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Analog Science Fiction & Fact Magazine
January 2002

This month's issue of Analog starts with an editorial by Stanley Schmidt who wonders about the supposed "no assassination" policy of the CIA. So, what do you do if you really want to get rid of a dictator? Perhaps a 'magic bullet' like a targeted biological weapon might do. Or will the consequences of using such a bullet outweight the benefits?

A brief biography of Poul Anderson (1926-2001) is also given in this issue.

Stories featured in this issue are:

"Hominids (Part 1 of 4)" by Robert J. Sawyer. An interesting start to an interesting story. Deep in a mine in Canada, an experimental heavy water container used to detect neutrinos is suddenly destroyed. The source was found to be a man; but a very different kind of man.
"Perceptual Set" by James Van Pelt. A story about the discovery of a strangely shaped and marked asteroid. The team investigating it began to form their own opinions as to what the various markings mean; are they welcome or danger signals or do they mean something else?
"A Deeper Rest" by Melissa Lee Shaw. A fascinating, emotionally moving and thoughtful story set in the near future. Dolphins have usually been friendly to man but here, they have suddenly turned into an enemy of man. The key to finding this sudden change in bahaviour may lie with a researcher who is communicating with a group of dolphins. But will she have time to discover the cause before the Navy takes matters into their own hands?
"Choosing Life" by Brenda Cooper and Larry Niven. This story (co-authoured by Brenda Cooper and Larry Niven) looks at a person who is deciding whether she wants to be 'scanned' and transferred into a digital self after death. She wonders whether the experience will be 'real' or not and what will she miss if she does do it.
"Birch Glow" by Rosemary Claire Smith. In a world where genetic engineering has given rise to things like birch trees that glow in the dark, the protagonist regretfully goes with a group of 'eco-terrorist' to vandalise a genetic engineering plant farm. He later makes some discoveries about the genetically modified trees that makes he re-think which side of the eco-movement he should support.
"Beyond the Periodic Table" by Wil McCarthy. This Science Fact article looks at what at first sight appears impossible: making artificial atoms. 'Quantum dots' that capture and hold electrons can be made to behave just like normal atoms do. Read this fasinating article to see what could be done with such atoms.
"Alternate Marketing" by Alan Lickiss is a Probability Zero story which poses an interesting question: how to you get lots of people to volunteer to shovel earth? The answer may lie in how the task is marketed and advertised.

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Analog Science Fiction & Fact Magazine January 2002

Analog Science Fiction & Fact Magazine
January 2002