Aurealis #94

By Michael Pryor (Editor)

Aurealis #94 is a very special issue, with top quality fiction from Emilie Collyer, Matthew R Ward and Jen White, stories that range from the poignant to the rambunctious and back again. Look out, too, for insightful non-fiction, with Lachlan Walter on Climate Change Fiction and Gillian Polack’s exploration of the work of Mary Elwyn Patchett. Plus reviews, laughs and more. Aurealis #94—found in all good homes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Chimaera Publications
• Release date: Sep 5, 2016
• ISBN: 9781922031501

Book preview

AUREALIS #94

Australian Fantasy & Science Fiction

Edited by Michael Pryor

Published by Chimaera Publications at Smashwords

Copyright of this compilation Chimaera Publications 2016

Copyright on each story remains with the contributor.

EPUB version ISBN 978-1-922031-50-1

ISSN 2200-307X (electronic)

CHIMAERA PUBLICATIONS

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the authors, editors and artists.

Hard copy back issues of Aurealis can be obtained from the Aurealis website: www.aurealis.com.au

Contents

From the Cloud—Michael Pryor

Danger to Society—Emilie Collyer

Surfing Time—Matthew R Ward

The Least of Things—Jen White

Apocalypse Soon-ish: Is Climate fiction the New Black?—Lachlan Walter

Brumby Adventures in Space: the Science Fiction of Mary Elwyn Patchett—Gillian Polack

Secret History of Australia—Andrew Cloons—Researched by Stephen Higgins

Reviews

Next Issue

Credits

From the Cloud

Michael Pryor

In past editorials, we’ve discussed the sorts of stories that we’ve seen too much of. Time, now, to give potential authors a line on the sorts of stories Aurealis hasn’t seen enough of over twenty-five years.

Pets in space. Self-explanatory, really.

The importance of sewage and water treatment in Fantasy cities.

Alien invasions where the aliens turn out to be performance artists.

Steampunk that really focusses on kettles.

Childcare. In both Fantasy and Science Fiction.

Some out there cross-genre stuff. Horror/cookbook, for instance. Or Self Help/Fantasy.

Inversions. Instead of the Hero’s Journey, what about The Hero Stays At Home And Does Much Needed Maintenance Around the House?

Join the Dots, but in a mature, adult, Fantasy/SF way.

Lesser known crafts being part of magic. Lace-making, for instance. Or tie dying.

Heroic editors editing an independent Speculative Magazine for more than two decades. Could definitely enjoy one of those.

All the best from the cloud.

Michael Pryor

Back to Contents

Danger to Society

Emilie Collyer

‘This is Cat Zenith, about to step outside for my very own Moon landing. One small step for woman. One giant leap in these awesome red boots—check these babies out!’

Cat moved her palm camera down to capture her boots, then back up to her face. She did a quick thumbs-up before securing her helmet. There was no need to land on the actual surface of course. They could have docked at the GAF landing bay. But Cat knew what made good television. Her suit was by Gaultier Galactic and looked fabulous. They touched down at the Sea of Tranquillity, not far from where the first manned moon landing had taken place the previous century.

‘I have to say those words,’ Cat had told her executive producer Mitch when planning the trip, ‘it’s a no brainer.’

‘Suitable for our audience then,’ was the dry response.

The helmet-cam captured the barren beauty of the landscape, soft grey light and sculptural surfaces. Cat kept quiet as she walked from the space craft to the waiting buggy. Moon dust puffed in clouds around her red boots and white suit.

A few metres from the buggy she stopped and turned back. Her footprints snaked a lazy zig-zag. A memory pinged. All those times as a kid, camping with her mother. How Cat had loathed camping—dirty, uncomfortable and cold. The only thing that soothed her was night time, lying on the ground, looking up at the moon. ‘Now that’s where I want to go on holiday,’ she’d say and her mother would laugh. ‘That just might happen in your life time bub. You know we’re star dust anyway. We came from out there, we just can’t remember it. We’re all connected.’ That poem she loved to quote: ‘For every atom belonging to me, as good belongs to you.’ And Cat’s eye rolling response: ‘Yeah Mum, whatever.’ Her chest throbbed. She hadn’t thought of that in years.

‘You ready Ms Zenith?’

They’d arrived at the buggy. Cat reversed the helmet cam and focussed the shot to get a close up of her face through the visor. Tears welling in her eyes would add at least another couple of thousand popularity points to the broadcast.

* * *

The welcome lounge was true to its name. Warm light, furniture as comfortable as it was elegant, picture window that gave view to an undulating lunar mountain range.

Cat sipped her lemon tea.

‘We were reluctant, initially, to permit this.’

The woman sitting opposite Cat wore a black jumpsuit, deceptively casual, but of such beautiful quality and cut Cat knew it would have cost a fortune. Her name was Robyn Ash. She was the executive director of GAF.

‘As you can imagine, it’s a trying time for our staff. Warden Tyrell was very much respected. His death is a great loss. The fact that he was murdered, so audaciously, by one of the inmates he had dedicated his life to serving, is a travesty.’

The words flowed like warm honey. Cat had interviewed thousands of celebrities in her time. She knew the whiff of false grief. This woman was good, just the right amount of pathos in her tone. Robyn Ash didn’t give two shits about dead Warden Tyrell but she knew what story she wanted to spin.

‘Well we are very grateful,’ Cat leaned forward, turned on her warmest smile. ‘Our viewers are excited. There’s been so much talk about the Global Apprehension Facility. Such a brilliant solution for the remand and incarceration of society’s most dangerous criminals. And now the world’s first ever execution via banishment into space.’

Ash smiled like a lizard.

‘We didn’t want a media circus,’ she said, ‘but we want to send a very clear message to those who refuse to abide by humanity’s standards. This inmate stands accused of a train bombing that killed 156 innocent people. She has refused to cooperate with questioning. She murdered Warden Tyrell in cold blood. A calculated act we can only assume stemmed from her frustration at having been caught and held in detention.’

‘Will there be any family present at tomorrow’s banishment?’

‘GAF operates under new global deterrent and confinement agreements. Until such time as inmates cooperate, they have their name and all family contact rights withheld. This inmate has not cooperated. The crime she is now charged with has been tried via international agreement here on these premises. She will not have any privileges restored.’

Ash ran her eyes over Cat head to toe. Blink and you’d miss it, but Cat didn’t. High status bordering on sociopathic, designed to unsettle and assert power.

‘We had hundreds of news networks vying to cover this event. 24ENT was selected. We believe that your… work,’ like the word hurt her mouth to utter, ‘in particular Ms Zenith, can deliver this story to the general public in the most appropriate way.’

Finishing off with a beautiful back-handed compliment. Robyn Ash clearly meant GAF was counting on a puff piece that would sensationalise the story, paint the murdering criminal in a heinous light and whip up a frenzy of