Planet Magazine No. 40

Originally published as Planet Magazine No. 40 (December 2003) on the classic Planet Magazine site.

Planet Magazine

December Quarter 2003 * Issue No. 40 (Vol. 10, No. 4)
Wild Science Fiction & Fantasy on the Web — Since 1994
Price: 1 Flagon of Dragonsblood
to ravage this issue

Digital art of a long-haired warrior in dark armor standing before a winged red dragon at sunset
Cover illustration: “The Archetypal Mosaic” by Ehrad

Table of Contents

Editorial & Letters · About the Authors · About the Artists · About this Magazine

Stories

Poems

Editorial & Letters

Time Travail

It was physicist Stephen Hawking who famously proposed that “Time travel might be possible, but if that is the case why haven’t we been overrun by tourists from the future?” With all due respect to Mr. Hawking, physicists should stick to their science knitting and let us amateur zine editors tackle the big-picture issues in physics today.

I believe it’s quite possible that time travelers have been with us for centuries, or even millennia, but they’re just not saying anything. Think about it: If you came from the future, probably as a tourist looking for relatively fresh air or as a scholar studying a particular event, like the birth of Planet Magazine, would you also stop by the offices of the Weekly Shopper newspaper to do an interview? Would you hang out in biker bars and mention to desperately high people that:

“I hail from a Time Yet to Come — but please, don’t ask me Which stock is going to become the next Berkshire Hathaway, or When will California finally slide into the ocean, or Does Peter Jackson ever film ‘The Silmarillion’ and who exactly is Tom Bombadil anyway? Because I know the answers to all of these questions but really shouldn’t tell you, and probably would tell you under the slightest bit of torture, for we in the future are quite soft, given our luxurious lifestyles funded by all the money we’ve made off the next Berkshire Hathaway stock.”

Would you really do something like that? And would you then go on to say to those swaying, staring biker punks in the bar: “Could you recommend a nice hotel that accepts Remnimbi Dollars and could you escort me there down a dark alleyway while holding my Truth-Telling Laze-Sword for me?” Well you might say all that, if you really are that soft in the future. But the whole idea is just a ridiculous non-starter — like a typical scenario you’d find in this Editorial column.

Speaking of which, I am prepared to reveal a little bit about one of these time travelers whose existence, in my mind, I have confirmed. Unsurprisingly, the subject centers on moi. Yes, I am from the future — a time lost in its self-same mists, if you get my temporal drift.

I was once of your historical period. But one day as I left the local Cosi with my poppy-seed bagel and grande coffee, I stumbled into what I later realized was a time eddy (a relativistic relative of a “fast eddy”, akin to a very young Time Lord), and ever since that moment I’ve been out of sync with your present. I am unafraid to admit this because the Time I hail from is only 0.8 picosecond in the future. That’s why there seems to be an ever-so-slight lag in your comprehension as you read these words (Mitochondria know, it can’t be my writing that’s causing the lag, given its limpid lucidity). So there is essentially nothing I know that you don’t know, and for all intents and purposes I am of Your Time.

Perhaps there is some risk to me in this revelation. Perhaps someone urgently does want to know what will happen 0.8 picosecond from now — such as an ambitious CERN staffer — and is willing to go to quite dramatic lengths to find out. Quite frankly, for that unlikely reason I agonized about whether to reveal any of this to you. But since I am typing this editorial as my internal debate rages on, and because I’m also using one of those new Intel/Samsung-designed disposable laptops using Windows UO (Use Once), which has no delete or backspace key and which automatically uploads your text to a Web page using Perma-XML (in this case, that Web page is the Editorial section of the current issue of Planet Magazine), there wasn’t much I could do about stopping this confession.

Still, I’m not too worried that someone will kidnap me to make a stock-market killing, as I may be 0.8 picosecond ahead of all of you, yet it’s generally known that I’m slow on the uptake. So I would be easily outclassed by any would-be day trader using free-trial tools from Value Line. In fact, for me to really feel comfortable about giving any stock tips, I’d need to study their performance over a five-year period, adjusted for 0.8 picosecond. And even then I’d probably be wrong.

But none of you dedicated Planet readers shall go away empty-handed from this Editorial. I will now reveal that in my future, Berkshire Hathaway shares look likely to be “the next Berkshire Hathaway shares”, California is still here but has slid into an ocean of debt, and a one-day, three-part “Lord of the Rings” marathon is a reality! As for the truth about “The Silmarillion” and Mr. Bombadil, however, you’ll have to pursue those questions at the local biker bar.

With Future Regards,
Andrew G. McCann
December 2003

Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor: I am the publicist for Odyssey, a six-week workshop for writers of science fiction, fantasy, and horror held annually at Southern New Hampshire University. We would greatly appreciate it if our information could be added to your website. Odyssey welcomes applications from serious genre writers, and I imagine the people that access your site may be interested in honing their skills at an intensive workshop like Odyssey. Odyssey is widely considered to be one of the top workshops in the country for science fiction, fantasy, and horror writers. You’ll find much more information on our website, www.sff.net/odyssey.
Best,
Erin Johnson

Dear Editor: Although my book, “Tritcheon Hash,” is available from Amazon.com for $14.95, the publisher has seen fit to offer it as a free e-book, downloadable from them (http://www.metropolisink.com). Please help yourself and don’t have a second thought about me, the starving author.
Sue Lange
Tritcheon Hash
www.tritcheonhash.com

Dear Editor: I know you must put much effort and time in your endeavor — without much thanks. I thank you.
Jerry V.

Dear Editor, I’m a Romanian writer and the editor of Lumi Virtuale (Virtual Worlds) e-zine. I want to announce that a new issue of Lumi Virtuale e-zine is on the net at the new address below.
Michael Haulicahttp://www.lumivirtuale.ro

Letters to Poorly Disguised Aliens

Dear Kim Jong-il: Why can’t everyone just leave Michael Jackson alone! I understand his pain only too well. He, like me, is of the St’shnee, of the Planet Lbamballaaa. We St’shneean “face dancers” have been persecuted throughout the 118 Galaxies lo these past few galac-years! We are jealously hunted down because we are musical, can walk on moons, and care only about peace, love, helping everyone, and beautification through plastic surgery.
With a Mathematically Straight Face,
Courtney Love

Dear Vladimir Putin: I just wanted to apologize to your readers for the experimental plague virus that escaped from my lab. I had all kinds of safeguards and really didn’t think that could happen. Boy, was I wrong. Anyway, if you find that your brains are liquefying and pouring out through nose, I just wanted to say that I’m sorry but also that you please stay far away from me. Nothing personal, of course.
Regards,
Professor Mortavius

Dear Steven Tyler: Mr. Baggins writes a book about his travels “there and back again”, and what does he get for it? Worldwide acclaim and millions of dollars in franchising revenue! What do I get for my Middle Earth travel books? Barely enough to afford one crumb of lembas! And my books are every bit as good as those of that braggart Hobbit. Thrill to my adventures across the Mines of Moria (although, admittedly, I was able to get across the snowy mountain pass above them, and didn’t have to actually go through the Mines themselves)! Gasp at my audacity as I scream “Hallooo, Smaug!” right in the great dragon’s ear (of course, this is the stuffed carcass of Smaug found in the Long Lake Museum). And on and on go my adventures! Even I can’t wait for me to finish writing these thrilling journals! I do accept bulk orders in advance as well.
Stay Tuned,
Sharkey Sackville III

Dear Dan Rather: I was skateboardin’ down the street the other day, smokin’ a cigarette and holdin’ a cellphone against my ear with my other hand, and I totally wiped out. Barreled into a crowd of pedestrians. Sent 18 people to the hospital. Don’t worry, though, no one was hurt. I was just embarrassed by my pancake and offered an all-expenses-paid tour of the new St. Medicare Memorial hospital building to all 18 eyewitnesses. What bothered me, though, is the way all of them showed their appreciation by saying, “Thanks, ya frickin’ clown-boy!” Hey, next time I wipe out, everyone can just pay their own damn way!
Goin’ Way Too Fast,
Jafrichen Clounboye

Dear John Kerry: Quentin Tarantino here. Just a quick note that the Motion Picture Association forced me to tone down the violence in “Kill Bill” Volumes 1 and 2 — not because they object to violence per se (after all, it does sell tickets and video-games) but because there was so much blood that the screen was literally, completely red for two-thirds of the flick. As a result of the body count dropping from about two “killion” to about one, we decided to rename the movie. It will now be called “Hurt Burt” Vol. 1. Volume II will be done as an all-Muppets movie. Anyway, the Muppets need their careers revived, which is one of my specialties.
In Homage to Myself,
Quentin

Dear Dick Cheney: You’ve GOT to try new Herba-Slim-n-Go! I took this amazing, all-natural herbal supplement for only two weeks and lost 185 lbs! I now weigh only 72 lbs but have MORE energy than I’ve ever had before in my life! I feel simply great! In fact, I think I might even be able to rip all four leather restraints right from the steel rings bolted into the walls and floor of my flourescent-lit concrete “guest” room here at the home. That is, if my wrists and ankles don’t snap first! Ha-ha! Who cares? It’s been a long 13 days here, but as I said, I’ve never felt more fabulous in my LIFE! And when I get out of here, I will see to it that ALL of you absolutely take this spectacular dietary enhancer — the all-new Herba-Slim-n-Go! Fantastic!
Regards,
Herb “Al” Zuplimindt

Dear Cher: Why are people always telling me to “get a life”? Hey, I HAVE a life! And that life consists of working 12 hours, six days a week at a high-speed mail-sorting facility and then going home to my tiny apartment to drink and update my AOL Journals blog, which details my day’s commuting problems (if any) and gives the inside scoop on how I’ve been kept from advancing at work due to “certain” unfair managers. On Sunday, I watch sports, order in some Chinese food, and sleep. It’s a full schedule, with no time for friends or family, but I manage!
Efficiently,
O. “Ver” Knight de Liverie

Dear Carson Daly: I just read “Illium” by Dan Simmons, and speaking as one of the post-humans mentioned in the book, I was a bit perturbed to see how much the novel ended up digressing from the “actual” future you humans will experience — a future which was my past. I was even more concerned when I got to the end of the book and read that Darth Vader had managed to right his ship and avoid getting killed by the exploding/imploding Death Star. This can only mean we shall one day be reading book two, something like “The Gods Strike Back”. Frankly, I can’t wait. Anyway, being a whimsical post-human, I thought I’d write this letter and get some buzz going again about us mysterious “posts” — I miss that notoriety. I will reveal one secret, though, about where those of us who survived went after we left our cities in space. We went to Middle Earth. To live as Hobbits, Orcs, Ents, and so forth. Wouldn’t you? I think this also finally explains Tom Bombadil.
Quantumly,
The Old Took

Dear Editor: Here is my preliminary idea for “Saruman at Home”, a sort of “Where Are They Now?” followup to The Lord of Rings movies. The scene opens, and we see a nice, quiet but plush one-room apartment, with sink, fridge, bed, and TV (which is playing “Good Evening, Gondor!”) in view. Down a short hallway, a door is ajar. Inside, we can hear someone coughing and clearing his throat; then it is silent. One presumes it is Saruman inside this possible bathroom, yet he doesn’t come out. The door remains open, casting a long sheet of light into the dim hallway. In fact, whoever it is never does come out, and the movie ends with that potentiality left unresolved. This film is a commentary of some sort on something, which I’m still working out as I type up my latest draft.
Let Me Know If You Liked It,
Bam Gamgee

Planet Magazine only sells laser rifles to children; we cannot be held responsible for what they do with them.

About the Authors

William W. Brownson (“The No-Name Abduction“) is a sixty-two-year-old retired construction worker. Science fiction has been his lifelong obsession.

Neil Burlington (“Battle Book“) lives in Barrie, ON, Canada. His favorite SF authors include Orson Scott Card, Isaac Asimov, and Neal Stephenson. His first young reader book, “Mitch Kingly & The Weekend Monsters” is available on Amazon (type the title into the search bar). Neil’s first SF novel “META” currently is under consideration at Edge SF & Fantasy in Calgary. His agent, Janet Kay and Associates, is looking for a publisher for his first romance novel “Lover’s Island” (about a reality-based television show shot on a tropical island and the struggle for integrity and compassion for the contestants while competing for ratings). His favorite pop-culture activities include movie trivia (favorite movie is “Scream”) and music (his favorite albums are “Chess” and “Crime of the Century”).

Ray Dangel (Associate Editor and Staff Robot) brings forth green shoots amid the snowdrifts.

Michael H. Hanson (“Monster“) is a former Army Brat, former Film Major, and former Lifeguard who lives in New Jersey, edits Technical Journals for Engineers, enjoys reading science fiction novels, and watches the TV show “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” WAY too much.

Von Kraemer (“The Wall“) is a science fiction writer, science cartoonist, artist, and musician. A graduate of Hollywood Mass Media, a Director and Production Designer, this old-school punk is now dedicating his energies to produce his first love — Killer Science Fiction. Von most recently has been honored by the Hubble Heritage foundation (NASA) for his short story “Hoag’s Objectives”, pondering the existence of a most unusual galaxy. It is excerpted on their web site. Other stuff is at NFG, Quantum Muse, Planet Magazine, and Alien Q. Screw Steven Baxter and his unlit universe.

Gregory Paul Mineeff (“Until Another Emerges“) has had work published in Antipodean SF, Aphelion SF, Dotlit: The Online Journal Of Creative Writing, and FourW fourteen. He is 22 years old, a university graduate in English Literature, and
lives in Wollonong, Australia.

Andrew G. McCann (Editor; “Editorial & Letters“) posits the existence of himself.
editor@planetmag.com

Stephen Michael McGowan (“Lamb”) was born, or more properly spawned, in the city of Hull on the east coast of England. He could read and write before he could tell time…in fact he’s still often late for appointments. After reading his first book he became an avid and hungry reader of all genres, although horror and sci fi piqued his imagination more than anything else. He’s been an author of poetry since early adulthood, but has recently turned his hand to short fiction. Most of what he wrote in his youth, both poetry and stories, were for the enjoyment of friends and family. Now with a tool such as the Internet he can share his dreams…and his nightmares… with many more people. Samples of his poetry can be found on the http://www.poetry.com website, but as for submitting short stories, “Lamb” represents one of his first tentative steps in that direction. “Lamb” was not always named thus; in fact, the story itself was supposed to be something very different from what it now is, but it seemed almost to write itself in the wee small hours…he’s really going to have to stop writing in bars!

William Alan Rieser (“Just In Case” and “Three Destinies“; excerpt from “Nadir“), born in New York City, less than 3 miles from the World Trade Center, originally was a musician and spent many years composing, conducting, teaching, and performing music on the East Coast. His earliest writing influences were Tolkien, H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, and Poul Anderson. He is now retired in Fort Worth, Texas, with his wife, Sandra, who edits his writings and doesn’t give him the slightest break on syntax or style, even though he expresses nought but loving thoughts to her. For several years he experimented with short stories for SF/F e-zines but now prefers to concentrate on more developed themes. In this last year, he published “The Kaska Trilogy” and “The Chronicles of Zusalem” via Writers Club Press, an organization associated with iUniverse and Barnes and Noble. His latest novel, “Luna Parabella“, has received a rave review at Amazon.com. Many other novels have been completed and are awaiting publication, such as “Furnace”. His articles, humorous and serious, are popping up everywhere, especially in his column at scifantastic. Currently, he is working on a mainstream novel and promises a mystery. He enjoys talking to writers, novice or professional, and encourages contact.
Website: http://rieserbooks.homestead.com/rieserbooks.html

E.S. Strout (“Barrier“) has been published in small-press print magazines “Crossroads”, “Lovecraft’s Mystery Magazine”, “Fading Shadows”, “Mad Scientist”, and “Millennium Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine”. In addition to Planet Magazine, his stories have appeared in Internet publications “Jackhammer”, “Beyond s-f”, “Millennium SF&F”, and “Demensions”. E.S. Strout is on the faculty of the U.C. Irvine Medical Center, where he teaches skin pathology to dermatology residents.

Tony Thorne, MBE (“Monument“) is an eccentric but easygoing Englishman living in a small town near Vienna, with his attractive Austrian wife. He’s a part-time software programmer and writer of offbeat fiction.
Fiction: short stories in two UK Science Fiction Monthly magazines.
– How to be a Top Executive [Etcetera Press – GB]
– The Quality of Life. [Etcetera Press – GB]
– The Junior Philosophical Society (in negotiation)
– Poetry: Second Opinion [The Poets Yearbook Ltd. – UK]
– Featured in many UK semi-pro magazines, and anthologies.
– Prizes etc: Short Story Competitions 2001 and 2002, (www.literaryagent.co.uk)
– Hon. Mention – Byline Magazine, USA.
Website: www.tonythorne.com

Thomas Wagner (Associate Editor) is the best dang associate editor in durn near the whole county!

Joe Vadalma (“One Moonless Night“) is a retired technical writer who used to work for a major computer company. He’s a voracious reader but is especially fond of science fiction and fantasy. He’s had the following short stories published in Internet magazines: “Absolute Creation,” The Fifth Dimension, June 2002; “Androids in Pax,” Dark Moon Rising, October 2003; “Apartment in Clam City,” EOTU, August 2002; “Archeologist and the Physicist,” SFF World, June 2003; “Automatia,” Aphelion, July 2002; “Conspiracy in Time,” Dark Moon Rising, February 2003; “Cosmoergy,” Martian Wave, March 2002; “Count Poperazi,” Swords Edge, January 2003; “Empty Planet,” Aphelion, February 2002; “Gunther,” Dark Moon Rising, October 2002; “Immortal Homecoming,” Aphelion, June 2003; “The Key,” Dark Moon Rising, April 2002; “Mind Odyssey,” Planet Magazine, March 2003; “Mist and Shadow,” Alternate Realities, March 2003; “Nothing but a Coward,” Writer’s Hood, March 2003; “Pop-Art Nightmare,” Nocturne Horizons, January 2002; “Psychic Pop-Up,” Planet Magazine, September 2003; “Sands of Time,” Dark Moon Rising, January 2001; “Shadow in the Sky,” Aphelion, April 2002; “Strange Artifact,” Planet Magazine, June 2003; “Vampire Trial,” Aphelion, October 2003; “Widget Factory,” Aorfe’s Kiss, March 2003. Joe also has written several novels that are yet to be published. To see more of his writing, visit his website at http://www.geocities.com/papajoev. It is called “The Fantastic World of Papa Joe.”

Nancy Wilcox (“Memory Lane“), an avatar of the hereditary overmother of Sagittarius III, is based in this reality in Oil Country. One can, on ritual occasions, spot her worshippers performing “The Dance of The Nervous Aside”. Locals profess to believe these are indigenous Russian Thistles, and ignore the odd gulping sounds — as well as the odor of fried rabbit that drifts through the mesquite and cactus. What a wonderful base this reality is for interstellar conquest. And the rabbit is quite good, too.

Did you know? “White chocolate” isn’t really chocolate! It’s “quantum cheese”!

About the Artists

Ehrad (art for “Cover” and “Monster“) believes that through all the many wondrous inner and outer journeys we make, we begin to see, if we seize the moment, that out there and in here, are the same. Shier jamba yanna. (To Bill, Gino, Romeo, Andy, and Von [Killer]) LOL!

Ray Dangel (art for “Three Destinies“) is a cyborg who loves, and is loved by, nature.

Romeo Esparrago (Chief Artist Emeritus; art for “Lamb”, “Memory Lane“, “The No Name Abduction“, “The Wall“, “Until Another Emerges…“) follows The Way of The Action Figure.
Website: http://www.romedome.com/

Zackary Lowing (art for “Battle Book” and “Just In Case“) was born in the Chicago suburbs in 1963, a time with limited sci-fi on TV. Sure, if you read books, there were whole universes to explore, but visually, it was primitive. The cover art for those books held his interest sometimes more. He can read a book once or twice, but those pictures… he could stare at them for hours, looking at details, wondering what was just beyond the edge… Influences on his style include album covers like Boston, muscle cars of the ’60s, and that kids’ show from England, the Thunderbirds. He held the Jules Verne movies in awe as a kid; he ate them up. But these things only let him see what they wanted him to see… “Beyond the Edge” was still a limit. He started building beyond the edge with Legos: spaceships, cities, submarines, and cars. Actually, he never really stopped building with them, as he has a seven-foot Lego ship in his living room called “The Komodo“. Then, one day in 1997, a friend gave him an old computer. Within a month, it caught on fire… what fun! This didn’t stop him though, and he soon had a slightly faster computer. At first he planned to use it for basic stuff, bills and whatnot, until he found the Paint program. For the first time in his life, he could make straight lines… and in color! While he still loved Legos, the computer didn’t take up the whole floor. He has now outgrown a series of ever-faster computers and newer graphics programs. He would love to do this type of thing for a living. He has done various logos and name pictures for people, and using a program called ICQ, he can work on the logo and talk with the person while he’s doing it, sending ideas for their approval. Other programs he has experience with are: Bryce 3D, Adobe Photoshop 5.0, Adobe Illustrator 8, Kai’s Power Goo, Poser2, and Picture Publisher LE. Zac is now attending college to learn all he can about computer graphics, and to broaden his horizons.
Website: http://www.angelfire.com/il2/zvr/

Andrew G. McCann (art for “Monument“) likes to illustrate stories when it seems like the right thing to do.

Patrick Stacy (art for “One Moonless Night“), like many before, started young. His main emphasis in childhood was in comics. Never content, the challenge was then to illustrate freehand — now that would be talent. Early influences are still inspirational today, such as the legendary Frazetta, Vallejo, and Parrish. Classical influences were Rubens and Caravaggio. Stacy was winner of the L.Ron Hubbard’s Illustrators of the Future contest in 1996 and has two illustrations within the volume.
Website: www.portfolios.com/pstacyart

Alain Valet (art for “Barrier“) is a fantasy-surrealist-SF illustrator.
Websites: http://www.magikglasses.com/aez/alainswf.html and http://www.artmajeur.com/alainvalet

Nature Adores a Vacuum.

About this Magazine (Masthead)

Planet Magazine, Vol. 10, No. 4 (the 40th issue)

Home Site: http://www.planetmag.com

Mirror Site: http://www.etext.org/Zines/planet

Lord Wizard
Andrew G. McCann
editor@planetmag.com

Exalted Ornamentalist
Romeo Esparrago

Royal Scrivener and Staff Robot
Ray Dangel

Bard of the Empire
Tom Wagner

What In The World Is Planet Magazine?
Planet Magazine is the free, award-winning quarterly Web-zine of short science fiction and fantasy by emerging writers and digital artists, whom we hope to encourage in their pursuit of the perfect tale or illustration. There could be other reasons we’re doing this, of course, motivations that are obscure and uncomfortable; instincts linked perhaps to primal, nonreasoning urges regarding power and procreation — the very same forces, no doubt, that sank the Atlanteans and their alabaster-towered oceanic empire. And the Dark Gods laffed.

Planet has been available electronically via the Worldwide Web and Tin-Foil-Hat Receptron since its January-March 1994 debut issue. Total circulation is “thousands ‘n’ thousands” per issue worldwide. Feel free to download this zine or make a single printout, as long as you don’t charge for it or alter it in any way. That would be illegal and, quite frankly, “not nice.” Submissions are welcomed (see below). Planet does not carry advertising or offer a subscription service, but issues are always available at our Web site, with new ones published every March 1, June 1, September 1, or December 1 (or thereabouts). Letters to the editor are encouraged and are likely to be printed.

Guidelines For Submissions
Planet accepts original, unpublished, short science fiction and fantasy stories and poems, as well as digital art, from anyone famous or unfamous (use the lengths in any recent issue as a guideline). We are open to the experimental but will not publish anything we judge to be porno, gore, or in violation (as far as we are able to tell) of any copyrights (such as stories that use Star Trek, Star Wars, or Hello Kitty! characters). Since Planet is free and carries no ads, we can’t pay anything except the spirit-sustaining currency of free publicity and life-enhancing good vibes. For full details on submitting stories, poems, or artwork, please visit:
http://www.planetmag.com/submit.htm.

* E-mail text submissions as plain, unformatted files (either as an e-mail attachment or, if short enough, in the body of the e-mail message) to editor@planetmag.com. One submission at a time, please. Two submissions max.

* E-mail illustration submissions separately as e-mail attachments, but compress them first using StuffIt, WinZip, or PKZip. Alternatively, you could send the URL for an image. Images should be 256-color, 16-color, 16-gray, or B&W GIFs or JPEGs only. Send any questions about illustrations to editor@planetmag.com.

Distribution Sites
Planet Magazine is distributed only in Web (HTML) format, which can be read best with any Web browser, such as Netscape Navigator, Internet Explorer, Opera, Safari, iCab, or OmniWeb. Earlier issues of Planet are also available at our Web site in four other electronic formats: text (.txt) for any PC or Mac word-processing program; Acrobat (.pdf), a full-color version for PC or Mac using the free Acrobat Reader); DocMaker, a full-color, self-running file with sounds for Mac only; and Palm (.prc), a text version that requires a Palm PDA and a DOC reader like the freeware CSpotRun or PalmReader. The main place to find Planet is on the Web, either at our home page http://www.planetmag.com or our mirror site at http://www.etext.org/Zines/planet.

Copyrights & Disclaimers
Planet Magazine as a whole, including all text, design, and illustrations, is copyright © 2003 by Andrew G. McCann. However, all individual stories and poems in this magazine are copyright © 2003 by their respective authors or artists, who have granted Planet Magazine the right to use these works for this issue in both electronic form and any resulting print-outs by readers for noncommercial, individual use. All people and events portrayed in this magazine are entirely fictitious and bear no resemblance to actual people or events. This publication, along with every past issue of Planet Magazine, is registered with the Copyright Office of the U.S. Library of Congress. Since our first issue, dated January 1994, Planet Magazine has been freely available via the Internet; a trademark for the name “Planet Magazine” is pending. You may freely distribute this magazine electronically on a noncommercial, nonprofit basis to anyone and print one copy for your personal use, but you may not alter or excerpt Planet in any way without direct, written permission from the publisher, who can be contacted at editor@planetmag.com. Any unauthorized access, reproduction, or transmission of Planet Magazine, in whole or part, is strictly prohibited by U.S. federal law and international copyright law. Planet Magazine is published by Cranberry Street Press, Garden City, N.Y., USA, Andrew G. McCann, publisher.

Colophon
This issue was created with Macromedia Dreamweaver 4.0. The Planet Magazine logo was designed by Romeo A. Esparrago, Jr., using “Startling” by Dave Bastian, at http://www.davebastian.com/. (Previous logotypes were in Arquitectura and Times New Roman). The text typeface is Arial, and in some older issues Helvetica or Geneva. Please visit the guest artists’ Web pages to learn about the tools they used for their illustrations. Each issue of Planet Magazine is augmented with haptic technologies — that’s us doing that to you’re physical brain.

Planet Magazine ISSN: 1526-1840

“Planet Magazine” is registered with the U.S. Copyright Office