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    Aurealis #99
    Aurealis #99
    Aurealis #99
    Ebook106 pages1 hour

    Aurealis #99

    By Michael Pryor (Editor)

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Aurealis #99 is another gold standard issue with the action-packed ‘Agents of Empire’ from Aaron Emmel, the cool and cinematic ‘Once Was Lost’ from Alan Baxter, the poignant ‘Regulation’ from Michael Earp, the thoughtful exploration of classic Australian genre storytellers in ‘Creating our own stories’ from Gillian Polack while Chris Large and Russell Kirkpatrick combine for ‘Cartogramancy–On The Art of Fantasy Map-making.’ And don’t forget our red-hot Reviews section, sensational internal art and more. Aurealis – it’s the real thing.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherChimaera Publications
    Release dateApr 9, 2017
    ISBN9781922031556
    Aurealis #99

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      Book preview

      Aurealis #99 - Michael Pryor (Editor)

      AUREALIS #99

      Australian Fantasy & Science Fiction

      Edited by Michael Pryor

      Published by Chimaera Publications at Smashwords

      Copyright of this compilation Chimaera Publications 2017

      Copyright on each story remains with the contributor.

      EPUB version ISBN 978-1-922031-55-6

      ISSN 2200-307X (electronic)

      CHIMAERA PUBLICATIONS

      Smashwords Edition License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the authors, editors and artists.

      Hard copy back issues of Aurealis can be obtained from the Aurealis website: www.aurealis.com.au

      Contents

      From the Cloud—Michael Pryor

      Once Was Lost—Alan Baxter

      Regulation—Michael Earp

      Agents of Empire—Aaron Emmel

      Creating Our Own Stories: Cusack, Kiddle and Chauncey—Gillian Polack

      Cartogramancy—The Science of Fantasy Map Making—Chris Large and Russell Kirkpatrick

      Secret History of Australia—Julia Frabu—Researched by Stephen Higgins

      Reviews

      Next Issue

      Credits

      From the Cloud

      Michael Pryor

      As an SF magazine, Aurealis is much concerned with the future and, more to the point, imagining the future. Here are five great books that do just that.

      Neuromancer—A cool future. William Gibson took film noir and mashed it with computer culture and created a future that has dominated visions ever since, with violent and amoral characters caught in vast conspiracies. With its first sentence ‘The sky above the port was the colour of television, tuned to a dead channel.’ future imaginings would never be the same. Tense and gritty.

      Snow Crash—A corporate future. The world is owned and operated by businesses and entrepreneurs, the internet has become the all-subsuming Metaverse and the distinction between reality and the virtual world has all but disappeared. An ancient Sumerian god reappearing as a computer virus? Why not? Neal Stephenson is eclectic, challenging and erudite. Wild and hilarious.

      A Civil Campaign—A human future. Part of Lois McMaster Bujold’s Vorkosigan saga, this is a comedy of manners in a future where humanity roams the galaxy. With its plots, trysts, intrigues and misunderstandings it could be Austen in the Future, with extra politics and diplomacy. It’s sharp, witty, full of endearing and engaging characters, and with a narrative that takes in espionage, betrayal and romance. Intricate and rewarding.

      The Mars Trilogy (Red Mars/Green Mars/Blue Mars)—An ecological future. We sneak this in as one book, because Kim Stanley Robinson’s future is a rigorously imagined one, where the politics and ethics are as much part of the story as the nitty-gritty of colonising another planet. Gripping and thoughtful.

      Always Coming Home—A blighted future. Ursula K Le Guin gives us an almost anthropological treatise examining what humanity might become after the collapse of civilisation due to an unspecified series of disasters. Lyrical and absorbing.

      All the best from the cloud.

      Michael Pryor

      Back to Contents

      Once Was Lost

      Alan Baxter

      Stuart’s appearance beside me is a shock, and he seems to have no idea he’s dead. Clearly I’m losing my mind. The chameleon suit beneath the maintenance overalls tightens as it reads adrenaline pulsing through my system, sensors expecting fight or flight any moment. Deep breaths settle my momentary panic, and the muscle-support constriction eases.

      I refuse to look at him standing there as I crouch, tucked out of sight in a corner, and surreptitiously dial up the holo-shadow from the suit’s forearm-mounted control panel. This technology is incredible. Focus on the incredible, not the impossible.

      This spoke of the station is almost deserted now, guards ferrying everyone out. Only seconds left in which to slip away unnoticed. Suicide mission for anyone but the absolute best, they told me. The clients for this hit were honest about the chance of success, of survival, and that’s why I’m here. Final proof or final solution.

      Are you here to berate me or cheer me on, Stuart? Either way, here’s where my future’s decided.

      Shadow swells around me, holographic chameleon technology hiding me in plain sight. The suit creates an absolutely stable holographic projection while allowing me to move around inside it, leaving no warning signature for security sensors to pick up, not even the energy of its own amazing process. Holding my breath for a moment, I wait for alarms.

      All quiet. I chose my spot well.

      Stuart there smiling is giving me the creeps, but all I can do is ignore him. Ignore my own madness. He was always dismissive of alien contact, convinced they already walked among us, controlling society. Since news that aliens had revealed themselves spread like wildfire through the galaxy, there’s been no end of opinion shared from the celebratory to the doom prophets. And Stuart’s opinion is shared by many. Just another level of politics, he’d said once. It doesn’t matter to people like us.

      Based on that, you’d think he’d approve of this gig. Maybe that’s why he’s here. But of course, he’s not actually here.

      Guards come marching back as I grab a driver and slip the suit’s visor down. A virtual HUD outlines the parameters of my signature-neutral holographic camouflage. In seconds I have a service panel removed, slip into the cramped conduit and reseal the panel as footsteps go right past. The hologram is clearly holding. Once the last sounds are gone, I dial off the camouflage, slip out of the overalls, abandon my disguise. My heart’s racing with exhilaration as much as concern. So far, so good. I can do this. Stuart always harassed me about believing in myself. Now’s as good as any time.

      The suit, sleek black and skin-tight, just a few thicker patches where various technologies are packaged, shifts and supports me through the cramped space like it’s alive, part of me.

      ‘You look spooked, Craig,’ Stuart says, crouched beside me.

      I smile nervously, unsure what to say. Just a little strung out about the job, I think at him, refusing to use my voice and trigger alarms. I’m talking to myself, right?

      Stuart grins. ‘We got this. Chill.’

      Here for support then.

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