [Biolog] essay by Richard A. Lovett two good quotes: “As a younger writer, I worried about the wrong things,” he says. “I was obsessed with originality, when I [now] think what matters is authenticity.” and “I think it’s braver to write a story with a happy ending. Anybody can describe the miseries of today. Anybody can write a dystopia, and everybody says it’s such serious art. I want people to consider that the world could become a better, kinder place, and that they could be a part of how that change happens. We should all behave as if a time traveler gave us a second chance to be the best person we can be.” 3*
Second Chance short story by Sakinah Hofler a black woman accidentally shot by police gets her mind uploaded to a new body, but due to an error (at the same time was killed another woman with the same name and age) she gets white body... her daughter cannot hug her, "not our mom!", other problems. I guess the story needed more space, it is too short for real depth. 2.5*
Upgrade short story by Mark W. Tiedemann lawyers get a possible upgrade - Paracomp, a digital assistant using the host's unconscious: “it’s just neuroscience. The unconscious and the subconscious do the bulk of our processing. We’ve discovered that if we leave them alone to do that work, we make better decisions, have more apparent control of our lives. People who try to consciously think through every decision do quite badly in comparison.” It turns out that at least a third of lawyers will be unemployed and moreover assistants form a network and speak to each other While the concept is interesting, the execution is lacking. 3*
Rejuve Blues novelette by John Shirley year 2051, an old couple wins a re-juvenation procedure - it is extremely expensive, so for them it is a win, even if the wife has her doubts. They get it and we follow them after the procedure. What will you do if you get your youth back? The wife was with Islamic Women’s Militia - an anti-Taliban force in Afghanistan and with her youth her PTSD returned, the husband was an artist and now tries a new media... a solid read. 3.25*
Fixative short story by Jonathan Olfert while not exactly a flow of consciousness, this story is rambling about a former spaceship operator. The twist is that they have obsessive-compulsive behavior turned (fixed at) to a specific problem and the prose assumedly should highlight 'abnormalcy' of the character, but it was torture for me to read. 2*
Notes from Your Descendants short story by Lorraine Alden flash-fic with 'writings' of several generations of genetically tweaked people (each generation tries to improve their descendants but fail). Nice. 3*
Hidden Figures essay by Scott Kim a new item in Analog, braintwisters, this once gives word 'Analog' written is a strange script and suggests changing it to "Find the extra meaning in the word". Sadly by epub gives the answer but not the original, for which I had to check pdf. 3*
Robotic Shifting Procedure essay by Patrick Berry another braintwister. 4*
Will Quantum Computing Improve AI [The Alternate View] essay by John G. Cramer short answer "no", but a lot of details how quantum computers and neural networks work. 3.5*
The Only God Is Us short story by Sarah Day a nice if naive post-apoc story. An older (in her 60s I guess) woman narrates these notes on a special system installed by her husband, recently passed away from cancer, in their electric van. She faces the world were genetically modified algae (created to recycle cement and other man-made products). However, it got out of the ocean and now slowly consumes our land. Moreover, it seems to evolve possibly simbiotic with animals and able to operate electricity grids. The solution is a bit naive it cannot overcome wild flowers 3.25*
As Ordinary Things Often Do short story by Kelly Lagor a couple - she is about to leave on a first interstellar mission, he stays on Earth. they are videoconferencing, both preparing the same meal w/o a recipe. She wants to say she loves him... a little maulding for my taste. 2.5*
Go Your Own Way short story by Chris Barnham Ferdinand is a parallel world traveller (by a Moon silvery path no less) and after years of travel, he settles in London similar to his original with a girl. However, another he appears and urges him to travel, while the other he stays with the girl. Well written if predictable, plus quite interesting glimpses at parallel Londons. 3.5*
Beyond the Standard Model poem by Ursula Whitcher
Prince of Spirals novelette by Sean McMullen an archeologist-genetist is kidnapped to perform some tests. As he slowly discovers there is a bunch of descendants of the previous British royal dynasty, Plantagenets and they check whether one of the sons of the last king escaped, replaced by another boy. Moreover, there is a royal agent, who after the escape is confirmed tries to kill potential pretenders to the throne. While highly unlikely, it is entertaining A great plus of the story is its 'educaiment', giving basic info how genetic tests are made now, what they can show, etc. 4*
Flight 454 short story by Virgo Kevonté Avalon II was the newest and greatest passenger space ship until it rammed nose first, Ganymede. Now a Chief Security Officer investigates the crash. The main suspect is a rival company but the truth is more interesting lack of sunlight leads to depression in Northern Europe during long nights - how much more potent is the effect much further from the Sun? 3*
Vigil short story by James Van Pelt a grandma is dying and her granddaughter keeps the last vigil next to her bed. The old woman is the last person who saw Earth on this generation ship. A slice-of-life story. 2.5*
Battle Buddy short story by Stephen Raab a company's technician investigates dissatisfaction of an officer with how one of their robots behaved. It turns out that robots are paired up with humans and it this case, after a drop, the man was killed (not a robot's fault). However, what a sentient robot feels it its sole goal is to die instead of a human... 2.5*
In Times to Come (Analog, January-February 2025) [In Times to Come (Analog)] essay by uncredited some humor and mystery stories
The Spill short story by M. T. Reiten a flash fic about containing a nano-goo spill. 2*
Prime Purpose short story by Steve Rasnic Tem the story of an old man and his robot caretaker. While the theme isn't new, there were even a few award-nominated stories, but quite well executed, with robot not being a metal human. The ending was a bit too sweet. 3*
Gut Check novelette by Robert E. Hampson this is what I usually expect from Analog - hard SF with far from smooth prose. Here, it is 2029, and a new manned mission is sent to the Moon. The protagonist is a crew's medic, so no surprise that one of the astronauts has a medical emergency (which I also guessed). 2.75*
Quest of the Sette Comuni short story by Paul Di Filippo an interesting world of the 23rd century. The protagonist is a satyress (female satyr) Fatina, one of many chimeras, who hasn't attained human status. She is travelling with her robot companion near what we now know as Venice (it is underwater). Her master failed in one of his schemes and a hair of the drowned Venice was kidnapped. Now, Fatina has to travel to one of the settlements from the title to rescue her. I plan to check more stories by the author. 3.75*
Apartment Wars novella by Vero Brook 1979, communist Poland. Helena recently lost her husband, a scientist and now is living in a three-room apartment. Due to constant housing shortages and public ownership of them, a person/family may be forced to move into a smaller apartment if their current one is considered too luxurious. So, she tries to keep it till her daughter with her husband return from Sweden, while some neighbors try to get this flat. After working with her late husband's papers, she finds a device he constructed, which uses quantum topography... SF element is both unlikely and hardly necessary. 3*
The Reference Library (Analog, January-February 2025) [The Reference Library] essay by Sean C. W. Korsgaard added Freelancers of Neptune to my TBR

[Michael Goodine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite liked Richard A. Lovett's article on dark sky areas. The science fact stuff doesn't get much love here on Goodreads, so I just wanted to mention that.

A few fiction pieces stood out:

Sakinah Hofler's "Second Chance" is a poignant story about a woman whose consciousness is uploaded into a new body following her untimely demise. I liked it.

John Shirley's "Rejuve Blues" is also quite poignant (or perhaps I am just in a poignant frame of mind this month). It is about an elderly couple who win a lottery and become young again.

Steve Rasnic Tem's "Prime Purposes" is, as well, quite poignant. It tells the story of a robot caring for an elderly man in his final years.

[Kevin Phyland · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Our Lady Of The Gyre” by Doug Franklin follows a leaf-ship around the Pacific Rim doing carbon sequestration through diatoms. When the warmer ocean temperatures bring a rain wall and waterspouts it imperils their lives. George Cove, inventor of the solar electric furnace in 1909, is saved from being kidnapped by thugs from the fossil fuel industry by a suspected time traveller. His journey to save the future from global warming is the gist of “Strange Events At Fletcher And Front” by Tom R. Pike. A “Second Chance” involves inserting a dead person’s mind into a vacated body, but when Toya is re-incarnated in a body not remotely of her original ethnicity, complications abound in Sakinah Hofler’s tale, while a pas augment in a lawyer’s brain may make accessing data and decisions easier, but it may also remove something essentially human and necessary from the legal experience in “Upgrade” by Mark W. Tiedemann. Ezra and Laurel win the Rejuve Lottery in their 70s but with renewed vigor come old memories and new jealousies in “Rejuve Blues” by John Shirley, and a botched attempt to use algae to use up CO2 and produce oxygen has produced a runaway algal bloom that threatens civilization in “The Only God Is Us” by Sarah Day. Ferdy learned early on that he could walk along the Way, a path between alternate Earths, and was content to wander endlessly until he met Shona. Unfortunately Shona appeals to other Ferds as well in “Go Your Own Way” by Chris Barnham. A group of disparate people kidnap Angelo, a forensic archaeologist, to determine if there is a lost Plantagenet heir. But not all will be thrilled to learn of their possible royal heritage in “Prince Of Spirals” by Sean McMullen. Steve Rasnic Tem examines the need to have a “Prime Purpose” in life, both for humans and mechanicals, and Robert E. Hampson gives us a nice piece of engineering fiction with “Gut Check”, where a dual lunar mission encounters a medical emergency. Something Campbell would have bought. Helena is a Polish widow and in 1979 her physicist husband died, leaving her a collection of notes and a strange device. The device seems to be capable of creating topological spaces where none existed before, and amid jealousy of her roomy apartment by a neighbour’s violent partner, and an unscrupulous colleague of her husband, her eviction seems likely. “Apartment Wars” by Vera Brook is a pick tale!

[Brendan Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good issue ... some good Sci-fi that I like.

[Stephen Burridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars from me, which in this case is intended as a solid rating. Only a few seriously weak stories and a good number of strong, entertaining ones.