Mundanities Issue 2

By J Alan Erwine

Many think that Mundane Science Fiction must mean boring science fiction, but this is far from the truth. Mundane SF simply means science fiction based on real science, and that’s what you will find here in the second issue of Mundanities...stories that will intrigue and entertain you as much as any story with hyperdrives and aliens.
So, sit back and enjoy the five stories being offered by Mundanities: The Zine of Mundane Science Fiction, Issue 2.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nomadic Delirium Press
• Release date: Aug 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781370447534

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

Mundanities

The zine of mundane science fiction

Issue 2

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

Casa Padre by Daniel C. Smith

The Sleeper Agent by Lisa Timpf

But Wait! There’s More! By Rebecca Linam

Blue Laws by Robert E. Porter

Such People by Eamonn Murphy

Casa Padre

By Daniel C. Smith

Three and a half hours— I added it all up once, and it’s three and a half hours on average, per piece. In chess, two players have sixteen pieces each, for a total of thirty-two. I carved each piece out of soap, using a straightened paper-clip and a penny with a sharpened edge, working in the late hours of the night between the guards making their rounds with only a thin sliver of moon beam sneaking in through one of the upper windows where the duct tape has peeled back. So— thirty-two times three-and a half— it comes out to a hundred and twelve hours. Not that I ever got to work continuously— ten minutes here, five minutes there, until I reached six thousand, seven hundred and twenty minutes, or a hundred and twelve hours. Some pieces took more time of course— that’s why I said ‘average’. Queens, maybe six hours. Kings, even longer. I take a lot of pride in my work. Pawns only took about an hour and a half, still, it pissed me off watching the Professor trying to squeeze its poor head, trying to shape it into a Bishop so he could cheat. The old boy had never cheated before, so I knew something wasn’t right. I hoped he wasn’t starting to lose it— that somehow, he’d be able to keep it together. That’s the worst part about sharing a cage with someone— whatever shit they’re going through; they’re going to drag you right along. I said cage instead of cell for a reason; we’re prisoners alright, just not in a regular prison. There’s too many of us for those— the government eminent domained almost every empty super-store and hollowed out factory and run-down school building in the country (there were certainly plenty of each of those by then). And then they filled them up with us, keeping us separated in dog pens, just like the one my parents had bought for our Border collie and never used because we didn’t have the heart to keep her outside, locked up like an—

I blame the Mexican’s, Jason, the old man uttered.

I bit. Pretty racist statement for such an educated man, professor. Besides, take a look around— how many Mexican’s have you seen in here lately?

Four rows over, three pens up…

I thought so too, Doc, but I asked around and turns out they’re from the Reservation in North Dakota— so how do you like them apples?

Yeah— how long since I’ve seen any Mexican’s? Where’d they all go?

He moved his ‘Bishop’ and said, Hmmphh.

I decided to let his third Bishop on the board slide. Last thing I wanted was him getting the guards attention. That never ends well for anyone ‘cept the guards. I kept playing, but I was really trying to figure out what the professor had done to wind up in here, in Father’s House?

Me? Jason Clarke? I couldn’t keep myself steadily employed— not much work for a carpenter these days no one’s building much of anything— and then the drinking. I hardly ever drank when I worked full time, but when the work dried up, I started soaking up the booze like a sponge. And like