The Fifth Di... June 2019

By J Alan Erwine

After more than 20 years of continuous publication, the June issue of The Fifth Di... will be the final issue. In this issue, you’ll find fiction from Robert N. Stephenson, Lawrence Buentello, Jeffery Scott Sims, Kendall Evans, and J Alan Erwine.
So, join us for one final trip into The Fifth Di...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nomadic Delirium Press
• Release date: Jun 12, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463095225

J Alan Erwine

J Erwine was born Oct. 15, 1969 in Akron, Ohio. Early in his life he was exposed to science, and specifically astronomy. From there on, J's passion turned to science fiction, a passion that's never died. Due to family issues, J eventually found himself in Denver, Colorado, where he still lives (well, right outside now.) From the time he could put subject and predicate together on paper, J has been writing stories. None of those early stories exist anymore (thankfully), but that passion for writing has never waned. After several years of rejection, the story Trek for Life was eventually sold to ProMart Writing Lab editor James Baker. It wasn't Asimov's, but it was a start. Since that time J has sold more than forty short stories to various small press publishers. In addition ProMart also published a short story collection of J's entitled Lowering One's Self Before Fate, and other stories, which is still available. ProMart also published a novel from J entitled The Opium of the People, which sold a few copies before going out of print. The relevance of the novel after the events of September 11th caused J to self-publish the novel, as he felt the story had a lot to say in the new reality we now find ourselves living in. Now, this same book has been re-released by Nomadic Delirium Press. Eventually J would become an editor with ProMart. Then, after the untimely death of ProMart editor James Baker, J would move on to ProMart's successor Sam's Dot Publishing. J also spends most of his time working as a freelance writer and editor. J's novel was voted a top ten finisher in the 2003 annual Preditors & Editors contest, and his short story The Galton Principle won a ProMart contest for best story over 5,000 words. In addition, a number of his stories have been voted "best of" in various issue of The Martian Wave and The Fifth DI… and have been included in Wondrous Web Worlds Vols. 2, 3, 4, and 6. In 2009, the Ephemeris Role Playing Game was released. J is the co-creator of this game, and has written numerous supplements for the game. J has now sold three novels and four short story collections, all of which are still available from various sources, including Smashwords. J currently lives with his amazing wife, three wonderful children, three cats, and a very quiet turtle.

Book preview

THE FIFTH DI…

June 2019

Edited by J Alan Erwine

Published by Nomadic Delirium Press at Smashwords

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 person. 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 this author.

Copyright 2019 by Nomadic Delirium Press

All stories are copyrighted in the names of their respective authors

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any informational storage and retrieval system, without the written consent of the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passes in connection with a review written for inclusion in a magazine, newspaper, broadcast, etc.

Nomadic Delirium Press

Aurora, Colorado

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Editor’s Final Introduction

Phases of Dreaming by Robert N. Stephenson

Future Tense by Lawrence Buentello

Comes the New World by Jeffery Scott Sims

Gun Play in the High Sierras or The Legend of Diamond Joe by Kendall Evans

All’s Well by J Alan Erwine

Editor’s Final Introduction

For more than 20 years, I have been editing this little magazine, and with this issue, that amazing run comes to an end. When I first got into the publishing business, it was to be a writer, nothing more. As time went on, I started doing more and more things in the publishing world, and I’ve enjoyed all of them, but my family comes first, and so at the end of last year, I took a promotion at my real job…it was either this, or we would have ended up homeless. As a result of that promotion, I now have very little free time.

There was one day when I was talking to my youngest two daughters about never giving up on their dreams. I told them about the struggles George Lucas had in getting Star Wars off the ground, and I told them about how much trouble J.K. Rowling had in getting Harry Potter published, trying to get the point across to them that if they really believe in something, then they should pursue that dream, no matter what. I kept thinking about that conversation for days, and I finally realized that what I had told them should be true for me as well. After talking it over with my amazing wife, I finally decided that I needed to cut down on most of my editorial work so that I could pursue my real dream…writing.

The magazines that Nomadic Delirium Press produces took up most of my time, so I finally, and reluctantly, decided that I had to close them, so this is the final issue of The Fifth Di…

These last 20+ years have been an amazing run. I’ve seen so many authors that I’ve published go on to bigger things, even some Hugo and Nebula nominations. I’ve seen many changes, good and bad, in the publishing industry. I’ve helped discover many new writers, and I’ve had a really good time.

This decision was not easy, as I will really miss my interactions with the writers and the readers, but sometimes, you have to do what is best for yourself.

So, I’m closing the door on The Fifth Di…, but I will still be doing some editing for Nomadic Delirium Press, and I will be doing a great deal of writing starting this fall, so I’m not going away…

Phases of Dreaming

By Robert N. Stephenson

It’s the dreamers, Marcelo said placing his hand against the wall. The pale blue glass was cold and welcomed his touch and his linking. Blue was for confusion. The AI rarely showed blue in his presence. His lack of solution wasn’t going to help.

They have seen? The AI’s response vibrated through the wall, creating a haptic response to enable access to Marcelo’s mind on a physical as well as psychological level. Did you see? Did you see what is blocking the dreams?

There are clouds, lots of clouds. The dreamers see little and it causes concern. Marcelo said. I cannot detect the Dreamers anymore. All I see is the cloud.

I too have observed the apparition, and I was hoping the Five would know more. You were sent to know more? Have you nothing for me? The AI needed dreams more than humans. For humans simply ordered their lives in visual representations during sleep, the AI needed them to understand humankind, to feel for the people it was to protect.

The Five, the outward human government were to interpret the meaning of the AI’s world governance. Sometimes to act on its behalf when requested. But the Five had fallen silent as well as the Dreamers. He wondered where they were, and why they hadn’t been in contact. They would want to know what he experienced as much as the intelligence.

Marcelo pressed his other hand to the smooth glass wall, feeling the thrum of life and the vibration of interaction. It was unusual to feel anything through the walls. He wondered then didn’t care, the AI needed answers and he didn’t have them. He needed no connection via this method, but he thought the AI appreciated physical touch just as much as humans. He had been away from humanity too long, been in space for a year and wondered why he remembered so little of the journey. He felt glad to be back on the Earth, under the weight of real gravity but the realisation he had failed pressed on him. The Dreamers were silent; the Five were silent. It had to be the cloud in space between the Earth and Mars. He could think of nothing else; he was supposed to think of nothing else.

What did he see? He shuddered at the emptiness in his chest. Marcelo, placing his forehead against the cool, smooth glass, wished he could organise the thoughts of the AI through his dreaming and give it the empathy maths could not project. He was supposed to be the answer to what was out there and all he