Issue 33

NewMyths.com

A quarterly ezine by a community of writers, poets and artists.

Issue 33, December 2015

Dear Readers,

"Naturally, she turned Mike into a dog."

How could anyone resist an opening like that? Dog stories have traditionally been the most popular here on NewMyths.com, and I expect nothing less from the irresistible "Naturally," by Rebecca Schwarz.

While I hate to single out specific pieces, in addition to "Naturally," I can't resist steering you towards "The Girl With No Name" by Travis Heermann. Travis's Ronin series of novels, set in medieval Japan, has just concluded with Spirit of the Ronin. "The Girl With No Name" has the same thoughtful but action-packed plotting as his novels.

It's a great place to start if you are considering getting purchasing his series.

This issue is edited by Marta Tanrikulu. Enjoy.

Enjoy,

Scott T. Barnes, Editor

This December issue brings together tales of soulmates and survival, betrayal and redemption, and the cycle of life and death on our and other worlds. Characters drawn from Navajo, Japanese, and European folklore join magicians, space explorers, super soldiers and gun-wielding androids. They range from a student in "The Girl With No Name" who avoids getting her illegal Filipina mother in trouble with a Fukuoka gang to a greedy nephew in "The Thimble Thieves of Villa Dolores" who's out to steal an heirloom from the family hacienda. Missions go awry for soldiers in "Project: Terminated" who are fighting a losing battle with both enemies and their own team in Afghanistan, and for explorers in "Mission to Pluto" who encounter a cold alien presence.

Complementing these stories are nonfiction articles on ancient symbols, communication with aliens, and the influence of science fiction on the military, in addition to magical and otherworldly poetry in keeping with the winter season. I hope you'll enjoy the issue as much as I've enjoyed bringing it together.

-Marta Tanrikulu

Table of Contents

Fiction

Project: Terminated by Sara Dobie Bauer

Sasha’s team didn’t have a name, not like in comic books. There was just good versus bad; United States versus… others. The roadside bomb was unforeseen, even for Tobin, but foresight wasn’t his gift. He couldn’t sense explosives. He sensed feelings, intent. He worked as a human lie detector for Sasha, but he healed people, too, and made people stronger.

Coyote and the Sky Door by Anj Dockrey

It was a moonless night that Jonah traveled a nameless highway. The desert stretched pale on either side of the weathered asphalt within the conical arc of his headlights, and all beyond that was darkness. The government hadn’t bothered with streetlamps out here, or even reflectors. There were no billboards or signs, and all Jonah knew was that he was somewhere north of Mexico

The Sandman’s Lover by Sarina Dorie

I checked the address on my scroll as I floated through the wall of the orphanage, incorporeal and invisible to humans. The elegant curving script on my parchment said my clients imbibed Mountain Dew before bedtime. The group of preteen girls chattering away in the corner yawned and became droopy-eyed as I approached. Had I chosen to be visible, I would have scared them with my long, brown robes, and my face obscured like some kind of reaper.

The Girl with No Name by Travis Heermann

The two thugs lounged near the north entrance of Hakata Station as if waiting for something, their hair fluffed and spiked like anime characters, wearing sunglasses at 11:20 p.m. on a Wednesday night, sleeves of their stylish leather jackets rolled up to the elbows. Their arrogance and disdain clung to them like a stench, and it turned Ana's stomach.

Naturally by Rebecca Schwarz

Naturally, she turned Mike into a dog. It was the only way their relationship would ever work, and it had the added bonus that he would be immune from prosecution. He meant well, but he was always in trouble with the law for bullshit stuff; petty theft, DUI, warrants for unpaid tickets.

The Thimble Thieves of Villa Dolores by Doug Tierney

It was in the third term of Major Farozo, a hero of the Malvinas, as mayor of Villa Dolores when young Jan Niklas Rey decided to steal the thimble from his ancient and hook-nosed Uncle Klaus. In those days, the only policeman in the town, Teodor Guzman, was so fat and corrupt, a rich man could steal an apple from the mouth of a starving child, and Teodor would throw the child in jail for leaving his spit on the rich man’s apple.

Flash Fiction

Songs of Rotting Petals, Dances of Wilting Leaves by Jamie Lackey

Its flexible stems support. Its stiff stems lift. Over and over and over. The rough bags are heavy, and fall into their metal boxes with dull, shifting thunks.

Two Magicians by Jean McKinney

Tonight I watch him through the eyes of an owl. Beautiful he is, so beautiful, the sorcerer Daniel MacKenzie, cantering down the mountain road in his true shape, the black horse, with his mane flying under the stars.

NonFiction

Starship Troopers’ Influence on the American Military by Patrick S. Baker

Science fiction is part and parcel of the American culture that is reflected in the American military. In fact, military men and women have a special affinity for sci-fi. The influences of sci-fi on the military are both technical and cultural and flow in both directions; from the military into the general society and from sci-fi into the military.

Mazes and Spirals by Tala Bar

The maze is a riddle, known in modern times as a puzzle made for the purpose of amusement; it is connected in English with the verb to amaze, meaning “to confuse.” The maze is usually square, built around a meandering path leading from the outside to the center; this one path is surrounded by many others, which lead to dead ends, leaving only one true path.

Climbing the Tower of Babel by Peter Jekel

Any spoken language on Earth is based on a number of factors. To produce a sound, we rely on a number of anatomical features including our lungs, larynx or voice box, and the upper vocal tract, including the nose, mouth, lips, tongue and teeth. [] An alien on another world probably would not have those same anatomical features, so how can we possibly expect to communicate with them?

Poetry

An Android Primer by Michael La Ronn

Mission to Pluto by Christina Sng

The Secret Life of Snowmen by Mark Arvid White