Current Issue Highlights

March/April 2025
Normally, we think of the March/April issue as something of our “humor and hoaxes issue,” in keeping with the seasonal spirit of April Fool’s Day. This time, however, we’re focusing on another important day in April: Tax Day. Yes, the only things certain in life are death and taxes, and the bulk of our stories lie at the juncture where death and money meet: crime.
Our lead story from Beth Goder, “Murder on the Eris Express,” might evoke familiar images of a mustachioed Belgian on a train, but the parallels end at the title—I promise you’ve never seen a “detective” quite like this. And there are plenty more SF/crime pieces to accompany this one, including:
“The Return of Tom Dillon,” a sequel to Harry Lang’s excellent future noir, “Hothouse Orchids” [January/February 2023]; the opposite of a locked-room mystery, in “Heat Death,” by Kate MacLeod; the definition of a gambling problem, in John Markley’s “In the Hole”; and more.
Plus, of course, we have to include at least some lighter fare, such as “A Whole Generation” by Timons Esias and “Mr. Palomar Goes to Space” by Hayden Trenholm, just for starters, plus our fact article, “Reflections on Mirror Life,” by Robert A. Love—think biochemistry, not Star Trek—and all our regular columns, as well as maybe a surprise or two!
NOVELLA
Murder on the Eris Express
by Beth Goder
On the morning of June 3rd, 2307, Galactic Standard, Mo cycled through her hundreds of sensors, checking that everything on the Eris Express was well. Her processors whirred as she calculated trajectories for the ship, which she always found calming. She loved the soft sound of space, and the way that stars looked from her sensors, like bright jellyfish immersed in an infinite ocean. She loved how the AI Core always smelled like metal and old books. (Her systems had been upgraded with sensory capabilities, so she could smell everything on the ship, like the blueberry muffins baking in the kitchenette.) Life was much better with the smell of blueberry muffins in it. READ MORE
The Return of Tom Dillion
by Harry Lang
Characters from this story previously appeared in “Hothouse Orchids” (January/February 2023).
* * *
Police detective Hector Kovack couldn’t take the bullet back.
He lay in the gray, predawn ooze of a hungover Martian Tuesday morning, twisting the thought with all his might. Or trying. Drunk, hungover or sober, the truth wouldn’t twist. No matter how many questions he answered for Internal Affairs or how long they kept him chained to a desk or how much bootleg gin he drank, Hector Kovack would always be the cop that blew his brother’s face to smithereens with a .45. Big gun, especially for a scrawny native Martian trained solely in the use of nonlethal shock weapons. READ MORE
POETRY
Precocious Child
by Alexander Senko
The space of words
Is large.
There are as many ways
DEPARTMENTS
Guest Editorial: Seeking Scientific Common Ground, Even On Guns
by Richard A. Lovett
Every time a mass shooting hits the news, the discussion cycles through the same debate. One side calls for tighter controls. The other doubles down on the right to bear arms or the need for more “good guys” with guns. It’s like a mash-up of “Groundhog Day” and the ancient philosophical question of “what happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object?” Answer: endless repetition of nothing useful. READ MORE
Alternate View: The Jwst And Early Universe Puzzles
by John G. Cramer
On Christmas Day of 2021 NASA boosted the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) into a stable L2 Sun-Earth orbit. About six months later JWST began its astronomical observations, and it has now been in full operation for almost three years. Its radical layered sun-shield design allows for its detector system to operate at ultra-cold cryogenic temperatures, so that light in the infrared regime, normally obscured by the thermal emissions of the detector system itself, can provide images of very distant and highly red-shifted objects that may have no significant emissions in the visible light regime. READ MORE
Reference Library
by Rosemary Claire Smith
Sometimes, we read science fiction to revel in tales of techno-optimism where great strides in science and engineering enable clever and courageous characters to create bold solutions to the seemingly-intractable problems we struggle with today. Other times, we simply seek reassurance that, despite the flaws in human nature, the unintended consequences of previous inventions will not be as awful as the techno-pessimists would have us believe. This month’s batch of books, whether by veteran science fiction writers or talented newcomers, are spread along the spectrum from glass-half-empty to half-full. Some present engineered solutions that are unattainable for most people and/or extraordinarily disruptive to entire communities. Others, however, envision bright futures, ones in which our descendants will find more effective ways to combat humanity’s worst impulses. Let’s start with the darker visions and work our way toward the light. READ MORE