Aurealis “One Man Army” by Scott Steensma
“Seven Minutes in Heaven” by James Rowland
“The Ambassadors” by A T Sayre
Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf
In this issue, two stories of contact between humans and aliens surround a tale described by the author as magic realism.
The protagonist of “One Man Army” by Scott Steensma negotiates intellectual property rights between Earthlings and extraterrestrials. Her latest assignment is to demand payment from insect-like aliens for unlicensed sequels they have made to a popular series of Twentieth Century movies. Only after the deal is completed does she understand the reason the aliens are interested in the films.
The above synopsis may make this sound like a humorous story, but in fact it is quite serious. Humanity, in a so-called police action, forced the aliens to provide Earth with a valuable substance, in a manner similar to colonialism.
What the aliens learn from the movies is the heart of the story. Astute readers may predict this plot twist long before it is revealed. The protagonist is a complex, interesting character, but one wishes there were more information about a previous negotiation with aliens that left her in despair.
“Seven Minutes in Heaven” by James Rowland takes place in a world dominated by a restrictive sun-worshiping religion. Only during the brief time of an eclipse do people feel free to act as they wish. Some proto-scientists disobey this taboo, and are rejected by the rest of society. Against this background, the plot involves the daughter of a woman who was one such outcast, denied even a proper burial, and what she does during the eclipse.
The premise is an obvious allegory for the oppression some people experience from religion. Specific examples of forbidden behavior practiced during the eclipse, such as same-sex relationships and crossdressing, make this even clearer. How readers react to the story may depend on their religious beliefs.
The text includes one very odd detail, discussed in the author’s afterword as if it were supposed to be of great importance. A character is said to be a herder of clouds. This strange profession is out of place in an otherwise realistic story with an imaginary culture as its sole speculative element.
In “The Ambassadors” by A T Sayre, humanity is about to make first contact with aliens. Sections of the text dealing with the woman assigned to greet the extraterrestrials alternate with flashbacks from centuries previously, showing a space explorer struggling to survive after a crash landing. These two narrative strands come together when the aliens speak to the woman.
This is a solid science fiction story with imaginatively designed aliens. Some readers may be able to predict what the seemingly unrelated flashback sequences have to do with the rest of the plot, but this should not seriously spoil their enjoyment of it.
Victoria Silverwolf was late to work a couple of nights ago.