Originally published in Planet Magazine No. 37 (March 2003). Illustration: “Lagranderrota” by Juan Rodrigo Piedrahita Escobar “Good evening, sports fans. Welcome to Gagetown, New Brunswick, Canada, and another edition of Monday Night Infantry. I’m Frank Henwood.” “And I’m Mike Purcell.” “Tonight promises to be another four solid hours of blood, sweat, toil and tears. Two … Continue reading Monday Night Infantry, by Dave Whittier
Originally published in Planet Magazine No. 37 (March 2003). Illustration: “Roller” by Patrick Stacy Even on a Wednesday afternoon, the giant triangle arch entrance to Future Zone Park was crowded with visitors, though not as jammed as it would be on a weekend. It was a sunny day in mid-July, school was out, and throngs … Continue reading The Ride, by William Wilde
Originally published in Planet Magazine No. 37 (March 2003). Illustration: “View from the Bridge” by Ehrad The little man in the glass jar said, "Really, I'm not kidding." He spoke with his head buried into chest, like maybe there was some microphone down there. For such a tiny man, his voice was clear, so it … Continue reading A Little Invasion, by Russel D. McLean
Originally published in Planet Magazine No. 37 (March 2003). (A Langford Joh story) Illustration: “HiRes” by Carl Goodman It was significant that the first Confederation hopefuls were Earthlings because the surface and texture of Robain had many similarities to their home planet. The gravity was nearly the same, the content of the air almost identical. … Continue reading The Robain Incident, by William Alan Rieser
Originally published in Planet Magazine No. 37 (March 2003). Illustration: “Gizmo” by Ehrad Jenkins hit his forward thrusters, hoping to back his ship away from the beast he was trying to maneuver into position. He could feel the titanic pull of the thing's gravity as his thrusters strained at 110% of capacity. "Jenkins, report," a … Continue reading A Singular Solution, by J. Alan Erwine
Originally published in Planet Magazine No. 37 (March 2003). Illustration: “Hell Tunnel” by Ehrad Let's see now -- what's it like to be one of the people who proved conclusively that humanity's not alone in the universe? Where the hell do you people get these questions, anyway? Wait, wait. I'm sorry. I'll tell you. The … Continue reading Cargo, by Floyd Largent
Originally published in Planet Magazine No. 37 (March 2003). Illustration: “Equation X” by Ehrad BOSON: Any of a class of subatomic particles such as the photon, pion or graviton that have no detectable mass and obey statistical rules permitting any number of identical particles to occupy the same quantum state. - Satyenda Nath Bose God … Continue reading Field Trip, by E.S. Strout
Originally published in Planet Magazine No. 37 (March 2003). They were no sooner in the air when Harry was told, "Commander, I recommend you try and get some sleep. Here's a sleeping pill to help you. There is a sleeping berth in the aft section for your use." Harry replied, "I should get some sleep … Continue reading Harry’s New Toy, by Charles Kaluza
Originally published in Planet Magazine No. 37 (March 2003). (A Langford Joh story) Illustration: “Luke's Ghost” by Ehrad Among the private files of Ambassador Langford Joh were many in which he played a decisive and important role, a factor that contributed to his legend and legacy. But interspersed within the glorified accounts were a few … Continue reading Iron Feather, by William Alan Rieser
Originally published in Planet Magazine No. 36 (December 2002). Illustration: “Land of My Paradise” by Matt Gaser Red clay. Did the whole planet have to disintegrate into red clay when its young rocks were pulverised? Red clay permanently embossed in sticky clumps to the underside of stained leather boots. Red clay fouling up the works … Continue reading Redemption on a Red Plain, by Greg Guerin
