"An Old Fashioned Martian Girl (Part II)" by Mary A. Turzillo
"Trophies and Treasures" by Jerry Oltion and Amy Axt Hanson
"The First Martian" by Joe Schembrie
"Viewschool" by Rajnar Vajra
"Unbound" by Dave Creek

Jerry Oltion and Amy Axt Hanson attempt something which doesn't quite work for a couple of reasons in "Trophies and Treasures." Their Mars is an interesting place, but their view of a displaced nineteenth-century British nobility on the red planet seems a bit contrived. The idea for a race to get to the impact point for water being brought from Saturn's rings is interesting and well done, even if Winthrop Magnus Wellington III is not a particularly likable character. Welly, as he is called, is the other problem. Although Oltion and Hanson change his character over the course of the story, his growth as a human being seems too sudden. Welly's growth and the race would make for a more interesting work if developed at further length and if the authors reworked the social milieu to something different from the English nobility.

While reading "The First Martian" by Joe Schembrie, I was constantly reminded of two other stories, one a Hugo winner and one a Nebula winner. The situation in the story, about the first astronaut to Mars, is reminiscent of Pamela Sargent's Nebula-winning novelette "Danny Goes to Mars," while the astronaut in Schembrie's story, Charlie Swann, is reminiscent of the pre-experimental Charlie Gordon in Daniel Keyes' Hugo-winning short story "Flowers for Algernon." In "The First Martian," Schembrie appears to be aiming for a mixture of situational humor and commentary on the public's need for entertainment. His success in the former, unfortunately, dilutes the success of the latter as the direction the story is going is telegraphed a little too well.

A future form of virtual reality forms the basis of "Viewschool" by Rajnar Vajra. In this story of a teacher who works with a class of six troubled kids, all in widely separated places, Vajra creates a complex, and well handled use of futuristic technology. Where the story fails is in the motive and a denouement which appears to tie up all the loose ends and the kids' difficulties a little too neatly, even as it leaves the fate of one of the students in limbo.

Dave Creek presents a future which appears to be a tyranny under the guise of a democracy in "Unbound." The seemingly slight story is about two officers who have become romantically entangled and the personal consequences of their actions. Although the characters are given the appearance of choice, it is clear that the authority to which they answer is not really giving them a choice and is using them as guinea pigs. Creek raises issues of trust in authority and free will in coercive situations which he does not have time to fully explore in this short piece, but which point to a possible longer, more philosophically rewarding work in the future.