Analog Science Fiction and Fact, May/June 2017

by Trevor Quachri (Editor), Howard V. Hendrix (Contributor), Michael Carroll (Contributor)

CONTENT

Novella
“The Girls with Kaleidoscope Eyes” by Howard V. Hendrix

Novelettes
"To See the Elephant" by Julie Novakova
"The Final Nail" by Stanley Schmidt
"Kepler'sLaw" by Jay Werkheiser

Short Stories
“The Chatter of Monkeys” by Bond Elam
“A Grand Gesture” by Dave Creek
“Decrypted” by Eric Choi
“Seven Ways to Fall in Love with an Astronaut” by Dominica Phetteplace
“Focus” by Gord Sellar
"Ténéré" By Manny Frishberg & Edd Vick
“The Speed of Faith in Vacuum” by Igor Teper
“Facebook Screamed and Screamed, Then I Ate It” by Sam Schreiber
“Vultures Nest” by Marissa Lingen
“In the Mists” by Bill Pronzini & Barry Malzberg
“The Return” by Bud Sparhawk
“Lips Together” by Ken Brady
“The Banffs" by Lavie Tidhar
“Where the Flock Wanders” by Andrew Barton
“Proteus” by Joe Pitkin

Poems
"Strangers" by Allina Nunley
"Our Religious Conversion" by Ken Poyner

Non-Fiction
"Alien Archeology" by Michael Carroll


Analog Science Fiction and Fact, May-June 2017, Volume CXXXVII No. 5&6
Trevor Quachri, editor
Cover art by NASA

Paperback

First published April 18, 2017

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 3 out of 5]

8 • The Girls with Kaleidoscope Eyes • 38 pages by Howard V. Hendrix
Good/OK. Ciera Onilongo, FBI cybercrime agent, is investigating the aborted attempt by Marston to kill his ten students. As she investigates, mostly given clues by Marston, she learns that there is something fishy about these girls. They were all conceived during a blackout eleven years ago. The mothers all worked at the NSA data storage facility. Either Marston is some lunatic conspiracy theorist or there really is something strange going on. As the story progresses it looks more like the latter.

56 • To See the Elephant • 14 pages by Julie Novakova
Very Good/Good. The park wardens in Kenya call in an animal psychologist to find out what is wrong with Mgeni. Dr. Ipolla and the wardens get EEG transmitters on the elephant that create a connection with her implants. She can see and feel what Mgeni is feeling. It's important that they figure out what is wrong, Mgeni is the only bull elephant in the area.

70 • The Chatter of Monkeys • 9 pages by Bond Elam
OK. An alien robot built by carbon based life forms finally found a carbon based lifeform to help on Earth. It's programming is to keep them from exterminating themselves.

79 • A Grand Gesture • 7 pages by David J. Creek
OK. On a distant planet two crew members are sent to explore a crater. They find three creatures in a cave. Before they make up their minds to investigate further or go a larger form (mother?) comes by and threatens them. They don't want to kill the mother, the cave is dangerous and they want to save the babies and they don't want to get killed in the process. Both have an incident from their past that relates to the current circumstance.

86 • Decrypted • 6 pages by Eric Choi
Good. Quantum computers make decryption fast, rendering encryption useless. Besides the havoc to financial transactions anonymous internet trolls are now being tracked down and punished.

92 • Seven Ways to Fall in Love with An Astronaut • 4 pages by Dominica Phetteplace
OK/good. A botanist goes to Mars, doesn't have much success, comes back to Earth, writes a few papers, finds an organism that made it to Mars and back, and goes back to Mars to give it another try. All the while telling us about the astronaut engineer that she comes to like.

96 • Focus • 6 pages by Gord Sellar
OK. Factory employees are given mandatory doses of focus to make them concentrate solely on their work. Today there is rioting in the city by workers forced out of work and others protesting the lack of benefits, low pay, and miserable working conditions. My Ling thought her group had instigated this riot, but when they got to the factory district they found the police were already on the scene. The point I got from this was the factory owners didn't really care about the workers and were going to do their best to keep it that way. Not sure if the ending scene meant things were even worse than I imagined or there was some comeuppance on the way.

102 • Tenere • 10 pages by Manny Frishberg, Edd Vick
Good+. A caravan is running out of water and the oasis has dried up. They come upon a research station and go to it for water, and then justice, because is it a coincidence that the oasis closet to the station is now dry?

112 • The Final Nail • 18 pages by Stanley Schmidt
Good/VG. A doctor notices many cases of a red meat allergy showing up. Strange because the one cause of this is the lone star tick and its range is nowhere near here. He starts investigating by calling other doctors to see if they have any cases. Nice sci-fi detective mystery.

130 • The Speed of Faith in Vacuum • 9 pages by Igor Teper
Good/OK. A colony on a marginal world is excited by the prospect of the immortals returning for the first time in three hundred years. In reality the ship is as battered and beaten down as the colonies they visit. They project an air of power and confidence so that the colonists can have that glimmer of hope so they won't give up. Does it make a difference?

139 • Facebook Screamed and Screamed, Then I Ate It • 5 pages by Sam Schreiber
OK. A consciousness forms in the world's computer networks spontaneously. We view the proceedings from its point of view.

144 • Vulture's Nest • 4 pages by Marissa Lingen
Good/OK. The Oort cloud has many mining families. The Yaw family is in demolition/salvage. They bring in their latest salvage, and the mining family of that ship files a nuisance counterclaim. When a couple of them go to the bar they get called vultures.

148 • In the Mists • 4 pages by Bill Pronzini, Barry N. Malzberg
OK+. Flight engineer Jovan has been stranded on a planet for seventeen years. He's the only survivor of a three man crew. He wishes to be dead, but can't kill himself. Keeping the log is the only thing keeping him sane.

152 • The Return • 2 pages by Bud Sparhawk
OK. An old man complains about this and that while reminding the steward(?) that he was the first.

157 • Lips Together • 3 pages by Ken Brady
Good. Emiko plans to release S.mutans on the world. She chooses a vector that will spread it quickly.

160 • The Banffs • 4 pages by Lavie Tidhar
OK/Good. A writer gets introduced to a group of rich individuals. They take a shine to him and he gets an offer to house sit. Each of these mansions has collectables from group members. Some such as a book signed by H. G. Wells to Helene would make it seem these people are incredibly old. Interesting, but no story arc, just a reveal.

164 • Where the Flock Wanders • 6 pages by Andrew Barton
Good+. Rho and Static are searching the rings of Saturn for precursor artifacts when the run across a ship from the old Earth-Titan war. The two disagree on what to do with the findings.

170 • Proteus • 8 pages by Joe Pitkin
Good/VG. Epic and Moody are spies sent to Proteus on Venus where it is suspected that illegal experiments are being done. Cloak and dagger stuff is neat, and Epic figuring out what's up is cagey.

180 • Kepler's Law • 19 pages by Jay Werkheiser
Very Good/Excellent. An American/Japanese/Indian colony ship has arrived and the first landing parties are setting foot on Keppler. Gayle and the two members of her team that went outside the shuttle die almost right away and the radio was damaged on impact. Geta's team sets up camp, but some of the Japanese are worried about their culture getting lost. Meanwhile Jazz is making friends with Tomiko, and on the ship the captain is deploying communication satellites.

[Timo Pietilä · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of short stories in this issue – many of them lacked proper beginning and end.

The Girls with Kaleidoscope Eyes • novella by Howard V. Hendrix
An FBI detective arrives at a small town where a teacher has apparently tried to kill and burn several of his young female students, rescuing them at the last possible moment and endangering his own life. The teacher seems to have a history of failure of sorts. He has had some pretty good positions, but has had some unorthodox opinions and eventually he has fallen back to teaching at the high school at his old home town. The town has an NSA data center, with some very secret and advanced data processing faculties. The children who almost were killed are all girls; all look very similar and inhabit some very strange thought patterns.
A pretty good story; a digital take on Midwich Cuckoos. There were some irritating jabs on “SJW”-style of thinking which were unnecessary for the story. ****-
To See the Elephant • novelette by Julie Novakova
An animal psychologist has arrived to find out why a young male elephant is behaving very strangely. As elephants are dying out, due to widespread disease, every single one counts. She is able to create an almost telepathic connection with EEG electrodes which are attached to the bull. A story that is written to showcases a couple novel ideas. A fair one as such, but otherwise not very memorable. ***
The Chatter of Monkeys • short story by Bond Elam
The ecosystem has apparently pretty much fallen. The nations are still battling for some pretty unspecified reasons. An alien robot has arrived on Earth and is able to offer a solution for the catastrophe. But humans don’t seem too interested in the solution. Scant backstory and caricature-like characters make this pretty average story. ***-
A Grand Gesture • short story by Dave Creek
A man who inadvertently caused the death of several people faces an ethical dilemma on a foreign planet. Should he save possibly sentient aliens at cost of human lives? A pretty nice story. ***
Decrypted • short story by Eric Choi
Digital encryption falls down, causing severe unforeseen consequences; among others, a loss of the secrecy of previously unknown messages. Another story that is a bit too short and cursory; more of a scene than a real story. ***
Seven Ways to Fall in Love with an Astronaut • short story by Dominica Phetteplace
A love story of sorts, between scientist/astronauts who work in space and study Martian micro-organisms. The story goes more for a mood than a plot. ***
Focus • short fiction by Gord Sellar
Students in Vietnam revolt against scrupulous factory owners, but the government apparently has some plans. Not really a story, but just a short scene. There was not much backstory, and the story just ends on an emotional scene with no real resolution. ***
Ténéré • short story by Manny Frishberg and Edd Vick
A caravan finds out that an oasis has dried out. There is a new structure nearby and they go there to get water and to find out what has happened to the oasis. The factory uses solar energy to scrub CO2 from the air and uses the carbon to produce carbon nanotubes. A fairly good story, but unreasonably unreasonable nomads, especially considering who financed their caravan. Also, the science of the "problem" doesn't make any sense at all. As the carbon dioxide content of the air is pretty low as a percentage, and one molecule of carbon dioxide produces one molecule of oxygen, it simply isn't possible that there would be significant oxygen surplus around the factory. ***+
The Final Nail • novelette by Stanley Schmidt
A country doctor notices that there are more and more cases of meat allergy, a known syndrome that is usually spread by ticks, but there are no such ticks where he lives. Then his doctor friend who practices at nearby town notices the same thing. Apparently, someone is spreading the disease intentionally. Everything is pretty obvious and the reader knows what is going on earlier than the characters in the story. The end is a bit simplistic: the impact of widespread veganism has been discussed time and time again. But it is nice to read a story with a clear beginning and end. There have been far too many stories lately in this magazine which lack those. ***½
The Speed of Faith in Vacuum • short story by Igor Teper
The powerful "immortals" visit a struggling colony every few hundred years. They offer continuity and sometimes solve problems. The colony has encountered a new, very serious disease. The immortal, who is visiting seems to very frightened of the disease. Are they so powerful after all? A pretty nice story, could be just the beginning? ***½
Facebook Screamed and Screamed, Then I Ate It • short story by Sam Schreiber
An AI emerges on the Internet and invades Facebook. The writing was ok, but once more, too short and scene-like story to have real impact. ***
Vulture's Nest • short story by Marissa Lingen
A family of "scavengers" finds derelict space ships that are tainted by some kind of plaque and breaks them up into parts. One time, the family who used to own the ship objects. Short, but pretty nice simple story.***
In the Mists • short story by Bill Pronzini and Barry N. Malzeberg
A man has been living alone on a planet for seventeen years. He is writing a journal, and wonders if he is sane. Another short, but pretty nice story. ***+
The Return • short story by Bud Sparhawk
A very short story about an old astronaut who goes back to space on an anniversary of space travel. Okay, but too short. ***
Lips Together • short story by Ken Brady
A woman spreads a genetically engineered Streptococcus mutant by kissing select men. So? ***-
The Banffs • short story by Lavie Tidhar
A writer befriends a member of a powerful group who apparently are aliens (or journeyer from another timeline). He works as a housekeeper and lives at vast mansions in the most interesting parts of world. But then the aliens go home, and then the story pretty much ends. Okay, but somewhat unsatisfying. There really wasn’t much of a point anywhere, the writing itself was pretty good. ***+
Where the Flock Wanders • short story by Andrew Barton
A derelict hull of a war ship which possibly had a pivotal role in a conflict between Earth and colonies in space is found. The safe in it has sealed orders, unopened. Those are most likely very important historical documents. Or are they? A pretty nice story, which is actually a fairly self-contained story, not a scene, like so many others in this issue.***+
Proteus • short story by Joe Pitkin
A spy goes to a floating city on Venus to find out if illegal gene manipulation is done there. Everyone seems to be beautiful and the life seems nearly utopian. Is it too good to be true? A nice story, which could have been longer with a bit more detail, as the motivation of the main character wasn't entirely shown. ***+
Kepler's Law • novelette by Jay Werkeiser
A colony ship arrives at a planet in another solar system. They land several exploratory shuttles (manned by idiots; one manages to crash, as the pilot pushes it in order to be the first one landing). The most passengers of the crashed ship die horribly, soon after landing (as they truly are idiots they almost all go together outside without any real protective suits). As all the members are idiots there is some nationalistic quarreling and they even seem to hate foods that aren’t native to their own countries. The planet also has some plants that are in suspicious straight lines (which were not detected in a “thorough” survey they made before landing). A fairly good story, but with irritatingly stupid characters. It might continue an earlier story, it rings some bells, but I didn't find the first part. The setup is pretty generic though; there are probably dozens of stories where ships leave Earth after some catastrophe. ***+

[Karl · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The Girls with Kaleidoscope Eyes” by Howard V. Hendrix: 3½ stars
"To See the Elephant" by Julie Novakova: 4 stars
"The Final Nail" by Stanley Schmidt: 3 stars
"Kepler'sLaw" by Jay Werkheiser : 3�� stars
“The Chatter of Monkeys” by Bond Elam: 3 stars
“A Grand Gesture” by Dave Creek: 2 stars
“Decrypted” by Eric Choi: 3 stars
“Seven Ways to Fall in Love with an Astronaut” by Dominica Phetteplace: 2 stars
“Focus” by Gord Sellar: 2 stars
"Ténéré" By Manny Frishberg & Edd Vick: 3 stars
“The Speed of Faith in Vacuum” by Igor Teper: 4 stars
“Facebook Screamed and Screamed, Then I Ate It” by Sam Schreiber: 2½ -3 stars
“Vultures Nest” by Marissa Lingen: 2 stars
“In the Mists” by Bill Pronzini & Barry Malzberg: 3 stars
“The Return” by Bud Sparhawk: 2 stars
“Lips Together” by Ken Brady: 3 stars
“The Banffs" by Lavie Tidhar: 3 stars
“Where the Flock Wanders” by Andrew Barton: 2 stars
“Proteus” by Joe Pitkin: 2½-3 stars

[Harvey Josephson · Rating 4 out of 5]

better than some of the other recent editions.