Orbitals: Journeys to Future Worlds

by Mark Laporta

In acclaimed science fiction novelist Mark Laporta's first collection of short fiction, you will meet aliens from all sectors of space-time. From insectoids to floraoids, to beings who live outside of Time, each alien group has a different perspective on that gaggle of ape-descended bipeds who hail from an incongruously named planet. You’ll discover fascinating beings who are repulsed by human arrogance, opposed to human bias and perplexed by human barbarity You’ll also meet aliens surprised to find a core of integrity embedded in the flawed human psyche. Here are tales of alien encounters — where the real aliens are us and the universe is watching for signs of intelligent life on Earth. From "Respect," in which a species of sentient vine highlights the folly of a narrow worldview, to "Granular," in which a young genius discovers a moral universe no pat equations can describe, these tales of future worlds will take you on a mind-expanding exploration of what it means to be human, as only Mark Laporta can.

202 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 11, 2020

About the author

The stories that move me are about people shaped by moral dilemmas, love, and the sheer absurdity of everyday life. I'm intrigued by people smart enough to know how stupid they are—but unable to stop themselves from obeying their compulsions. That is, until a critical event shakes their foundations and opens a fissure in their rock-solid view of reality.

How do these people think, what's driving their emotions, as they hurtle toward the trouble lurking just around the corner?

Sometimes success starts with a patch of bad luck. And sometimes what looks like a windfall turns out to be a rampaging hurricane, lifting them up and out of everything they believe in. At both extremes are situations absurd enough to look tragic and grave enough to look ridiculous—if only we slap on the right pair of lenses.

Yet within this skewed matrix we like to call "The Way Things Are," every random occurrence opens a world of possibility to people with vision. My favorite characters lie just within that range. Heroes? No. Just people driven by nature to poke around in destiny’s darkest shadows.