2012, edited by Alisa Krasnostein and Ben Payne

2012, edited by Alisa Krasnostein and Ben Payne, is a themed anthology produced by Australian publisher Twelfth Planet Press with the main conceit that all the tales are set in the year 2012 and address the social/environmental/economic issues and concerns of the world today. And what we have is eleven tales by Australian authors expressing their views on what dark tragedies may await us in a few short years. Do not expect any happy endings here, folks.

The anthology opens with “Watertight Lies” by Deborah Biancotti, an odd, unfinished tale about a team of geologists in the desert seeking underground sources of water for the local government. Gabe is belowground with Pete exploring an underground pool when the local landowner intervenes. A dispute arises and some die, but Gabe escapes back underground. And there the tale ends. While I understood that the fear of ordinary folks in a world dominated by big government and multinational corporations is central to this tale, I found the nonresolution of Gabe’s dilemma most unsatisfying. This is about the direct impact of a government’s mandate and how it impacts the local population, so the conflict between the geologist as an agent of big government and the small farmer whose land is being co-oped is the story. How does it end?

“Fleshy” by Tansy Rayner Roberts is a strange cautionary tale about the potential pitfalls of genetic engineering. Kelly’s boyfriend brings home cloned flesh (a “Fleshy”) meant to be transplant material. But much like Dr. Frankenstein’s creation, the Fleshy makes its own plans as it grows in sentience and size. But again, the tale ends without any resolution. As above, I question why we are left hanging. Kelly is trapped, a victim of irresponsible experimentation. Point made, but what about Kelly?

“Oh, Russia” by Simon Brown is yet another unfinished story about an old family mourning the desolation of old Russia from the multiple spasms that have wrecked that part of the world throughout the last century. Whole swaths of the former residents have been left, over and over, with no culture or society beyond their memories. Frederick sits with his father-in-law, Nicholas, as Nicholas’s wife slowly dies upstairs, and they talk of old times in Mother Russia. And even as the wife passes, Nicholas mourns for the old homeland and the fact that all he learned to be right and proper is irrelevant today. While I can accept the old man’s longing for home, his coldness—that he did not seem to care—at the loss of his lifemate left me cold.

“Soft Viscosity” by David Conyers is an overlong political screed of anti-American and anti-corporate propaganda. And I use the term propaganda intentionally. We see this tale through the eyes of a CIA agent, her soulless local hireling, and their victim. Told from these three points of view, we explore how the CIA and multinational corporations wreck and destroy the people of South America due to what seems to be greed for oil. But in the end, we discover it is all a ruse, plots turning within plots, and all are left with nothing. Unfortunately, the tale of our three heroes is lost within the heavy-handed political message, as they are little more than blunt vehicles for the basic motif: “The U.S.A. is evil!” Such simplistic thinking is as much the problem today as anything the author decries.

“Apocalypse Rules, OK?” by Lucy Sussex is a nice relief from the dark brooding tales encountered thus far. Once upon a time, someone within the CIA released the agency’s secret Rules of Engagement. Wonderful nonsense where paranoia is the rule, lies are truth, and fantasy is reality. But that’s what makes the world of international espionage so bizarre, isn’t it?

“The Last Word” by Dirk Flinthart is an entertaining tale of secret plans, of plots within plots. Lewis and Jane are former lovers and brilliant genetic researchers. When they meet again years after their breakup, Lewis has followed the corporate route to wealth, working as an investment banker for starving scientists like Jane. At the same time, Jane has sought to better the world with her research but without any thought to how her work will be funded. Anyone who has spent time in the academic research world knows that funding will always be the first issue to address in a research proposal. Lewis entices Jane with his wealth which will allow her to finish her work while making a new genetic process, which he allegedly plans to exploit commercially. So she sells her soul to him for the sake of her future. But in the end, we find that Lewis has his own agenda, far more sweeping than anything Jane had considered, a violent betrayal of Jane, his own clients, and the world.

“Ghost Jail” by Kaaron Warren is a delightful tale of government repression taken to bizarre levels. Lisa and Keith are political activists in a third-world country who seek to rein in the local authority’s excesses. When they learn of a secret plan to displace the poor from a housing complex, Lisa and Keith follow a wild trail of clues on the whys. Are there valuable relics buried there? Or scarce minerals? As they pursue the truth, the local police pursue and harass them. And when they sneak onto the now empty complex, they find it is an elaborate trap to eliminate them and all other troublesome gadflies. A wonderfully dark tale with a surprising twist at the end.

In “I Love You Like Water” by Angela Slatter, we visit the world in the midst of an environmental crisis. The planet’s waters have fled into the sky because of man’s abuse of the lands, hovering above in clouds that never release their bounty. Cato and Sophie each seek a way to bring the rains back, one via science and the other via ancient magical rites. Each is passionate about returning the world to its former state, while having to schmooze up to the very people who have caused the disaster. And herein lies the moral, how can we stop mankind from consuming itself as it devours the world? Of all the tales in this anthology, this one comes closest to its stated goal.

“Skinsongs” by Martin Livings is a sad story about the fleeting nature of stardom. Agatha is a rock star, creating music from the skin and bone patterns of her face. But once recorded, there are no other songs to be made. As her fame fades, she prepares to make the ultimate and extremest sacrifice to reinvent herself and regain her former status. How far will someone go for the sake of fame? Unlikely? Tune in on the early weeks of American Idol or any other reality show.

“David Bowie” by Ben Peek is a unique story told through a conversation between two friends as they debate on what to do with themselves in the few years before the end of the world in 2012. They’ve quit their mundane jobs. Why bother? So, what to do? Create art? Or music? Or some other lasting thing of beauty? But why bother if there will be no one to appreciate it? Perhaps do nothing? Wile away the last years on mindless pleasure? Or maybe even check out early and beat the rush before the madness sets in on the last living souls? And so they debate what to do. A truly disturbing, if minimalist, tale.

In “Oblivion” by Sean McMullen, we visit a man on his deathbed, his life wasted on the futile pursuit of wealth—especially futile because the world of conspicuous consumption of Mitch’s younger days is gone and not mourned or missed by the new generation. Now Mitch is alone at the end of his life, his money is gone, his opulent displays of wealth all a fraud, his only family, a son, a stranger. Mitch feels death approaching and clutches at a total stranger for human contact. The stranger is polite, but it is obvious even to Mitch the fellow has no interest in Mitch’s empty boasts. And so he finishes his empty life, not even realizing how much he missed at the end with his boasting and bluster.

And so we finish this anthology, a mixed bag of good and strident. Overall, this is a fine if uneven anthology on the dark side of the near future. Until next time, enjoy.

Publisher: Twelfth Planet Press (March 2008)
Price: $22.00
Trade paperback: 128 pages
ISBN: 978-0980484106