1999 Analytical Laboratory It's time for the 1999 AnLab Poll. Cast your vote today for your favorite stories and artwork from 1999 (Vol. CXIX). Vote before February 1, 2000 and your ballot will automatically be entered in a drawing for a free one-year subscription to Analog Science Fiction and Fact! Our January issue marks two special occasions, and we'll celebrate with extra pages and lots of special features. January 2000 marks the beginning of a new millennium (at least for that sizable segment of the population that starts counting with years ending in "000"!), and the Seventieth Anniversary (for everybody!) of this magazine (which has, so far, spent thirty years as Astounding and forty as Analog). We'll start off with a dramatic cover by Kelly Freas, often called the "Dean of Science Fiction Illustrators" and one of the most prolific and popular artists in Analog's history. This one illustrates "Under," a new novella by Hal Clement, often called the "Dean of Hard Science Fiction Writers." Mesklin, the supermassive, fast-spinning planet on which effective gravity ranges from a few Earth gravities at the equator to several hundred at the poles, first appeared in Mission of Gravity, serialized here in 1953, and still regarded as a classic of science-fictional world-building. Now, decades later, Clement returns to subject the Mesklinites to a new kind of peril. . . . Jack Williamson, the only living writer associated with Astounding/Analog in every decade of its history, offers a personal reminiscence about his career and ours, and Mike Resnick offers a whimsical look at one of the ways our field has changed in that time. We'll also have a wide range of stories by such writers as Michael A. Burstein (one of the newest winners of the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer), Ben Bova (who is not only a frequent contributor, but served admirably as Analog's editor in the 1970s), Larry Niven, and David Brin. Brin's story, by the way, is a tour de force that might in a sense have been inspired by another Analog writer. In his 1986 serial Marooned in Real Time, Vernor Vinge introduced the concept of "The Singularity," a point in history at which the curves of progress become so steep that essentially everything changes radically in practically no time. The idea quickly became widely known by that name, and David Brin's story in our next issue takes a dazzling look at a world beyond The Singularity. All in all, we think it's a very special issue, offering a sweeping look back at our past and ahead to our future!   Under by Hal Clement The newest Nebula Grand Master returns to one of the best-known exotic worlds in science fiction and finds the Mesklinites confronting a new kind of danger. Illustration by Kelly Freas   The Alternate View by Rick Cook This month guest columnist Rick Cook talks about the job of the future -- that of the Grand Decompositor. The Reference Library by Tom Easton This month Tom reviews book by Hal Clement, Orson Scott Card, and William Barton. Upcoming Events by Anthony Lewis Every month, Anthony keeps you up to date on what's going on in the world of science fiction.     Novella Under by Hal Clement Novelettes Pow'r by James Gunn Soapbox Cop Blues by Stephen L. Burns Stones Of Significance by David Brin Short Stories Time Out Of Joint by Pauline Ashwell Greenhouse Chill by Ben Bova Loki by Larry Niven The Cost Of Having A Kid by Brian C. Coad Tethys Deep by Pete D. Manison Science Fact The Patent Wars by John D. Trudel Probability Zero Whose Millennium? by Michael A. Burstein Special Features Why Martians Are Attracted To Big-Breasted Women by Mike Resnick Recollections Of Analog by Jack Williamson   Submissions Write for us! Story Index Everything published here since 1980. FAQ If we didn't cover it anywhere else, then look here. PeanutPress Get Analog on your Palm or Windows CE palmtop!