
CONTENTS Novelettes "Think Like a Dinosaur" by James Patrick Kelly "Across the Darkness" by Geoffrey A. Landis "Drifting Off the Coast of New Mexico" by Steven R. Boyett "Amphibians" by Pamela Sargent "Thorri the Poet's Saga" by S. N. Dyer and Lucy Kemnitzer Short Stories "On the Last Day, God Created" by Virginia Baker "The Age of Innocence" by Brian Stableford "Scorpion's Kiss" by J. Brooke Poetry "Alzheimer's Comes to Salem" by William John Watkins "The Souring of the Mall" by William John Watkins Departments "Reflections: Alive as You and Me" by Robert Silverberg "On Books" by Paul Di Filippo "SF Conventional Calendar" by Erwin S. Strauss Asimov's Science Fiction, June 1995, Vol. 19, No. 7 (Whole No. 232) Gardner R. Dozois, editor Cover art by Todd Lockwood
Authors

Steven R. Boyett is the author of Ariel, Elegy Beach, Mortality Bridge, Fata Morgana (with Ken Mitchroney) and numerous stories, articles, comic books, and screenplays. As a DJ he has played clubs, conventions, parties, Burning Man, and sporting events, and produces two of the world’s most popular music podcasts: Podrunner and Groovelectric. Steve has also been a martial arts instructor, professional paper marbler, advertising copywriter, proofreader, typesetter, writing teacher, and Website designer and editor. He also plays the didgeridoo and composes electronic music.

Pamela Sargent has won the Nebula Award, the Locus Award, and has been a finalist for the Hugo Award, the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award, and the Sidewise Award for alternate history. In 2012, she was honored with the Pilgrim Award by the Science Fiction Research Association for lifetime achievement in science fiction scholarship. She is the author of the novels Cloned Lives, The Sudden Star, Watchstar, The Golden Space, The Alien Upstairs, Eye of the Comet, Homesmind, Alien Child, The Shore of Women, Venus of Dreams, Venus of Shadows, Child of Venus, Climb the Wind, and Ruler of the Sky. Her most recent short story collection is Thumbprints, published by Golden Gryphon Press, with an introduction by James Morrow. The Washington Post Book World has called her “one of the genre's best writers.” In the 1970s, she edited the Women of Wonder series, the first collections of science fiction by women; her other anthologies include Bio-Futures and, with British writer Ian Watson as co-editor, Afterlives. Two anthologies, Women of Wonder, The Classic Years: Science Fiction by Women from the 1940s to the 1970s and Women of Wonder, The Contemporary Years: Science Fiction by Women from the 1970s to the 1990s, were published by Harcourt Brace in 1995; Publishers Weekly called these two books “essential reading for any serious sf fan.” Her most recent anthology is Conqueror Fantastic, out from DAW Books in 2004. Tor Books reissued her 1983 young adult novel Earthseed, selected as a Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association, and a sequel, Farseed, in early 2007. A third volume, Seed Seeker, was published in November of 2010 by Tor. Earthseed has been optioned by Paramount Pictures, with Melissa Rosenberg, scriptwriter for all of the Twilight films, writing the script and producing through her Tall Girls Productions. A collection, Puss in D.C. and Other Stories, is out; her novel Season of the Cats is out in hardcover and will be available in paperback from Wildside Press. The Shore of Women has been optioned for development as a TV series by Super Deluxe Films, part of Turner Broadcasting. Pamela Sargent lives in Albany, New York.

I also write fiction under the pseudonym plumblossom. I write science fiction and fantasy stories and novels. Sometimes I also write contemporary friendship romances of the lighter sort. My stories are about decent, imperfect people, trying to do the right thing in difficult circumstances while generally lacking the best equipment. Sometimes that's pretty dramatic, sometimes it's just kind of funny. Or both. I like to write about culture clash and crossed wires. My imagination might take me out among the stars or it might take me down the street. I hope you'll like peeking into the worlds where my stories go. My photo was taken in Berlin, at the public park dedicated to Bertolt Brecht. The words are from his magnificent poem "To Posterity."


Paul Di Filippo is the author of hundreds of short stories, some of which have been collected in these widely-praised collections: The Steampunk Trilogy, Ribofunk, Fractal Paisleys, Lost Pages, Little Doors, Strange Trades, Babylon Sisters, and his multiple-award-nominated novella, A Year in the Linear City. Another earlier collection, Destroy All Brains, was published by Pirate Writings, but is quite rare because of the extremely short print run (if you see one, buy it!). The popularity of Di Filippo’s short stories sometimes distracts from the impact of his mindbending, utterly unclassifiable novels: Ciphers, Joe’s Liver, Fuzzy Dice, A Mouthful of Tongues, and Spondulix. Paul’s offbeat sensibility, soulful characterizations, exquisite-yet-compact prose, and laugh-out-loud dialogue give his work a charmingly unique voice that is both compelling and addictive. He has been a finalist for the Hugo, Nebula, BSFA, Philip K. Dick, Wired Magazine, and World Fantasy awards. Despite his dilatory ways, Paul affirms that the sequel to A Year in the Linear City, to be titled A Princess of the Linear Jungle, will get written in 2008. He has two books forthcoming from PS Publications: the collection entitled Harsh Oases and the novel titled Roadside Bodhisattva. His 2008 novel Cosmocopia is graced by Jim Woodring illustrations. Paul lives in Providence, Rhode Island.