Issue 48

NewMyths.com

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

Issue 48 - September 2019

Dear Readers:

WE ARE NOT ALONE.

That shout to the universe is the premise of many science fiction stories. And while it's the hope of many scientists that we'll someday discover extraterrestrial life and prove that statement true, perhaps that shout also speaks of an underlying fear since cavemen days that it's always been true. We've never been alone, never been the only “intelligent” species on our planet.

For millennia, we assured ourselves that of course we were alone. and special, above all the animals. We could reason; and the sun and the moon and all the stars revolved around us.

Science proved us wrong. And we now happily compare on Facebook how many words our family dogs can learn, watch documentaries of dolphins sent on undersea missions, and wonder at new research showing even trees communicating. We read picture books to our children of Koko with her kitten answering questions on a computer, and buy pictures at the zoo painted by artistic elephants.

Yet still we consider ourselves the most intelligent species on our world, and we measure brain size to prove we alone have the top IQ.

But recent developments in artificial intelligence threaten to shove us off that final pedestal. And science fiction and even fantasy writers are racing to catch up. Robots smarter than us are no longer the only fear in our stories of the brave new world ahead. What will happen when AI gets implanted in our family pets? When science forces us to recognize that a size of a bird's brain is not the measure of its intelligence nor of its culture? When shapeshifters, if they exist, raise families more clever than humans? When the ability to speak our language is the only barrier left to us to claim we alone are the smartest species—at least on our own small planet?

Have fun reading this issue with many of the stories and poems asking such questions!

-Susan Shell Winston, Editor

Table of Contents

Fiction

Equus Caballus by Tiah Beautement

Amaia knew Izán was coming before his pickup could be detected by human senses. This was the way of her, always had been.

Good Boy, Blue by Odessa Cole

How many of us can say exactly when we grew up? I can—it was on that trip to the old cabin, the summer I turned twelve. When I met a dog named Blue.

The Universal Directory of Dangerous Places by Elise Kim

The doctors only told Alecko what they did to him after the operation—but they made it sound simple. We snipped some nerves here and there and replaced them with copper wires. Ten percent of your brain got computerized, but you still have the other ninety, eh? Then we changed out one of your eyes, so you won’t need contacts anymore. We couldn’t salvage your hands. The new ones should work better, at least. And we did have to do something about your heart.

The Hour of the Wolf by Donald McCarthy

I step off the ship’s landing platform and place my paw in the cold snow. I don’t mind the temperature. I was made for extremes.

Unrequited Sonata by Melanie Harding-Shaw

They told Deirdre she was unnatural, a freak. Her family told her she was an embarrassment. It had always been this way. Each time it whittled a tiny piece of her away...Her father had threatened to cut her inheritance if she didn’t stop bringing her family into disrepute. It was bad enough that she was a female playing percussion; but to be a goblin playing classical music was unforgivable.

Ghosts of the Cortilanes by Kathryn Yelinek

Now was when Nate should barrel out of their cabin, ink stains on his fingers, boots trailing their laces, to ask how her trip went. Had she seen any cortilanes along the way?

Yes, love. One followed me all the way from Port Matilda, flying just above the northern horizon. Any idea what made it follow me like that?

The wind whispering in the grass made the only answer. Fresh grief chafed her throat. Roughly she shook her head. She’d never hear Nate’s voice again. She needed to accept that.

Flash Fiction

In the Image of Evie by Lisa Fox

A purple unicorn stands sentinel in the poster above Zoe’s bed, its hoofs planted in clouds that linger at the edge of a rainbow. Its golden horn shimmers, a hint of magic beneath the glass casing. I wonder why it hangs here, in this place beyond miracles, where patients come to die.

The Painter and the Dandelion by Lucia Cole

When Edmond Shaw picked up a paintbrush, the whole town waited in anticipation. Rumors had spread that his paintings could change the life of anyone who looked upon them.

Hubris Humbled by David Whitaker

They’d come in the middle of the night.

Hands in the darkness, they’d forced their way into his home, dragged him from his bed, bundled him into a black, nondescript sedan, and politely asked him to buckle his seatbelt.

NonFiction

A Groovy World by Peter Jekel

Ganymede, one of the Galilean moons, seems to take a back seat to some of its astronomical siblings...However if we dig deeper, both figuratively and literally, we find that Ganymede is not just another interesting world, but may be the most intriguing of the Galilean moons.

Rising Phoenix: An Interview with R. F. Kuang by Matthew Rettino

The Washington Post listed The Poppy War as among the five best fantasy and science fiction novels of 2018. Do you have any stories about being surprised or pleased by your audience’s reactions to your novel?

Poetry

How to Colonize Ganymede by Mary Soon Lee

The Carousel by Ophelia Leong

The Storm by Josh Pearce

From Cat to Fiddle by Lisa Timpf

The Persistence of Pheromones by Gene Twaronite

Oubliette by Hal Y. Zhang