Lightspeed“The Equations of the Dead” by An Owomoyela
“The Giving One (Part 1)” by Ashok K. Banker
“The Giving One (Part 2)” by Ashok K. Banker
“Complete Exhaustion of the Organism” by Rich Larson
Reviewed by Kevin P Hallett
There are four original stories in Lightspeed’s 131st issue, plus another four previously published stories. Three of the original stories are novelettes.
“The Equations of the Dead” by An Owomoyela
Harmless is not a smart man in this futuristic SF novelette. But his nickname is well deserved, except when he works for the Old Man who just about runs everything on the Moon and is only interested in how he can turn someone’s life into more money.
So when Harmless finds a boy, Latchko, who can talk to the Cloud-AI, the Old Man is interested; which will be very bad for Latchko, and not so good for Harmless.
Complicating matters is Harmless’ belief he has fallen in love with Latchko. But Harmless doesn’t have the smarts to work out what to do, and what advice he does get makes little sense to him.
The story’s dialog was reminiscent of that in A Clockwork Orange, which added an interesting layer of realism. It was an entertaining read that kept its ending well disguised.
“The Giving One (Part 1)” by Ashok K. Banker
The Stonak King visits Jamage, a sage priest, in this fantasy novelette. Jamage lives in isolation with his wife of royal descent and his five sons. When the King plus two hundred men at arms ride up to his house, Jamage knows that the lives of all his family are in dire peril.
At first, he convinces King Arjen that he owns nothing of value, and nor does he know of any enemies passing nearby. Seeing the poorness of the priest, the King is about to let them be. But, on a whim, he has the house searched. Soon the soldiers find Jamage’s sacred cow, and the King decides to have it slaughtered for a meal.
To save his special cow, Jamage invokes a spell to have the cow create a lavish meal. King Arjen is impressed at first, but when he realizes he too can command the cow to produce anything he desires, he takes the cow back to his palace.
This story was slow and repeated itself a few times. The structure was a little scattered and overall gave the impression it was too long.
“The Giving One (Part 2)” by Ashok K. Banker
This fantasy novelette continues Banker’s story about Jamarg and the King stealing his special cow. Jamarg’s youngest son, Parsh, hears of the theft and sets off for Stonak City to reclaim the cow and avenge the insults against his father.
The Stonak warriors are mean and oppressive to the people they rule. But Parsh is armed with a magical ax given to him by the God Vish. As he approaches the city, warriors confront him, thinking him to be a simple boy-priest. The misjudgment costs the warriors their lives.
At the city gates, the guards again try to stop him. And after killing them, Parsh sends out a challenge to King Arjen to return the cow, or he would kill every Stonak in the city.
When the King meets him at the gate, a new battle begins. And Parsh discovers that the King has some special abilities himself.
The second part of the story was structured better and set in the style of an Indian tale.
“Complete Exhaustion of the Organism” by Rich Larson
Jain and Stromile walk across a dried-up seafloor in this SF short set on a post-apocalyptic Earth. As they stroll toward a stranded tanker, mysterious watchers provide what they need the most.
But when they find a baby in a pink canister, Jain is suspicious and refuses to open the cylinder. She convinces Stromile to walk on. Each morning, the container reappears. Stromile alone wants to take the baby, claiming it looks like his brother.
Finally, Jain gives in, and they take the baby. Within a day, the baby can walk. In a few more days, it can run, play, and even talk. As the baby grows, so does Stromile’s cough, and he gets weaker.
The author’s prose was strong, and coupled with the plot made it hard to put down. Don’t read this if you want a happy ending, but do read it if you wish to engage your imagination.