Analog Science Fiction & Fact: Recent Episodes
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Fiction and features from editors, authors, and new issues of Analog Science Fiction & Fact, the longest continuously running science fiction magazine.
Meadow is a curious teenager who has spent her entire life on a large space ship. She thirsts for adventure, or at least a break from her overbearing mother.
One day, she meets an artist who is desperately trying to clean-up a spill of small, colorful beads—not an easy task in zero-g, and a serious violation of safety code that Meadow’s mom is eager to report.
Will Meadow be able to protect her new acquaintance and learn about herself in the process? Find out in “The Carina Nebula,” read and written by Kelsey Hutton
K3RA is an android programmed to pursue efficiency in everything it does, from working factory floors to killing its designers’ enemies. When it encounters a sluggish soybean farmer just after suffering a wartime wound, K3RA comes to a realization that may bring peace to the world. Here is “Maximum Efficiency,” read and written by Holly Schofield.
In Tim McDaniel’s “Taking the Waters,” a scientist must negotiate for our planet’s future. See how she does in our newest podcast from the September/October issue.
Our July/August podcast is a special double feature: First, Melanie Harding-Shaw reads "My Nascent Garden," in which an AI navigates a complicated relationship; then Geoffrey Hart narrates his tale "Risky Harvest," telling the story of a harvest event that is intertwined with mating and survival.
Delia Serrano is a crack disposal engineer for the CosmoSweep Coropration. On a typical workday, she’s catching bits of space junk and sending them to a fiery demise in earth’s atmosphere. But when NASA needs her unique skills for a daring rescue mission, Serrano jumps into action in the thrilling tale “Bounty 1486,” read and written by the author, Wendy Nikel.
Why are Huiling and her metal exoskeleton—and research partner—being hunted by the Feds? And the state? And where does a long-ago lover fit into the picture? Please enjoy “Nirvana or Bust” from our March/April 2022 issue read & written by Michael Swanwick.
"Amy" and "Brad" are two thieves who don’t see eye to eye. Amy wants to change the world, and Brad wants to start over, wealthy and isolated. What exactly are they looking for on the lunar surface, and can their spoils help achieve these goals? Find out in “Splitting a Dollar,” read and written by Meghan Hyland.
While life on Earth may not always be safe or easy, traveling the space ways comes with its own host of hazards. There’s space junk. Sub-zero temperatures. And not to mention a complete lack of oxygen. In this piece from our November/December issue, a mech finds himself dragged into a daring rescue mission on Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus. Author Bill Frank gives an inspired reading of his story, "Moon Unit."
Everyone wants to talk to a human, not a chatbot. But when you are the human on the other end of the customer service phone number, with frustrating coworkers and an unbearable roommate situation, you realize that talking to humans is pretty complex. This story from Analog’s September/October issue shows us that chatting with a bot has its advantages, and dead-end jobs aren’t always what they seem. Please enjoy “Room to Live,” read and written by Marie Vibbert.
Jer is the governor’s nestling and his Consortium colony’s legal administrator. When the judicant shows up and starts questioning how things are run around here, it becomes clear that Jer is something else too: a very dangerous lawyer. Find out why in “Mandatory Arbitration,” from Analog’s July/August issue, written and read by Leonard Richardson.
Mal and the others must continue walking and following god, no matter how tired their claws and tentacles get. But how long must the pilgrims walk? And what will happen when they reach their destination? Journey with Mal in "Pilgrimage" by Michael Adam Robson, ready by Tara Robson.
Separated from their group’s camp on his brother’s orders, a lonely Bashim lulls himself to sleep by practicing English with Top Hat Avatar, his holographic tutor. When he awakes in the middle of the night, there’s gunfire down at the camp, and Top Hat Avatar is telling him to run. Escape with Bashim and Top Hat Avatar in “The Shadow of His Wings,” from Analog’s March/April 2021 issue, written and read by Ray Nayler.
The parent company is pulling its funding from the database of gods. All of the museum exhibits and their artificial intelligences will be shut down; all employees assigned to the project are relocating to Mars. For the child of two employees, this means losing a best friend—unless it’s possible to sneak Sancus' code out of the database before they leave. See how this God-heist unfolds in “The Last Compact,” from Analog’s January/February 2021 issue, read and written by Brian Rappatta.
The assignment is straightforward: All Zu has to do is salvage some previously mined ore now lost in space, and the mountain of debt he owes to his employer will be canceled. But in “Ghost Strike,” Zu encounters greater risks—and greater rewards—than he planned for. Please enjoy Brenda Kalt’s reading of her suspenseful story from our November/December issue.
For fourteen fourteens of cycles in the mostly dry tunnels of Mars, Eldest Split and Companion have spent all of their energy on just staying alive. Meanwhile, above them, Peter Churlith lives a life of boredom and fatigue, operating machinery that excavates the Martian soil. Little does anyone realize that Peter is about to make Eldest Split and Companion’s dreams come true. Enjoy as John J. Vester reads his story, “Where There’s Life,” from the September/October issue, for our newest podcast installment.
For our July/August issue, we have a special double feature for you. First you’ll be hearing “On the Changing Roles of Dockworkers” read and written by Marie Vibbert. Before she can even sit down, Mary is sent to check on Unit 4—something is wrong with the robot’s communications logs—could it be sabotage?
Our second story is “The Mad Cabbage” read and written by Céline Malgen. Microbiologist Nicole Gertner is presented with a mysterious fermented cabbage reaction and must get to the bottom of the anomalous results. Enjoy these two tales from the pages of Analog Science Fiction & Fact Magazine!
Susana never expected the first manned mission to Mars to begin the way it did: her crew gone, Earth in crisis, and she the sole engineer to see everyone’s hopes for a habitable Mars through. Will she, her rovers and robots, and NASA ground support be enough? The talented Dominica Phetteplace reads her story “Candida Eve” from the May/June 2020 issue for our newest podcast installment.
Fourteen-year-old asteroid-dweller Alaya longs for excitement and a glimpse of the sky. In “One Basket,” her grandmother offers her a chance at both. Enjoy Farah Naz Rishi’s reading of C.C. Finlay’s gripping story about courage, family, and eggs.
Fresh from the pages of our 90th anniversary issue is this exciting piece of alternate history, written and read by Eric Choi, that envisions a different outcome for the Columbia spacecraft. If you enjoy this story, be sure to find our current issue with a fact article by Eric Choi behind the science in this tale! www.analogsf.com