Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine - March 2012

This month's edition of Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine is a bit thinner than any of the other volumes which I have read since acquiring this subscription last year. It does not have a novella. It has three novelettes and three short stories. All told, just a little over 51k words comprises it. The subscription is available through Amazon.com.

The Way of the Needle, Derek Kunsken

The characters in this story are quite alien. There's very little anthropomorphic in the descriptions. Eyes are appended onto the ends of long stalks. They have pincers and claws and legs, perhaps somewhat matching the description of a scorpion, but without the tail and stinger.

There is also the description of how the creatures in this world 'eat' and survive: they must absorb the energy from the heavens through the use of needles. A pulsar gives them this energy. Losing the ability to absorb this energy can lead to a quick death.

The story itself seems to be related to the classic decades-old Chinese kung fu movies which I was quite fond of. One master wants to get rid of another. In his place goes one of his great students, Mok (the protagonist of the story) to assassinate the other. In the process, he discovers a friend, Rag, who is really just a janitor for the rival school. Mok learns the meaning of friendship from Rag. It is this which is really at the centre of this tale.

There was a certain charm to this tale.

The Pass, Benjamin Crowell

This story is set in a post-apocalyptic future. I am never certain what has caused the post-apocalypse. Was it a war, a disease? In any case, the setting is a village which is physically separated from the rest of the world by geography.

The cloud: a relatively new terminology which has been dominating technology news and causing a shift into a new type of data storage where data is written to many machines rather than a single machine. This is often referred to as 'the cloud.' In this case, it is a kind of organism which contains the collective intellect and memory of the human race. Each addition to its collective is made voluntarily. A man or woman, when tired of the real life wants to retire to the cloud, can simply upload their consciousness to the cloud. The cloud then stores those memories and the consciousness.

To be honest, for most of the story, I had believed that the cloud was simply some kind of odd monster which people were sacrificing themselves to. Like an alien from another planet that had seduced people into believing the far fetched idea as a means to get voluntary sacrifices. However, I do believe this is refuted near the conclusion of the tale. I'll explain why in a bit of detail.

The protagonist, along with two other friends, go on a hike to find a flock of sheep. In their journey, they discover another cloud which is separated from their own cloud. However, it seems to be sick and perhaps on the verge of dying. One of the group gets sick to the point of dying. While they don't want to upload his consciousness into an alien cloud, they do so because they fear he'll be lost before they can bring him back to their own collective. The protagonist's other friend, his unofficial girlfriend, is depressed by his departure, and worried that the cloud will die. So, she sacrifices her life to join the collective. As a result, the cloud, the next time the protagonist sees it, is stronger than before and on its way to join the other cloud. It suggests that the cloud knows its situation and is reaching out to join itself to the other cloud. However, it's not conclusive evidence since we never get taken into the collective consciousness.

The situation seems dire for humans in this village. No one cares about life. Farming is frowned upon and referred to as 'hoarding.' They survive exclusively on hunting and gathering. Procreation seems to be a low priority, and people believe in the afterlife in the cloud.

Golva's Ascent, Tom Purdom

Golva is an animal which is something like a weasel. However, he has an advanced intelligence which means he also possesses a strong sense of curiosity. That curiosity has managed to get him in a bit of trouble.

Humans have found his planet, and are very interested in it. A few humans have even been lost on the planet. However, they have not settled. They have a station on top of a cliff which reaches hundreds of meters into the sky, and which ascent has not been made by any of the local denizens. Captured, he is tested for intelligence. He's learned English indirectly from the humans who'd been lost (by the invaders) on the planet. Eventually, during one of the tortures inflicted on him, he lets them know he understands and speaks the language.

Fortunately for him, one of the humans, a doctor, takes a liking to him and helps him escape. It's not entirely clear why she decides to help him. In any case, she enables his escape.

We learn about the world's culture: the builders and the fighters. Golva is a fighter with intelligence which surpasses the humans and his own kind. However, he lacks hands necessary for his intelligence to really succeed. His hands are weapons, but cannot hold weapons. He can think well enough to order an attack against the humans. But he has a conscience that keeps him from killing the humans once he has overcome them (with the help of his friend).

It makes me think of Ewoks from Star Wars, actually. The only real difference seems to be that the Ewoks walk on their two feet, whereas Golva walks on all four and lacks the ability to balance himself well enough to walk like a man.

Nanny's Day, Leah Cypess

This story is an idea into a bit of legalese. Imagine a court that allows a nanny to take custody of a child. That's what this story is about. To compensate, nannies are not allowed to do their job with a single child/family for more than three months. If a child is given time to bond with a nanny, there's the risk that the nanny will ask for custody, and if the child is more attached to the nanny, the court will award custody.

A single mother, an ambitious lawyer, is put to this test. In the contract, the nanny signed, the nanny agrees not to sue for custody. However, the protagonist does not believe that this line will be effective. However, she soon comes to believe that the nanny is in fact just working for the agency in an attempt to make a legal precedent against the nanny. To prevent her son from becoming the object of a legal battle, she gives up custody to the nanny. The whole thing being a bluff, the nanny gives up.

Mrs. Hatcher's Evaluation, James Van Pelt

This story is more like a regular piece of fiction with a political will than a piece of sci-fi or even fantasy. The message in this story is pretty simple: the new ways of educating are not necessarily the best ways. Mrs. Hatcher's professionalism is under review. The entire profession of teachers is no longer under the protection of tenure.

Mrs. Hatcher doesn't follow the prescription of posting expectations and such on the board. Her classes are stories which are riveting to the point of wondering if there is some mystic power in it. That is to say, the Vice Principal sent over to sniff out her weakness so as to make an excuse to fire her is transported to the scenes which she lectures on. Not only does he hear about General Custer, but he becomes one of the men in his outfit. The illusion is so strong that when he feels the bite of a horsefly on the back of his neck, there's a bite mark at the end of the lecture. He reasons that the bite might have come from the real world and influenced the dream.

In the end, he is so impressed by Mrs. Hatcher that he refuses to be a part of firing her. Instead, he recommends that he lose his job to meet the principal's requirement of saving money on the budget.

The implication is that teachers should not lose their relative immunity from getting fired. It's suggested that perhaps the new methods are not the best methods. What a lot of educators are looking for are quantifiable results which can be revealed through test results. Students need to know which of the multiple answers is correct. I must admit that I am not too fond of that type of teaching, either. Multiple choice type exams are best served by short term memorizing which doesn't really contribute to the long term development of the people who eventually graduate and become a part of productive society.

Patagonia, Joel Richards

This is another story which I feel doesn't really seem to fit within the realm of what Asimov's ought to be publishing. It seems like it would belong just as well in a 'strange tales' magazine. A man meets an Indian who gives him insight into a past life. I don't know what that has to do with science fiction or fantasy. Is the well of science fiction and fantasy really so dry?

Conclusion

 I think Asimov's editor ought to have done a better job of finding good science fiction for her readers. Well, I hope the next volume is an improvement.