Search Worlds Without End

Amanda and Clay head out to a remote corner of Long Island expecting a vacation: a quiet reprieve from life in New York City, quality time with their teenage son and daughter, and a taste of the good life in the luxurious home they've rented for the week. But a late-night knock on the door breaks the spell. Ruth and G. H. are an older couple--it's their house, and they've arrived in a panic. They bring the news that a sudden blackout has swept the city. But in this rural area--with the TV and internet now down, and no cell phone service--it's hard to know what to believe.

Should Amanda and Clay trust this couple--and vice versa? What happened back in New York? Is the vacation home, isolated from civilization, a truly safe place for their families? And are they safe from one other?

A Short Story in the Wormwood / Nobodoi vein, first published in Omega Science Digest, May-June issue, 1982.

Winner of the 1983 Australian Ditmar.

Nebula Award nominated novelette. First appeared at Strange Horizons where it can be read for free.

For years, the stations of the Hinder Stars, those old stations closest to Sol, have lagged behind the great megastations of the Beyond, like Pell and Cyteen. But new opportunities and fears arise when Alpha station receives news of an incoming ship with no identification. The denizens of Alpha wait anxiously for news about the outsiders, each with their own suspicions about the ship and its origins.

Ross and Fallon, crew members of the Galway, believe the unidentified ship belongs to Pell and has come to investigate another massive ship docked at Alpha, The Rights of Man. Though Rights is under the command of the Earth Company, it is not quite perfected – and its true purpose is shrouded in mystery.

James Robert Neihart, captain of Finity's End – a huge faster-than-light ship flown by one of the Merchanter Families – has heard whispers of The Rights of Man and wonders at its design and purpose, especially as Sol struggles to rival the progress of the Farther Stars. Now docked at Alpha, he must convince the crews that there is more to The Rights of Man than meets the eye.

Because the reasons behind the creation of The Rights of Man, and its true plans, could change everything – not just for Sol, but for the Hinder Stars and the Beyond itslf.

When Cyteen opened up faster-than-light travel, it gave the technology for free to any ship that could reach it; and with that technology, it provided a map of jump-points, points of mass enabling starships to navigate hyperspace safely.

The map of jump-points, however, stopped with the route to Alpha - thus excluding Sol, and Earth, and the Earth Company, whose gateway to the stars was Alpha. Cyteen knew exactly what it was doing with its gift. Sol and the EC could still reach Alpha with sub-light pusher-ships as it always had - but Sol and the Earth Company no longer had any authority in the Beyond.

But Sol intends to take back control of its star-stations and stop Cyteen's unbridled expansion, however it can. To do that, they are willing to starve Alpha and concentrate their efforts on a huge FTLer capable of carrying military force.

Finalist for the AnLab Reader's Choice Award

The woman in the pod has just asked him:"How long do you need me to have been your wife?" Draiken considers the contorted syntax. Not how long would you like to be married, or how long are we supposed to have been married, but how long do you need me to have been your wife, a construction that only fits this one situation, a contract to lie. And this lie will help the former spy get revenge on his past masters.

This story was originally published in Analog Science Fiction and Fact, October 2016. Read this novella for free at Analog (PDF).

Sardonic and merciless, this satire of the entire apocalyptic enterprise provides a humorous and timely interpretation of the bestselling Left Behind series--the adventures of those "left behind" to battle the Anti-Christ after all Born-Again Christians have ascended into heaven. From predatory preachers and goth lingerie to Indian casinos and "art cars" at Burning Man, this religious spoof deftly pairs the personal with the fictional. Featuring an extensive author interview and biography, this contemporary parody also includes the unique one-act drama, Special Relativity, which asks the question: When Paul Robeson, J. Edgar Hoover, and Albert Einstein are raised from the dead at an anti-Bush rally, which one wears the dress?

Table of Contents:

• The Left Left Behind: "Let Their People Go!" - (2008)
• Special Relativity - (2006)
• "Fried Green Tomatoes" - (2009) - interview of Terry Bisson by T. B. Calhoun
• Bibliography

The enemy within...

When the Tok'ra ask SG-1 to save a tortured creature from the clutches of Apophis, how can they refuse? But the Mujina is no ordinary being -- devoid of face or form, it draws its identity from those around it. All things to all people, it is a creature with terrible potential -- for both good and evil.

Their pursuit of the Mujina takes the team to a nightmarish world where human wickedness is at its worst -- and there, the creature finds its home. Captured by the ethnically pure Corvani, Colonel O'Neill's team must confront the planet's insane leader, the Raven King, as well as a more familiar and insidious enemy.

In this gripping adventure, award-winning author Steven Savile takes SG-1 on an unforgettable journey into the heart of darkness...

The Hind by Kevin J. Anderson and Rick Wilber was first published in Asimov's Science Fiction, November/December issue, 2020.

It concerns an ill-fated generational ship.

Death of the Hind by Kevin J. Anderson and Rick Wilber was first published in Asimov's Science Fiction, November/December issue 2023.

It concerns the final outcome of an ill-fated generational ship.