One year old. Man, kids are weird. And kinda ugly too. My sister had a baby a couple months ago, named it Elspeth, which I'm all for, seeing as how I didn't get made fun of for my name in school at all. Nope.
Seriously, though, born March 30, 2007, exactly 17 years to the day after the first live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie.
Imagine what lives the kids who are born today will lead. Computers will be intrisic to their existence, not just the growing trend. Will they ever even see a paper library card (you know, the ones in the backs of books?) They'll be listening to music that will probably be incomprehensible to us. Movies . . . just imagine how CGI and digital cameras will change the very way movies look, and possibly, are viewed. Video games . . . I mean, the Wii is pretty sweet, but imagine 17 years of gaming evolution.
I"m getting dizzy just thinking of how the day-to-day lives of kids are going to change. When this girl graduates high school, there will still be wars, cars, rebels, drunken teenagers and (hopefully) Atomjack. But the backdrop for those drunken idiots . . .
This issue, we've got some great stories, and coincidentally, some of them deal with children. In "Across the River" by Dianne Rees, a man deals with the loss of his sister, not made easier by the fact that he can see her every day. "Learning Magic From Mint" by Caval Terrill asks a little boy what he's willing to do to learn magic. "Run Just a Little Bit Harder" is the story of an ambulance worker for a highway so crowded, they have to fly in support. "Stainless Steel" by Robert Eggleton follows a little girl as she schemes to kill her father, with the help of Lacy Dawn, the savior of the universe. "Outsourcing Blues" by Richard Farnsworth follows an IT consultant into her worst nightmare. And a great Schleck the Mercernary comic, as well as the wonderful artwork above by Adam Noble.
Also included in this issue: a review of Austin Grossman's new novel Soon I Will Be Invincible, and an interview with SF author Bart Stewart.
P.S. And if I ever find out that you called my kid ugly, I'll beat you senseless with a kendo sword.
And in lieu of payment, Richard Farnsworth opted to have his payment donated to a charity for a neurological disorder. I chose Rally 4 Autism. Join Richard (and the artist from issue 6, Lynsey McCough) and Atomjack in supporting the cause.
NEWS!!! Susurrus Press is publishing an online anthology I AM THIS MEAT. Submissions are now being accepted.
NEWS!! Submissions are still being accepted for the Atomjack SF contest. Submit!
NEWS! Multiple exclamation points used in writing announced as sign of possible megalomania!
