Prepare …

… for a voyage of speculation through future worlds and distant galaxies, via stories shaped by the imaginations of nine authors with diverse voices.

Envision: Future Fiction, by Kathy Steinemann

Also featuring stories by John Bryant, Michael Donoghue, M. K. French, Laura Alexandra Hunter, Rubin Johnson, Kip McKnight, Michael Siciliano, Luke Walters, and foreword by Katie Stephens

Buckle your flightbelt and prepare for an unprecedented voyage of speculation through future worlds and distant galaxies. Be careful if you choose Pod Class, though. It provides only recycled tubes for your orifices, although we’re equipped with the best monitoring equipment, including state-of-the-art Stabilization of Life Units.

Our journey will circumvent that brown, scabbed planet with a single oasis of green over there. Zeta Sector is off limits as well.

Settle back in your seat and enjoy our selection of entertainment on your holovid while we enter the Envision Zone.

Envision: Future Fiction will transport you through universes of possibilities, probabilities, and what-ifs. Some of the pieces are presented in experimental formats like memory cards, training manuals, or instruction sheets.

Can you imagine what would happen if androids learned emotion? Could an AI develop dignity? Could it learn to forgive? Five of the stories in Envision explore android or AI interactions with humans.

What does it take to win the Model Citizen Medal or to qualify for a Procreative License? Careful! It might not be as simple as you expect.

Why do transitioners feel that there is a higher purpose in dying? Is population control a good thing, or could it have unexpected repercussions? In a world without fertility clinics, why would men leave sperm samples with The Ministry? Do aliens live among us? And if they do, what are their intentions?

What would a parent do if their child began to display the dreaded symptoms of creativity in an artless world bereft of painters, singers, and dancers? How might a man react if he could tap into all the knowledge of the Internet, wireless networks, and media broadcasts? Would he embrace his aberration?

Are humans the blight of the universe, destroying every celestial body they touch, like schoolyard bullies? Or are they so insignificant that they leave no trace when they become extinct — except, perhaps, for garbage?

Envision: Future Fiction will entertain you with humor and horror, love and hate, desperation and hope — shaped by the imaginations of nine authors with diverse voices.

Story Summaries

“Artifice”

A centuries-old iPhone is discovered in a Norse cooking pot. A Viking thumb ring is found in a cave. Has someone devised a way to skew the radiocarbon dating process?

“The Ministry of Procreation”

Arthur struggles to find meaning in a world where everyone lives forever, until he finds a way to circumvent the government’s One-In/One-Out policy.

“Serve and Protect”

Chad finds himself drawn to a homeless street performer. He wonders how it would feel to sleep on the street, with no responsibilities, no boss. Will he be ready for the answer?

“Salvation”

The last of her kind, a child provides an infinitely destructive being with the chance for salvation.

“The Persistence of Silica”

Rendarron searches for a relic to add to his Galaxy MW-310 collection. Will he find anything on this uninhabited planet? A building? A cooking utensil? A vehicle?

“Evolution”

Nineteen-year-old Walt is forced to reconsider his views on artificial intelligence when Molly, an android maid, claims she’s a slave.

“Unknown Scyphozoa”

A marine biologist encounters a new species on the California coast. A scyphozoa, perhaps? Its container bursts, and she tries to rescue it before it hits the floor.

“Settlement Standards”

Prospective Earth settlers receive a training booklet that covers the three S’s: Social Conscience, Sentelligence, and Size. How would humans stack up to the standards?

“What Comes After”

Communication with researchers on planet Neuro has gone silent, and a Rescue Specialist must find out why. What he discovers threatens to unravel his sanity.

“Alien Irony”

Entymox is disgusted when he encounters an ugly Category-M planet with conditions unsuitable for his pupae. He will have to attack the inhabitants in order to survive.

“Artless”

Imagine this: Imagination is not allowed here. Creativity? In this Artless world, it’s considered an illness. What will happen to Enzo, who yearns to create?

“Unwired”

Medications, psychoanalysis, a vacation: nothing works to clear the noise in Dale’s head. His psychiatrist says he’s not crazy, but he’s not so sure. Why does he hear voices?

“The Demise of Great Expectations”

Greg, a brilliant AI developer is facing financial ruin. He’s got one shot to turn things around. But his creation has other plans.

“Easy As”

A pickpocket steals a gadget that changes his life. He’s confident he and the new contraption are going to be good buds after he discovers its unusual power.

“You Bet Your Life”

Medical technology introduced in the southern California town of Mayberry shows you’re not always better off winning, especially if you bet your life.

“Home”

Betti remembers everything that happens at work, but parts of her personal life remain inaccessible, as though someone has wiped them clean with a magic wand.

“Memory Card”

One of the tenants drops a memory card down by the mailboxes. Nice abs. Well-endowed. But that ugly green skin and forked tongue. Ew.

“The Perils of Traveling Interplanetary Pod Class”

Think air travel’s bad now? Is that passenger next to you a pain? Read what it’s like in the 23rd century. It doesn’t get better.

“Minus”

Benjamin invents the ultimate camera. Is it time to tell the world, or should he keep it a secret? No. Not yet. Just one final test. He’ll get rid of his blasted bifocals first.

“Newton’s Second Law”

Muriel activates her holovid transmitter in the wee hours to call her friend Suzanne. She just got married, so why is she crying? She tells a story that leaves her friend confused.

“Quid Pro Quo”

Brandie sees a movement in the closet. A mouse? She hates mice almost as much as she dreads the dark. No, not a mouse. It’s a strange being who needs her help.

“Sanitation Protocols”

Aliens must protect themselves, especially the young and elderly. They develop protocols for preventing parasitic infections, and removing them when sterilization attempts fail.

“Window Washers”

IsoZap and GyroKat are more than window washers. Turns out they harbor secrets that could change the world and take down the Extraterrestrial Search Project.

“Square-Fare”

Square-Fare eggs are worth the tiny extra you pay: long shelf life, healthy orange yolks, zero cholesterol. Delicious and nutritious. Why raise chickens anymore?

“Still Here”

Charmaine disappears from the transporter transmission unit but doesn’t reappear as expected on the receiving platform. What will her fellow scientists do to get her back?

“Competing for Kallista”

Polygamy becomes the societal norm in a world with 2.67 times as many males as females. But how would you like to be one of three husbands? Wodge has a plan.

“Fluxxatron Malfunction”

A boat capsizes, leaving Samantha adrift in the ocean. She is drawn down, down into the water. When she regains consciousness, she discovers that her world has changed.

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