Deep Magic “Treaty’s Imposter” by Marjorie King
Reviewed by Tara Grímravn
Halloween and the fall season are fast approaching. In fact, in just a few short days, the autumnal equinox will be upon us. As befits this time of year when days shorten and nighttime lingers outside our windows, the crew at Deep Magic has chosen to center the five stories in this 66th issue on darker themes.
“Treaty’s Imposter” by Marjorie King
Admiral Esther Levin, commander of the starship Olive Branch, doesn’t quite feel like herself. That is to be expected, of course, considering she’s a 30-day-old clone of the deceased original. As her first assignment, she is tasked with completing negotiations with representatives from Terraform XII for an antidote to a virus ravaging Earth. She just needs to make sure everyone believes that she’s the original Esther, which is easier said than done.
I’ve often heard it said that the “original is always better than a copy.” I’d have to say that’s certainly not the case in King’s story. In this case, the copy—clone Esther—is certainly the better version. Granted, she’s the only one we get to know firsthand, but the bits and pieces we learn about her host, as she calls it, makes me think the original would’ve been an unpleasant character to spend time with. Knowing that clone Esther had only been alive for thirty days, it was really interesting to see her recognize and cope with the differences she saw between herself and the original. I liked the juxtaposition that this provided, this contrast of old patterns of behavior versus new, and the ways in which it affected those around her. Esther’s choice to accept who she is without trying to conform to the behavioral expectations set forth for her, while at the same time understanding that she’d have to introduce these deviations slowly so as to not arouse suspicion, made this story fun to read. As the first tale in the lineup, King’s story is a solid entry into the body of work that is the science fiction genre.
“Forget-Me-Nots for the Potter’s Field” by Wendy Nikel
Eliza has been slumbering, if not peacefully, at least comfortably for a long time. The only time she wakes, even if only for a hazy moment, is when someone acknowledges her weed-choked tombstone, and that’s a rarity. Time and death have taken all memory of who she is, and her past is vague and distant. She only knows that she doesn’t want to remember, even if she could. Now, after more than a hundred years, a visit from a stranger brings it all flowing back to her, memory by painful memory.
This is a lovely story—a tragic tale with a beautiful ending. The mood is somber and gentle, and the plot is born along by a sense of melancholy and regret mingled with hope. While a ghost protagonist is not an unusual thing to find floating about within the hallowed halls of speculative fiction, Eliza is different. She’s not burning with a desire for revenge or with an eye toward unfinished business; neither is she mourning some long-lost love like so many others. Instead, Eliza has willingly forgotten all that she was because of the pain it brings. What makes her so intriguing is the waking to herself that she experiences as a result of Jael’s research.
“Experiments with Time” by Jeremy Essex
In 2058, a group of English scientists has discovered a form of time travel. They’ve constructed a quasi-optic imaging chamber that lets them observe echoes of the past, even interacting with it if they go back far enough. Laura, orphaned as a child and suffering from a debilitating hereditary disease, is unable to be a time operative. Instead, she is relegated to the role of the technician in charge of making sure the others return from their missions in one piece. One evening, she decides to use the chamber to obtain the thing that would cure her—a drop of blood from a living relative. Unfortunately, things don’t go quite as planned.
The concept that Essex devised for this story is rather intriguing. Although time travel is a common trope in the genre, and Essex follows the prescribed formula to a point as far as the consequences of such activities go, I found the explanation for how it works to be unique. I can’t speak to the accuracy of the scientific reasoning given but, for the sake of the story, it’s entirely believable.
The ending, although I liked what the author was going for, is slightly confusing for me, however. What Laura does is an act born of desperation to save her life, not to wipe out her family before they could be born—that much I understand. What is unclear is whether there’s some other darker force at work. Is the shadowy figure rushing at her relatives at the time of their deaths a vengeful spirit seeking justice for the actions of her ancestor Rideon Ashcroft or is it Laura in her black time operative’s uniform trying to save them from dying accidentally? In some places, it seems like the former and then in others, the latter. The discussion of the family curse at the end doesn’t help to clarify this at all. And, too, it had me wondering how any of the curse’s victims had been able to tell anyone of the shadowy figure if they had all dropped dead without warning.
“Weep No More for the Willow” by Wulf Moon
Captain Don Capricho Delgado y Cervantes has spent most of his life on the sea. Today, however, the flotilla he had been sailing with as they left Mayan shores was gone. Chased by supernatural storms, the other ships and those aboard had already fallen victim to angry gods whose temples Capricho and the others had robbed in the name of the King of Spain. When the Wind Howlers catch up with his galleon El Pez Volador, the captain learns that the means of saving his ship and men lies within the sorrow-laden depths of his own heart.
Moon’s tale presents an interesting twist on the mermaid legend, although she seems more akin to a sea goddess than the usual version. Of course, this is fitting for a tale of Spaniards and their ill-gotten gold, recently pillaged from Mayan and Aztec temples, as they flee from angry, protective gods. All in all, I quite enjoyed Moon’s tale of love, loss, and hope.
“Pile of Bones” by Michael J. Sullivan
Twelve-year-old Suri lives in the Crescent Forest with aging mystic Tura and wolf Minna. While out exploring one day, Suri finds a cave behind a waterfall, inside of which is a door. Overwhelmed by curiosity, she opens it and finds a room filled with human bones. Terrified at the sight, she leaves as quickly as she can. Unfortunately for Suri, her intrusion doesn’t go unnoticed.
Sullivan’s story is by far the longest of the lot and is connected to his The Legends of the First Empire epic fantasy series. Having read a few of Sullivan’s novels, this was a nice look at a pair of familiar characters, Suri and Minna, in their youth. I also noticed echoes of various fairy tales in the narrative, including hints of “The Singing Bone,” “The Teeny-Tiny Woman,” and “The Stolen Liver.” Overall, it was a good story.