The aliens just want to get out of their ship and stretch their legs. They have no intention of helping us solve our many problems. But when they go backpacking in the wilderness, they find a side of humanity they hadn’t expected. “The Sense of Discovery” is the first of what will ultimately be the complete (okay, nearly complete) works of Jerry Oltion available online. Jerry has been publishing science fiction stories and novels since 1982 and has over 150 of them for Bard Design to reformat to digital form, so it’ll take a while. Come back every now and then to see what new ones have been posted. Jerry has had his short stories published in most of the major science fiction venues and has had several successful novels, including four highly acclaimed Star Trek books. He has become the most published author in the history of Analog magazine. His stories have won the Nebula award, the Endeavor award, the Seiun award, and have been nominated multiple times for the Hugo award. His stories are often humorous, with likeable characters using intelligence and competence (as opposed to force and violence) to solve their problems. His style harks back to the golden age of science fiction, yet with a modern sensibility and relevance. Even his earliest works hold up well today—and on into the future. For a complete listing of Jerry’s canon, and for a glimpse into his other life as an amateur astronomer, visit Jerry’s website at www.sff.net/people/j.oltion

Mission starchild; for one thousand years the spaceship "Starchild" has housed the sole survivors of Earth's most devastating war. The ship has been their protector and their prison, a world with rhyme or reason between the stars. Then young LeAnne and Donivan are thrust through the Starchild's airlock - and discover some starling truths.

In the late 1700s, James Boswell spent several years of his life following Samuel Johnson around, prying into Johnson's private business, taking notes, and writing the definitive biography of that century's Great Man. In modern times, paparazzi hound the famous without mercy. How might the future treat its celebrities? And what might a future celebrity do about unwelcome attention? "The Life of Boswell" is the fourth volume in the collected works of Jerry Oltion. Jerry has had his short stories published in most of the major science fiction venues and has had several successful novels, including four highly acclaimed Star Trek books. He has become the most published author in the history of Analog magazine. His stories have won the Nebula award, the Endeavor award, the Seiun award, and have been nominated multiple times for the Hugo award. His stories are often humorous, with likeable characters using intelligence and competence (as opposed to force and violence) to solve their problems. His style harks back to the golden age of science fiction, yet with a modern sensibility and relevance. Even his earliest works hold up well today - and on into the future. For a complete listing of Jerry's canon, and for a glimpse into his other life as an amateur astronomer, visit Jerry's website at www.sff.net/people/j.oltion

In the tradition of Poul Anderson's Operation Chaos, Jerry Oltion, a rising star of science fiction and a Nebula Award-winning author, returns with a novel of intergalactic travel, a mad scientist, and otherworldly allies. Allen Meisner is a member of INSANE, the International Network of Scientists Against Nuclear Extermination. A card-carrying mad scientist, he develops a hyperdrive engine capable of taking anyone to the stars for just a few dollars. But after a demonstration aboard a space ship goes awry, Allen learns that there's no such thing as a free ride. Allen's ideas do not have quite the effect he desires. While the ability to travel great distances excites some, it terrifies others. Earth is in chaos as governments prepare for war to control this unleashed power. With everyone waiting for the bomb-now propelled by hyperdrive-to fall, Allen and his shuttle pilot, Judy Gallagher, look for a way to save humanity. With electronic parts from Radio Shack and a plastic septic tank from a lumberyard, they build their own spacecraft and go in search of habitable planets. Armed with new allies, an intelligent butterfly, and a temperamental tree, they return to Earth for a final showdown between fear and freedom.

The speed of light is pitifully slow, when you think about it. It takes light eight minutes to reach us from the Sun. It takes four years to go to the nearest star. It takes two million years to reach the nearest galaxy. Why is it so slow? In “The BASIC Universe,” a physics student and a computer science student figure out a possible explanation. "The BASIC Universe" is the seventh volume in the collected works of Jerry Oltion. Jerry has had his short stories published in most of the major science fiction venues and has had several successful novels, including four highly acclaimed Star Trek books. He has become the most published author in the history of Analog magazine. His stories have won the Nebula award, the Endeavor award, the Seiun award, and have been nominated multiple times for the Hugo award. His stories are often humorous, with likeable characters using intelligence and competence (as opposed to force and violence) to solve their problems. His style harks back to the golden age of science fiction, yet with a modern sensibility and relevance. Even his earliest works hold up well today—and on into the future. For a complete listing of Jerry's canon, and for a glimpse into his other life as an amateur astronomer, visit Jerry's website at www.sff.net/people/j.oltion

Creationists keep trying to get their version of things taught in schools instead of evolution, or at the very least alongside evolution, as if both could be true. That leads to the logical question: What if both theories \were\ true? It could explain a lot of things. "In the Creation Science Laboratory" is the 10th volume in the collected short stories of Jerry Oltion. Jerry has had his short stories published in most of the major science fiction venues and has had several successful novels, including four highly acclaimed Star Trek books. He has become the most published author in the history of Analog magazine. His stories have won the Nebula award, the Endeavor award, the Seiun award, and have been nominated multiple times for the Hugo award. His stories are often humorous, with likeable characters using intelligence and competence (as opposed to force and violence) to solve their problems. His style harks back to the golden age of science fiction, yet with a modern sensibility and relevance. Even his earliest works hold up well today—and on into the future. For a complete listing of Jerry's canon, and for a glimpse into his other life as an amateur astronomer, visit Jerry's website at www.sff.net/people/j.oltion

Medicinal advice changes over time. Eggs are good for you, then they’re bad for you, then they’re good again. Meat is bad. No, wait, meat is good! And alcohol—what a roller coaster that has been. Here’s a very short story (just 675 words) about where we could wind up if the coaster flies completely off the tracks. "What’s a Nice Girl Like You..." is the 11th volume in the collected short stories of Jerry Oltion. Jerry has had his short stories published in most of the major science fiction venues and has had several successful novels, including four highly acclaimed Star Trek books. He has become the most published author in the history of Analog magazine. His stories have won the Nebula award, the Endeavor award, the Seiun award, and have been nominated multiple times for the Hugo award. His stories are often humorous, with likeable characters using intelligence and competence (as opposed to force and violence) to solve their problems. His style harks back to the golden age of science fiction, yet with a modern sensibility and relevance. Even his earliest works hold up well today—and on into the future. For a complete listing of Jerry's canon, and for a glimpse into his other life as an amateur astronomer, visit Jerry's website at www.jerryoltion.com.

When Greg the mailman recieves a letter for a nonexistent address, he winds up with a dilemma, for the house appears when he approaches the appropriate spot that day. He delivers the letter, but that’s only the beginning of the strange happenings on his route. "Neither Rain Nor Sleet Nor Weirdness" is the 12th volume in the collected short stories of Jerry Oltion. Jerry has had his short stories published in most of the major science fiction venues and has had several successful novels, including four highly acclaimed Star Trek books. He has become the most published author in the history of Analog magazine. His stories have won the Nebula award, the Endeavor award, the Seiun award, and have been nominated multiple times for the Hugo award. His stories are often humorous, with likeable characters using intelligence and competence (as opposed to force and violence) to solve their problems. His style harks back to the golden age of science fiction, yet with a modern sensibility and relevance. Even his earliest works hold up well today—and on into the future. For a complete listing of Jerry's canon, and for a glimpse into his other life as an amateur astronomer, visit Jerry's website at www.jerryoltion.com

Time travel stories are full of paradoxes. What happens to you if you change something in the past that was necessary for your existence? Do you cease to exist? If so, then you couldn’t go back to the past, which means you would exist again. But that means you would go back to the past and change something vital, so you would cease to exist. What would that feel like? “Alternating Current” is quite short, only 730 words. Yet like a time travel paradox itself, it packs a punch. “Alternating Current” is the 15th volume in the collected short stories of Jerry Oltion. Jerry has had his short stories published in most of the major science fiction venues and has had several successful novels, including four highly acclaimed Star Trek books. He has become the most published author in the history of Analog magazine. His stories have won the Nebula award, the Endeavor award, the Seiun award, and have been nominated multiple times for the Hugo award. His stories are often humorous, with likeable characters using intelligence and competence (as opposed to force and violence) to solve their problems. His style harks back to the golden age of science fiction, yet with a modern sensibility and relevance. Even his earliest works hold up well today—and on into the future. For a complete listing of Jerry’s canon, and for a glimpse into his other life as an amateur astronomer, visit Jerry’s website at www.jerryoltion.com

Serendipity is digging for worms and striking gold. Science is full of stories where people discovered something valuable on the way to something else, and astronomy has probably led the field in that regard. We learn something unexpected every time we take a more refined measurement. “The Baseline Project” takes that idea and runs with it. What happens when you’re trying to refine the distances to the stars and instead find danger lurking in our own solar system? How do you get people to listen, and how do you get them to actually do something to address the problem? This story was written long before the debate over global warming, but the struggle to get people to understand and to believe the danger certainly rings a familiar bell. No doubt that’s because people have aways preferred sticking their heads in the sand over difficult action. Co-written with Lee Goodloe, who also collaborated with Jerry on “Sunstat,” “Moonsong,” “Down The Colorado,” “Contact,” and “Waterworld,” “The Baseline Project” tells the story of scientists everywhere who learn something the rest of the world would rather not know. "The Baseline Project" is the 19th volume in the collected short stories of Jerry Oltion. Jerry has had his short stories published in most of the major science fiction venues and has had several successful novels, including four highly acclaimed Star Trek books. He has become the most published author in the history of Analog magazine. His stories have won the Nebula award, the Endeavor award, the Seiun award, and have been nominated multiple times for the Hugo award. His stories are often humorous, with likeable characters using intelligence and competence (as opposed to force and violence) to solve their problems. His style harks back to the golden age of science fiction, yet with a modern sensibility and relevance. Even his earliest works hold up well today—and on into the future. For a complete listing of Jerry's canon, and for a glimpse into his other life as an amateur astronomer, visit Jerry's website at www.jerryoltion.com