Sci Phi Journal, Summer 2024/2

“Don’t Look!” by Larry Hodges

“Dracula In The Looking Glass” by Don Mark Baldridge

“For The Sake Of The Mission” by Andreas Flögel

“Lethe” by Eli Sclar

“Olympia” by Gheorghe Săsărman

“They Are Among Us” by Bernardo Fernández

“Alog” by Roberto González-Quevedo

“The Archive” by Bob Johnston

“The Perfect Heart” by Humphrey Price

“Selves Of An Inflection Moment” by David R. Rowley

“Human Processing Unit” by David W. Kastner

“The Right Answer” by Cliff Gale

“Test of Time” by J. Z. A. Wallis

Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf

Thirteen works of fiction, mostly quite short, appear in this issue, including three newly translated stories.

“Don’t Look!” by Larry Hodges is narrated by a powerful computer. Its user gives it a program that causes it to feel emotions, with disastrous results.

The mood is that of very dark humor, as the computer experiences various emotions and reacts to them in logical but dangerous ways. More of a fully developed story than other pieces in the magazine, this cautionary tale causes the reader to ponder the hazardous power of emotion.

“Dracula In The Looking Glass” by Don Mark Baldridge considers not only vampires and mirrors, but other supernatural beings and objects. Only one page long, this plotless work is more of a meditative prose poem than a story.

In “For The Sake Of The Mission” by Andreas Flögel, deadly machines of unknown origin invade a generation starship, attacking and killing the passengers and crew. The protagonist discovers their true nature.

This story depends entirely on its twist ending, which some readers may predict. In particular, it reminds me of an episode of the original Outer Limits television series.

The mythical river mentioned in the title of “Lethe” by Eli Sclar appears on Earth, causing all those who enter it to lose their memories. Faced with the crisis of a population of amnesiacs, as well as hordes of pilgrims seeking to erase their memories, those who avoided the river ponder what to do.

The premise is an interesting one, and the problem of dealing with multiple amnesiacs might be seen as an allegory for dealing with dementia. The idea that many people would be eager to lose their memories is provocative, if not very plausible.

“Olympia” by Gheorghe Săsărman is translated from Romanian by Monica Cure. The inhabitants of an ancient Greek city set out to destroy statues of the gods, with unexpected results. The climax of this brief tale provides a touch of irony, but is hardly surprising.

“They Are Among Us” by Bernardo Fernández is translated from Spanish by Adan Jimenez. The bulk of the text consists of a pamphlet claiming that the government and journalists are covering up the existence of aliens. The final page describes the reaction of the conspirators to this revelation.

Much of this will be familiar from tabloids and fiction dealing with UFO’s. The story has one original twist, but it seems out of place.

Not much more than one hundred words long, “Alog” by Roberto González–Quevedo is translated from Spanish by Álvaro Piñero González. It relates how the character named in the title witnesses his people destroyed by invaders.

An introductory note that is much longer than the story itself explains how the author creates a fantasy world in a few words. That may be an admirable exercise in efficiency, but it renders the conclusion confusing.

In “The Archive” by Bob Johnston, a woman carries a Gutenberg Bible to a storage place on a distant planet. The implication is that wars on Earth have led to the mass destruction of books. She hopes those who will care for the volume will understand its true worth.

The author appears to be saying something about the value of information, as well as the difference between Holy Writ and its physical form. I have to admit that I did not fully understand what the story was telling me.

The narrator of “The Perfect Heart” by Humphrey Price seeks to obtain a lab-grown human heart for his grandmother, who desperately needs a new one. The quest for the perfect donor takes an unexpected form.

This is an unusual combination of science fiction and religious fantasy. Persons of faith are likely to find the premise questionable, or even blasphemous. Suffice to say that the plot depends on a specific aspect of Catholic theology which is not found in Protestantism.

“Selves Of An Inflection Moment” by David R. Rowley takes the form of a debate among aliens as to what should be done about visitors from another world, apparently Earth. The new arrivals take more than they need of the planet’s resources, due to a difference in how they perceive their selves.

The philosophical premise of this story is unique, if a bit difficult to comprehend. The aliens seem to consider their past and future selves as different beings. I am probably explaining the idea badly, but even so I had to wonder how aliens of this type could possibly have a debate.

The title of “Human Processing Unit” by David W. Kastner refers to a man whose job is to allow a super-computer to use his brain, along with those of many other people, in its calculations. While at work, he experiences pleasant dreams of the past as the machine uses his brain. A glitch gives him a terrifying vision of the computer’s calculations.

This story might be considered cyberpunk, although it lacks the streetwise grittiness often found in that genre. There is an ominous sense of inevitable doom that is made more powerful by the calm narrative style.

In “The Right Answer” by Cliff Gale, a professor asks all his students to define infinite thought. When one of them comes up with an appropriate response, an extraordinary transformation occurs.

I found the so-called right answer to be so much gobbledygook, which may be deliberate. In any case, what happens when it is spoken comes out of nowhere.

“Test of Time” by J. Z. A. Wallis deals with a box that produces extraordinary music from no obvious source. Legend says that it was created by an angel traveling through time.

One aspect of this story reduces an intriguing premise into a trivial joke. Without giving too much away, it involves modern pop culture.

Victoria Silverwolf had to arrive at work early today.