Escape Velocity #1, November 2007

Escape Velocity: The Magazine of Science Fact and Fiction, edited by Geoff Nelder and Robert Blevins, is a new magazine cast in the mold of Analog and other hard science fiction venues. But there is one significant difference. While Analog is famous for its mafia authors, Escape Velocity seeks to showcase fledgling authors of science fiction. If this first issue is any indication, they are well on their way to fulfilling that goal. Contained within its covers are twenty SF tales plus poetry, science articles, photo essays, and a movie review.

The issue opens with “Dear Father” by A.W. Gifford, a wonderful short-short that ponders the fate of cloned humans. One such clone writes a final missive to his creator. It seems the scientist lost his son to a tragic accident and was driven to recreate his darling boy. But there is a dark side to the miracle. Can the clone remember his “past life”? Is he truly a new being or just the pale shadow of original? The reborn son is caught in this metaphysical contradiction and closes his letter with a heartrending plea to his creator/father for understanding and forbearance.

“Dangerous Observations” by Alex S. Weinle is a longer, unfocused tale about an exobiologist at work among the stars. Much like modern-day anthropologists studying the primitive tribes of the Amazon jungle, Bill observes a village of fairy-like creatures from hiding in the jungles of an alien world. The tiny folk are intensely beautiful, if primitive, living in tiny structures in perfect harmony with their surroundings. Civilized in their interactions, measured in their actions, they capture Bill’s heart. But when he seeks to leave, to carry word of them to the human world, they murder him.

And it is this that lost me. We were led on a wonderful journey, studying a people in balance with themselves and their world. So perfect is their civilization that Bill questions the virtue of his own. But there is no communication between Bill and the aliens, just his fancied understanding of their society. And in the end, we are jolted back to the original premise, that alien people are just that, alien to our human understanding. And that just left me confused as to the purpose of this little trip.

“Ubiquitous” by editor Geoff Nelder is a chaotic, half-realized tale of cyberpunk crime drama set in the 22nd century. Tedig has hacked the corporate payroll accounts of his employer, skimming fractions of pennies from thousands of paychecks. A foolproof crime, you would think. But another hacker has stumbled upon the scheme and sold him out to “the mob.” Now the underworld thugs are demanding the money under threats of violence. And from there, the tale loses focus and direction.

Tedig flees from person or persons unknown across London, but we never see these pursuers or learn who they are. He is traveling with his “girlfriend,” Pia, who seems to be more adversary than soul mate. She’s more interested in describing the gruesome fate that awaits him as they run for their lives. Nor are we told why he doesn’t just pay the blackmail money and be done with it. And the conclusion of this drama comes out of nowhere, deus ex machina style, all of Tedig’s problems solved through pure serendipity. All told, a nice if incomplete tale.

“Emoti-con-doms” by Yvonne Eve Walus is a 1984ish tale of state-sponsored brutality in the near future. Emotions are treated as mental illnesses, something to be treated and cured. Modern folk take Emoto-con-doms, a cure for all those perky feelings. The few who refuse such treatments are considered perverts, wallowing in a disgusting animal fetish that society has outgrown. As a premise, I was impressed with the author’s originality. But then the tale goes astray.

Sarka is the Executive Director of Public Relations of the multinational corporation that makes Emoti-con-dom, and we follow her as she educates the young on the evils of unfettered emotions at the Emotion Museum. But then she has an actual human feeling for a man she meets. Can this be love? Or is he an agent for the emotion underground? Sadly, we never learn if Sarka really is melting with warm feelings, as she and the love terrorist play out plot and counterplot, concluding rather abruptly without any real resolution.

“First Class” by Barbara Krasnoff is an odd bit of nonsense about the first hosteller on an alien world. Naomi is the perpetual tourist, an aide accompanying the elderly rich on their interstellar vacations. She lives for the ease and luxury of the galactic cruise vessels, dining on an array of gourmet meals every day, basking in the fawning attention of the staff. But when she must abandon ship and is marooned on an alien world, she is shattered. Just to walk out of sight of her badly damaged life vessel is beyond her emotional capacity. And then she meets the residents of the world, harmless furry balls much like tribbles. Savvy traveler that she is, she soon discovers the rolling fur balls’ passion and creates the planet’s first spa for the color impaired. Her clients swarm to her in ever-growing numbers. Now if she could just figure out how to make it pay…

“Retrofreak” by Gideon Kane Cross is a heavy-handed, cautionary short-short on the dangers of living in a fantasy world. Mr. Hudson is a rising executive in the Cocaine Cola Corporation, purveyor of your every desire via vended V.R. He has it all—a great job, a beautiful wife, every material luxury he could wish for. And then he wakes and we see what his life is really like.

“Sentient” by Michael Anderson is another short-short, but this one left me scratching my head. Scientists recreate a long dead man from his DNA. Nestled deep within airtight walls and security fields, they watch as the man awakens and takes in his surroundings. Then he banishes the fields and doors with a wave of his hand. Who have they brought back? The author hints, but doesn’t confirm. A nice idea, but it reads more like the beginning of a tale.

“Bright Future” by Vincent F.A. Golphin is another work with a nice premise but incomplete execution. Jon is a robotic engineer worried about his job as the younger engineers move up the corporate ladder, threatening to pass him. And he is plagued with a toothache, even as he frets over his future. Over his objections, his wife schedules an appointment with the dentist—one less thing for him to worry about, she insists. But at the dentist’s office, we learn he is not human, and the toothache is a built-in maintenance alert.

And at this point, I had to blink and pause. A robot that doesn’t know what it is? Why is he married? Does the wife know? Secret repair facilities masquerading as dentists’ offices? We never do find out who is behind this, or why it exists at all. I suspect the answer would make for a better tale.

As a rule, I am leery of time travel tales. “Dive to Destruction” by Paul A. Freeman sits on the edge of plausibility for me. Following a dive master as he leads a group on a scuba diving expedition to a galleon, looking for sunken Spanish gold—legend has it that the galleon was sunk by the ancient, native frog-god of destruction—he finds the gold but is sucked into the past in full diving gear to the day of the galleon’s destruction. Can you guess what happens then? The ending barely avoids paradox but still, time portals that just happen to loop back to the exact same spot centuries earlier? We never learn how this wonder occurred or why.

“Heaven as Iron – Earth as Brass” by Richard J. Goldstein points out the absurdity of the ideologically based conflicts around the world today. Jacob is a devout Jew who returns to the long-abandoned Earth as the sun is about to go nova. He is there to make a pilgrimage to the holy sites of Jerusalem before the city and planet are converted into incandescent gas. He is confronted by Kasim, a fanatical Muslim bent on preventing Jacob—or any Jew—from polluting the holy sites of Islam with their presence. And so the two battle with guns and knives and other improvised devices of destruction until they must concede to a draw. Unfortunately, the purpose of the conflict is never made clear, and the resolution too pat. Have either of them truly learned anything?

“Home in Time for Breakfast” by Clyde Andrews is a bizarre time travel tale constructed around the famous, Australian bandit, Ned Kelly. For those unfamiliar with this 19th century criminal, Ned had the bright idea to build armor out of boilerplate steel and became a highway robber with some initial success, until the police and guards of the land realized that a helmet and chest plate don’t provide much protection for arms and legs. Ned was apprehended, tried, and hanged in short order.

“Home in Time for Breakfast” follows Frank and his dumber younger brother as they travel back in time to witness this historic event. But the younger brother screws it up and changes history. The main story focuses on how they manage to fix the damage they’ve done. Cute, but unoriginal. Still, if you haven’t read up on the famous Ned Kelly, this is a nice intro. Look him up after you read this.

“Human Transfer” by Lawrence R. Dagstine is as dark a story as I’ve read in a long while. The Earth is dying from overpopulation, and Marcus is a scientist working on a solution. But his project is cutoff due to lack of funding, and Marcus loses his exemption from exile from the habitable spaces. Then he learns the depths to which his family will sink to, given that their status is tied to his.

“One Way Trip” by Rick Novy is an unfocused tale of vengeance wreaked upon a mass murderer, Lyle, by Vita, a nonhuman. Vita gifts Lyle with immortality, even as he’s being lead to the electric chair for his crimes. Now a disembodied spirit, he floats across the universe until the end of time, an eternal watcher. This one left me cold. We never learn who or what Vita is, nor do I see how Lyle’s fate differs materially from the Christian concept of Hell. Finally, I can’t imagine how Lyle would have a shred of humanity left after the 20-30 billion years that pass before the universe dies.

“Shooting Star” by Eddie French is a beautiful short-short about how heroes should be honored. When an astronaut is lost in orbit, the world mourns. But what will we do as his frozen body enters the atmosphere? A fair chronicle of what might be.

“Scream Quietly” by Sheila Crosby is a disturbing tale of domestic violence in the Victorian era. Told from the viewpoint of a battered wife in letters to her sister, Sophie reveals how she and her infant son are abused by her rich spouse between bits of lighthearted gossip and tales of her school day friends. Then aliens appear with time travel magic, allowing her and her boy to escape certain death. While a nicely told escape from the cycle of violence that characterizes some families, I found Sophie’s causal acceptance of this violence, as well as her sister’s, lacking in credibility.

“Tenth Orbit” by Gustavo Bondoni is an overlong story about an alien energy creature living on Pluto. It senses the presence of humans on Earth and longs to feed on “the energy” we so wastefully expend. The difficulty here is that “Tenth Orbit” is told from the alien’s point of view but reads like the ramblings of a human. As such, we are presented with a monologue that runs on for far too long without offering any insights into an alien mentality. Moreover, if there is one alien, why isn’t there more than one?

“Test of Wills” by Matthew Spence is a truly original crime and punishment tale set in the near future. Reuben is a paroled convict trying to live the straight and narrow. This is essential as all parolees have a microcomputer implanted in their heads with an IT parole minder watching over their every thought and action. Except Reuben’s minder seems to have much more sinister plans for him. And Reuben has no choice but to obey. Very nice, with a surprising twist at the end that really entertains.

“The Prettiest Star” by Jaine Fenn is another gem, but a far darker one. Earth learns that the apocalypse is coming in the form of Comet Fenris, a chuck of rock the size of New Jersey. Our protagonist is the last astronaut aboard the International Space Station. The rest of the crew went home to spend their last days with friends and family, but she chose to remain, being alone in the world, anyway. After witnessing the end of civilization, she sits by the space station’s window day by day, pondering how she should end her own life as the station’s air supply runs out. But all is not loss and despair; she witnesses signs of hope, even if it will not include her.

“Suicide Mission” by T.J. McIntyre is a disturbing short-short about a young boy’s dreams of reuniting with his dead father. Too young to understand what it is he contemplates, Adam dreams of death.

The last piece of fiction in this inaugural issue is “Mother Tongue” by Carmelo Rafala. Chan and company are big game hunters on an alien world scheduled for terraforming. The crew’s job is to capture and preserve as many of the native species as possible before the rest perish, even as ecoterrorists seek to sabotage their efforts with violence. Unfortunately, “Mother Tongue” meanders, making it more of a heavy-handed treatise on the evils of destroying nature in the name of progress than a tale of adventure.

Overall, the premiere issue of Escape Velocity offers up a fine, if uneven, collection of stories. But given the editors’ goal of creating a venue for new talent, as opposed to yet another outlet for established authors, I expected nothing less. Future issues should be interesting, discovering what gems may be unearthed.