Aurealis #78, March 2015Reviewed by Colleen Chen
“Discarded Pieces,” by David Coleman, is the story of a woman who is the sole survivor of an attack on a cargo freighter in space. Floating in a life-suit with artificial intelligence, she can stay alive for some time—the life-suit provides whatever food and ambiance she needs, and can put her in stasis to extend her life-span. With no rescue in sight for years on end, and with the nearest star three light-years away—which translates to 10,000 years of normal space speed travel—she tries to make the best of a really rotten lack of choices.
This story is short but powerful. It’s kind of Twilight-Zone-esque–confronting the reader with an idea so horrible–of being trapped 10,000 years away from the nearest possible other life, without even a guarantee that any exists–that it’s surreal. The characters are ones we’ll identify with–the protagonist is resourceful and resilient even in the face of impossible odds, and the AI of the life-suit is about as nurturing and kind as a life-suit could be. I found it deeply touching–about the best part of humanity emerging even when confronted by a long-drawn-out, lonely, and almost-certain death.
In “Enfolded,” by J. Michael Melican, Jack’s brother Joey is in trouble. He’s in debt to a mob–and a strange one at that, with a slick, handsome young boss with a couple of yellow-eyed, sharp-toothed henchmen doing his dirty work. Jack, with a special power to “fold” things into other dimensions–to make them so small they disappear, or so big they consume everything–tries to negotiate Joey’s debt. The boss offers to trade Joey’s debt for a favor, to steal something from a bank. Jack knows that it’s not such a simple offer, and he tries to balance protecting his brother with protecting himself from getting in too deep with this sinister man with a special and very dangerous power of his own.
This is a smart, tense story with an interesting premise. I found all the characters annoying, though—particularly Joey, who sounds like a greasy good-for-nothing, and Jack, whose power makes him a little too perfect and invulnerable. The mob boss made me think too much of Agent Smith in The Matrix. Still, it was a satisfying read with great action and an ending that made me feel good.