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Analog Science Fiction & Fact Magazine
December 1997

This month's issue of Analog features an editorial by Stanley Schmidt on the topic of the mass extinction of large mammals on the North American continent 13,000 years ago. Instead of finding a single cause for the extinction, Schmidt feels that a combination of causes (like changing weather patterns and the arrival of humans) could be its cause.

Stories featured in this issue are:

• "Crossing Chao Meng Fu" by G. David Nordley chronicles the crossing of a crater on Mercury. It doesn't sound exciting until you find out they're doing it the 'old fashion' way; on foot only. The description of the crater, especially the parts in a chasm that does not feel the heat of the sun reminds me of some of the fiction that Hal Clement used to write.
• "Biology at the Extremes" by Mark S. Lesney is a science fact article that looks at the 'extremophiles'; bacteria and other forms of life that can survive in what seems to us to be extreme environments. These include those that can live near volcanos, hot springs, polar areas, underground caves, rocks and even in extremely polluted areas. He shows how they survive, and speculates on how they can be used for projects like terraforming other planets or helping to bring back to life polluted areas of the Earth.
• "Breaking the Standard Model" by John G. Cramer is an 'alternate view' science article that looks at the Standard Model, used to explain the behaviour of sub-atomic particles. Despite being able to successfully explain the sub-atomic world, the Standard Model contains 'magic numbers'; constants that are there without explanation. He hopes that new experiments being conducted with new particle accelerators can help to reveal a more fundamental theory that can explain the constants.
• "Easter Egg Hunt: A Christmas Story" by Jeffery D. Kooistra is a detective story in a seasonal story. A rogue soldier has planted a small egg-like nuclear device in a community and one person has two days to find it before it goes off. He visits the community, interviews people who may have seen him and give him clues as to where it is located. And, in the best tradition of 'SF-mystery' stories, the reader has a chance to solve it before the character, if you are smart enough to pick out the relevant clues.
• "Arnold the Conqueror" by Steve Hockensmith looks at a bureaucrat who is given the chance to lead a military expedition in space to retake a colony that refuses to pay its debt to his company. The resolution reminds me strongly of how some colonists deal with soldiers in Eric Frank Russell's story, ...And Then There Were None.
• "The Cure" by Michael A. Burstein is a 'Probability Zero' story that looks at a cure for lycantrophy (werewolves). But in this case, the cure may turn out to be worse than the disease.
• "O Pioneer!" (conclusion) by Frederik Pohl concludes Pohl's story about human colonists living on a world shared with several other alien species. The Mayor of the human colony finds hints that some people may be hiding a conspiracy against the other aliens and investigates, leading him into danger. The ending is a bit too 'convenient' for my tastes and seems a bit rushed.

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