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Analog Science Fiction & Fact Magazine
March 1998

This month's issue of Analog features an editorial by Stanley Schmidt where he discusses the purpose of the science fact articles in the magazine. Schmidt feels the articles should be more on the 'fringe' on science to alert readers that there are some aspects of nature that may have been unfairly (or unjustly) ignored by mainstream scientists.

Stories featured in this issue are:

• "Tourist Sam" by Ben Bova is a story featuring the recurring character, Sam Gunn. In this story, Gunn takes leave from NASA. Suspicious, his boss gets his niece (who is from the DEA) to investigates and finds out that Gunn has set up a tour company that offers tourist the feeling of space flight. Can it be for real or is it a setup? The answer is both obvious and not obvious.
• "Epsilon Boötis Revisited" by Duncan Lunan is a science fact article that looks at the idea of whether the civilisations that set up the Pyramids and the various sections of Stonehenge really had information of galactic alignments and coordinates, possibly provided by extra-terrestrial visitors. It makes for interesting and thoughtful reading.
• "Why Didn't You Think of that Before We Left" by Jerry Oltion is the next episode is his tale about three disembodied travellers who are travelling to the stars. After a long time in space, they now discover that the central processor holding their memories may have been 'merging' them together. Solving the problem may require some combined thought on their part.
• "The Stones from which Meadows Grow" by Wolf Read is set on a human colony on a world whose solar system is younger that ours. As a result, the world is constantly threatened by asteroids. There is a movement to deflect the larger asteroids from colliding with their world, opposed by those who think nature should take its course. An asteroid hit during a class outing may hold the key to deciding the issue.
• "Tramp" by David Alexander is set on a cargo ship in space who, upon making an emergency exit from 'Non-E' (non-euclidian) space, is hailed by a ship in distress. When they meet the ship's captain, they get suspicious and discover a possible threat. The solution is uncomfortable but well-written.
• "Peculiar Plants" by Mia Molvray is a 'Probability Zero' story about a search for missing people at a university. As it turns out, some plants offer a hint as to where they went.
• "Pathfinders" by Jeffrey D. Kooistra is an 'Alternative View' article on the manned-vs-unmanned exploration of the solar system. While agreeing that robots like the recent Mars Pathfinder mission have gone well, he argues that manned exploration has a part to play, despite its higher costs.
• "In Loco Parentis" by Edward H. Seksay is an impressive story about an AI who is being tested as a welfare worker. Using remotes, the AI visits cases. In one case, a man, who is dying from cancer, asks for help to take care of his mentally-impaired son whom he does not want put into a welfare-home. The AI's dilemma in trying to obey the welfare rules while trying to find a foster home for the child is nicely captured in this story.
• "Rules of Engagement" by Michael F. Flynn takes a look at a future where soldiers now operate remotely-controlled exo-suits. A police action is described by one man in a group who meet to reminisce their experiences in this story, leading you to think about a future where both sides of a conflict now have bigger firepower and how rules have developed over their use.

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