And, Aphelion writers; Jeff Williams, Dave Kuzminski, Mike Tanier, DK Smith, Kate
Hill, D.
A. Krikorian, Chad Cottle and many other writers familiar to Aphelion's
readers over the years-
All have stories nominated for awards on the Preditors and Editors
website. Check out both websites and vote for your favourites! The Preditors
& Editors TM Readers' Poll
Aphelion is proud to be associated with:
The Aphelion Daily Comics Page
Don't miss a single hilarious issue of Bruno the Bandit,
Freefall or The Melonpool Chronicles!
Check back every day for laughs
from Aphelion's featured cartoonists!
Editorial
The Senior Editor's usual drivel about whatever...
Hello and welcome! We've been redecorating a little
here at Aphelion, getting ready for our third birthday issue. You may
notice some new wallpaper and the odd drop-cloth or two, but things are
pretty much ready. Hopefully, the changes aren't too distracting- in
keeping with our ongoing evolutionary process we're trying to be
subtle. We hope you like the new look.
We have our second writing contest underway and
several entries have been received. We'll keep you posted as more
entries come in and the judging continues.
We've also updated the Writer's Challenge page to
provoke ideas for some of you to create future stories. Now we've added
a set of narrative hooks and story ideas alongside Daniel Hanaquand's
paintings. If you use any of these pictures or narrative hooks to
inspire a story that you are submitting, please indicate it as being a
"Writer's Challenge" story so that we can indicate it as such in the
index page.
And now, for something completely different;
I've noticed several insoluble puzzles about life in my tenure
on this planet. Such as-
What makes the Teflon stick to the pan?
Why does the other line always move
faster?
In what way does my placing a seed in the ground cause a
drought to occur?
Why do I never run into anyone I know
at a store unless
I'm in dirty work clothes and haven't shaved in two days? - Does no one
leave the house when I'm in a suit and tie?
Why do power failures happen in the middle of the night
when you absolutely have to be on time for work the
next day and the battery back-up in your alarm clock has never
worked?
What is it about a freshly washed car that attracts flocks
of birds and rainstorms?
If the grass is always greener on the other side of the
fence,
shouldn't you be spreading fertilizer on your side rather than wasting
time trying to climb through the barbed wire?
If we can build enough nuclear weapons to blast us all back
to the stone age, why can't we come up with something
that will kill these fire-ants once and for all?
Why aren't Native Americans on the endangered species list?
If we can afford a war on crime and a war on drugs, why
can't we have wars on racism, ignorance, and poverty?
Why does the word culture only seem to apply to snooty
humans and bacteria?
If there are so many people these days suffering from
insomnia, why does late-nite TV suck?
Why is the Adult Entertainment industry always at the
forefront of cutting-edge technology?
Why does the addition of a two-cent slice of cheese to a
seventy-five cent sandwich always raise the price to a dollar twenty
five?
If aliens have been able to watch our TV shows for the last
fifty years, why do people still expect them to want to visit here?
Why is getting married so easy and getting divorced so
hard? Shouldn't that be the other way around?
Why do pro athletes get paid more than teachers?
Why is Babe Ruth more famous than Nicola Tesla?
When I buy a package of black socks, why is it that after I
wash them there are always six black ones, four dark blue ones, a dark
green, and a dark brown instead of six pairs of black socks?
What makes people think that a salad is more organic than a
steak?
Wouldn't reincarnation complicate your income tax form?
Why aren't there any movies made from Larry Niven's books?
Why do telemarketers keep calling back?
Since sex is so much fun, shouldn't we be less ashamed of
it now that humanity has been at it for over two million years?
Is it fair to call a vegetarian a cereal killer?
If people will buy free-range chicken over the house-grown
variety, why do they look down on hunting deer or turkey? Is some
subtle nutritional value lost if someone doesn't kill and clean the
animal for you?
I hope that you've found food for thought in the
preceding list. I know that I'd like to have the answers to these
burning questions, but each answer would probably just generate more
questions.
Thanks for your time.
Dan
I'd like to thank those of you who have sent e-mails or signed into the
Lettercol for your feedback. Keep those messages coming, folks!
Without those messages we will never know what we need to improve
upon. Hope you like the improvements so far!
Aphelion Staff:
Dan Hollifield
Senior Editor, Publisher
Roger
Bennett
Editor Emeritus
Robert
Wynne
WebMaven
Cary
Semar
Short Story Editor
Kim
Holec
Poetry Editor
Jeffrey
Williams
Production Editor/Serials Editor
Serialized Stories and Novellas
First
War --Part 1--
By David Allen In the distant future, mankind has come in direct
contact with a deadly
enemy. Life on earth suddenly takes a turn for the worse...
Hawking's
Dawn --Part 1--
By Ben Stevenson The life of Alec Kyte has always been an interesting
one. At the forefront
of inter-corporation espionage involving the new super-powerful
entropy-based weapons systems, he is used to living dangerously and
taking
risks. But with the latest job, he has taken on more than he expects
and,
as his colleagues around him begin to have 'accidents', a sinister
conspiracy
becomes apparent. With enemies closing in, there is only one place to
flee
- the darkest, most remote region of space known to man. A hidden
sanctuary. A Dark Haven.
The
Thrak'n
By G.L. Gerber It doesn't pay to deal lightly with the unknown.
The
Tattoo
By Jeff Colburn A
grieving man sets out to avenge his brother's murder at any cost, even
even if it means paying the price exacted by an ancient power.
The Immigrant
By Dan L. Hollifield Newly arrived on our shores, some people have to have
an aptitude for their jobs in order to survive.
Summoners Daughter
By K. Bird Lincoln When Human colonists make a terrible pact with the
alien inhabitants of a distant planet, it takes the compassion of a
special girl to stand against evil men...
If Only
By Iain Benson Have
you ever wondered what would happen if only you had done this, instead
of that? The outcome is not always as one would hope.
Interlude
By Mark Stanley Imagine that Humanity realizes its full potential,
that Nietzsche's superman emerges, that he conquers the universe, that
he becomes a god. Then what?
Fountains
of Paradise
By Mikael Bernard For
most of us, the search for the fountains of paradise never ends. A far
worse fate would be to find them, then lose them again.
Farewell to the Huntsman
By William B. Johnson The animals call a truce to observe the passing of
their common foe.
Confessions of a Singularity
By Stephen Goobie With tears the size of galaxies and sighs the span of
Gigayears, a new lifeform awakens amidst the majesty of space.
Amor Fati
By Chris Wood How far would you go for love? When Brandon and his
wife Judy reach the edge of a cliff one Halloween night, only one of
them will know.
A
Face in the Crowd
By Ralph Benedetto, Jr. When you work in the lab alone late at night, you can
never be quite sure
what's going to happen...
Aphelion's Daily Comics
By Mark Stanley, and Steve Troop Did he say daily? Yep, Aphelion is proud to feature two
of the funniest comic strips on the Internet, Mark Stanley's "Freefall"
and Steve Troop's "The Melonpool Chronicles". Bookmark this page, you
don't want to miss a single instalment!
The Listening
Room
By Rob Wynne Rob Wynne takes a look at recordings of interest to
science fiction
and fantasy fans in this semi-regular column. In this issue:
Passing Through by Bill Sutton
Wayward Musings
by Kim Holec
Kim warns readers about a new and present danger: the government wants
a piece of your e-auction.
Double Wide
by Jim Parnell 2000 Years and All I Got Was This Stupid T-Shirt
WARNING: Contains Language.
In case anyone is curious as to exactly what's been keeping me
so busy,
I've planned a few webpages that show the progress of my landscaping,
interior decoration, and housework. Look for it in my personal pages at
Casa Vila.
It’s the beginning of a sort of photographic timeline of my yard work
and
such. I don't know why anyone would want to see it, but Rob thought
that someone might so I worked it up. Expect it to be updated as I get
new film developed and scanned. I have two new rolls of film shot for
this page and expect to update it within the next few weeks.
Dan
If you would like to receive notices from Aphelion when this
page is
updated, please join our new, revised, automatic mailing list. To
subscribe:
Send a message to
majordomo@america.net with the following in the body
of the
message:
subscribe aphelion <email address>
As always, this mailing list will only be used to notify you
of new
issues and will never be given out to anyone else... 'cause I hate
spam as much as you do!
Help support us by supporting Amazon.Com -- When you buy books and music
from Amazon.com through Aphelion, you help us continue to bring you
the best science fiction and fantasy fiction on the web!
Back Issues:
Instead
of the back issues the banner below now takes you to the Archives-where
all our past stories are available for you to read.
I've
decided to ditch the back issues in favour of the Archives. The
Archives
are easier to use and can be indexed by author or story title.
Hopefully this will ease the task of finding a favourite story. We may
start a page of our past cover art, if there is a call for it. Thanks
for your readership for without you, nothing we do has any meaning.
-
1\21\2000 - A Challenge
to Writers...
