Analog Science Fiction and Fact, July/August 2021

Astounding/Analog

by Trevor Quachri (Editor), Marie Vibbert, Rosemary Claire Smith

Volume CXXXXI, No. 7 & 8.

Contents:
4 • The Analytical Laboratory (Analog, July-August 2021) • [The Analytical Laboratory] • essay by uncredited
6 • Hello to Maturity • [Editorial (Analog)] • essay by John Vester [as by John J. Vester]
9 • The Unlikely Heroines of Callisto Station • novella by Marie Vibbert
58 • Return to the Golden Age: Why Venus Might Actually Once Have Been Habitable • [Science Fact (Analog)] • essay by Richard A. Lovett
64 • The Next Frontier • novelette by Rosemary Claire Smith
80 • The Heroes of the Nation • short story by Brenda Kalt
87 • A Daguerreotype of the Moon • poem by Jennifer Crow
88 • Mandatory Arbitration • short story by Leonard Richardson
94 • Siliconisis • short story by Tom Jolly
98 • Seed Bombs • short story by Juliet Kemp
100 • Pulsars, Super-Massive Black Holes, and the Gravitational Wave Background • [The Alternate View] • essay by John G. Cramer
103 • Taming the Serpent • essay by Edward M. Wysocki, Jr.
110 • Tin Man • short story by Manny Frishberg and Edd Vick
116 • Humility • short story by James C. Glass
126 • Sample Return • novelette by C. Stuart Hardwick
138 • Like School; But There's No Recess: An Interview with Katie Mack • interview of Katie Mack • interview by Alvaro Zinos-Amaro
144 • The First Martian World War • short story by Herb Kauderer
146 • The Last Farewell • short story by Alan K. Baker
149 • When I Think of My Father • poem by Bruce McAllister
150 • Rocket • short story by Frank Wu
154 • Reassembly • short story by Audrey Ference
162 • In Times to Come (Analog, July-August 2021) • [In Times to Come (Analog)] • essay by uncredited
163 • Minnie and the Trekker • short story by Raymund Eich
174 • Long Day Lake • novelette by J. M. McDermott [as by Joe McDermott]
198 • The Reference Library (Analog, July-August 2021) • [The Reference Library] • essay by Don Sakers
206 • Brass Takes (Analog, July-August 2021) • [Brass Tacks] • essay by various
208 • Upcoming Events (Analog, July-August 2021) • [Upcoming Events] • essay by Anthony R. Lewis.

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Genres: Science Fiction

208 pages, digest magazine

First published June 17, 2021

About the author

Trevor Quachri (b. 1976) has been the sixth editor of Analog Science Fiction & Fact magazine since September 2012.

Previously, he was “a Broadway stagehand, collected data for museums, and executive produced a science fiction pilot for a basic cable channel.”

Quachri started as an editorial assistant in 1999 at Asimov's Science Fiction and Analog. Former editor of Analog, Ben Bova, was an early influence.

Reviews

[Oleksandr Zholud · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a July-August 2021 issue of Analog Science Fiction and Fact, the long-established hard SF magazine, which in the past was a source for many works, nominated for Hugo, Nebula and other SFF awards. Now it is overshined by newcomers, like Clarkesworld, Apex or Strange Horizons, but still has a nice selection of fiction and fact. Its both strongest and weakest part is adhering to hard SF, with scientific ideas usually more important that character development or literary style.

In this issue:

The Analytical Laboratory (Analog, July-August 2021) [The Analytical Laboratory]essay by uncredited results of annual selection of best works from the previous year. On most winners I agree with exception of Father by Ray Nayler, which hasn’t finished in top-5
Hello to Maturity [Editorial (Analog)] essay by John Vester comparing modern (Astro)physics reliance on dark matter and energy to Plotemy’s idea of crystal spheres, which was the main theory before Copernicus, thinking about multile dimensions, recalling Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions. 3*
The Unlikely Heroines of Callisto Station novella by Marie Vibbert there is a station on Jupiter’s orbit and there is Lottie – a young woman engineer with bipolar disorder. Local psychiatrist persuades her to take pills, and after leaving him, she meets his girlfriend Xiao, a direct and stern mechanic, jealous of these private meetings. At that moment all electricity went off and Lottie and Xiao ended up together with a new goal – to save the station from pirates. A very nice story with multiple POVs and plot twists, even if some reviewers say it is YA in style. 4.5*
Return to the Golden Age: Why Venus Might Actually Once Have Been Habitable [Science Fact (Analog)]essay by Richard A. Lovett with lower luminosity of Sun and higher % of water, it is possible that even just 750 mn years ago Venus was much closer in its climate to Earth. 4*
The Next Frontier novelette by Rosemary Claire Smith alt-history about Moon landing – a Soviet woman Natalya Orlova, who was in cosmonaut shortlist, defects to Americans after a personal tragedy. NASA is co-headed by Kennedy’s widow. Orlova is Ukrainian, my fellow countrywoman, which was a pleasant surprise, but the story is average. 3*
The Heroes of the Nation short story by Brenda Kalt a reptiloid race is at war with humans and their leader prepares his heir to possible exile. It is a prequel to the story published in 2019, which I hadn’t read. 2*
A Daguerreotype of the Moon poem by Jennifer Crow a nice poem about Moon’s 1840 photo. 3*
Mandatory Arbitration short story by Leonard Richardson aliens on one of the planets have a mining colony, an inspector comes to check how civil cases go on to find out that the company set ‘trial by combat’ to all cases. Something has to be done to protect interests of weak and meek. 3*
Siliconisis short story by Tom Jolly a guy sets high-temperature breeding place to get a new form of life, succeeds, but officials force him to dismantle and destroy to protect Earth. Even if in too short period he got something like flying worms inside his incubator – quite complex life, the idea is nice. 3*
Seed Bombs short story by Juliet Kemp people wander from town to town on a depleted oil (and no transport) Earth, spreading tarmac-eating nanobots and seeds to feed urban dwellers. 4*
Pulsars, Super-Massive Black Holes, and the Gravitational Wave Background [The Alternate View] essay by John G. Cramer how to prove early universe inflation by studying gravitation waves. 3*
Taming the Serpent essay by Edward M. Wysocki, Jr. there are things first suggested in SF and then realized in reality. This is the case of making giant soft sausage-like tanker for oil, suggested by Frank Herbert's Under Pressure and then attempted by British during the Suez closure. 4*
Tin Man short story by Manny Frishberg and Edd Vick a space ship captain slowly loses body parts to be replaced by clever prosthetics, becoming less human. 3*
Humility short story by James C. Glass the human colony on a planet with variable magnetic field and pulsing star, if field is off while star is active, space station above can be fried. The station is a place for disabled and old, so if false alarm they will be very unhappy to get to the high-grav planet. 2.5*
Sample Return novelette by C. Stuart Hardwick a ship should eject a mesh to go deep into Jupiter to get metalized hydrogen, but the launch is botched and a mechanic goes to a certain death to keep the project going. 2.5*
Like School; But There's No Recess: An Interview with Katie Mack interview of Katie Mackinterview by Alvaro Zinos-Amaro astrophysicist, who wrote x about her life and work. 3*
The First Martian World War short story by Herb Kauderer Chinese, American and Russian rover battle on Mars, waiting for 20 min for new orders, semi-humorous flash-fic. 3*
The Last Farewell short story by Alan K. Baker a man and a woman are two last people on Earth, which looks like a giant waste dump. They leave it to live on a station above. 2.5*
When I Think of My Father poem by Bruce McAllister due to a time dilation, father visits son from childhood to old age. 3*
Rocket short story by Frank Wu a loose sequel to 2016 story, a pack of dogs on a post-human (?) Earth fight robots send by octopuses. The robots are strangely unprotected, so almost ordinary dogs can overpower them even with losses, which I just cannot believe, so 1*
Reassembly short story by Audrey Ference a shuttle pilot and her AI-uploaded consciousness co-pilot are barred from flights after some strange breakdown. She works on re-assembling a symbol of a corporation, which by some bizarre lawyerly magic extends corp’s claim on this territory. She want to fly again and will do anything to get back. 2.5*
Minnie and the Trekker short story by Raymund Eich there are reconstructed dinosaurs on a colony planet. Something ate dino’s eggs – the protagonist investigates. The idea that to protect dinos against cats and dogs, protective behavior against them was imprinted, but there are other mammals… 3*
Long Day Lake novelette by J. M. McDermott an old woman and her granddaughter live in a colony under domes, which protect from radiation. An earthquake damages their dome plus cuts off electricity and communication. They have to get to a safe place before a possible dome collapse. Adequate characters behavior for both 8-year girl and her grandmother. 3.5*
The Reference Library (Analog, July-August 2021) [The Reference Library]essay by Don Sakers a musing why prices on ebooks vary so much plus several reviews. Nothing caught my interest.
Brass Takes (Analog, July-August 2021) [Brass Tacks]essay by various readers still discuss anti-Trump editorial plus some Easter eggs.

[John Loyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

9 • The Unlikely Heroines of Callisto Station • 49 pages by Marie Vibbert
Excellent/Very Good. Lottie is an engineer with mood swings. Xiao is a maintenance tech, jealous of Lottie's time with her boyfriend, the doctor. A ship in distress comes to the station. When the power is out the next day maybe the ship wasn't in distress. Fantastic space opera, characters pushing their limits.

64 • The Next Frontier • 16 pages by Rosemary Claire Smith
Good/OK+. An alternate history of the first moon landing, featuring Natalya Orlova as one of the top astronauts. She overcame the prejudice against women and worries that she could be a spy.

80 • The Heroes of the Nation • 7 pages by Brenda Kalt
Good/OK. The Tir are battling the humans and losing. The King has a plan for the royal family. The story had some familiarity, and indeed it's a prequel to one from a couple years ago.

88 • Mandatory Arbitration • 6 pages by Leonard Richardson
Good/VG. Monolith corporation is taking advantage of the miners, because of an antiquated law.

94 • Siliconisis • 4 pages by Tom Jolly
Good/OK. A retired man tries to create silicon based life in his back yard.

110 • Tin Man • 6 pages by Edd Vick, Manny Frishberg
Good. L.Z. loses an arm in a freak accident, then his legs, and more, meanwhile earning a promotion.

116 • Humility • 10 pages by James C. Glass
Good. Colonists have been on Humility for two hundred fifty years and they're still learning about the planet. Verena is measuring the magnetosphere which is due to drop to zero. It's done this before, but this time coincides with peak solar activity. People on the wheel could be in danger.

126 • Sample Return • 12 pages by C. Stuart Hardwick
OK/Good. Kate is a member of a mission to Jupiter to retrieve a sample that could make leaps in superconductors and more. Unfortunately something goes wrong and Kate rushes to correct the fault, not worrying about the danger to herself. I had a hard time visualizing the scene.

146 • The Last Farwell • 4 pages by Alan K. Baker
Fair/OK. Donaldson and Caitlin and taking the last people from Earth to Pegasus.

150 • Rocket • 4 pages by Frank Wu
OK/Fair. Dogs are fighting robotic machines, will they survive long enough to outlast them?

154 • Reassembly • 8 pages by Audrey Ference
Good. Edie's ship made an unexpected acceleration while she was asleep. No fault of hers, but the company has demoted her and investigators are asking her the same questions over and over.

163 • Minnie and the Trekker • 9 pages by Raymund Eich
Good/OK. Portia and McAdams find a dinosaurs sitting on broken eggs. They need to find out what did it.

174 • Long Day Lake • 25 pages by Joe M. McDermott
Good/OK. Colonists on a new planet have to live in domes because of the radiation. Windy lost her mother and moved to a new dome with her father. Her grandmother, Wind, moved in to help. I thought they were going to bond, but an Earthquake damages the dome, a beam drops on their house, and they have to evacuate with minimal protection from the radiation. Right about that time the point of view switches from Windy to Wind. The grandmother taking charge and Windy becoming a little girl.

[Jeppe Larsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reasonable Analog issue. Lots of typical engineering type problem solving in a disaster scenario stories. Analog prints quite a few very short stories at the moment, but only a few can make it work.

“Next Frontier” by Rosemary Claire Smith is a nice alternate history about the space race, where events fold out a bit differently so we get another group of people as the first Americans on the moon - among one a woman. There are no surprises or twists to this story, but it works within the premise and gives a believable representation of the inner workings of NASA.

“Siliconisis” by Tom Jolly reminds me of "Absolutes" by Jay Werkheiser from the previous issue of Analog by having a main character being so obsessed with his scientific experiments, that he totally neglects his personal life. In this story the protagonist tries to create a new silicon based lifeform. And he succeeds, but it draws the attention of some unexpected entities.

“The First Martian World War” by Herb Kauderer is one of the few very short stories that work. Premise is rather simple. Three AI controlled on robots, one from America, one from Russia and one from China. They get into a conflict complicated by the time lag from their operators on Earth. Simple but amusing.

The best story is the last. “Long Day Lake” by Joe McDermott. The setting is an artificial colony under a dome that gets hit by an earthquake and we follow a young girl and her grandmother fighting for survival under the threat of radiation. The sf setting is well done but the quality of the story comes from the two main characters in this disaster scenario and both are portrayed in a believable way. It could easily have taken place today with the current natural disasters like floodings and wildfires. Really gripping tale.

[Kevin Phyland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lottie is a manic-depressive engineer on a satellite orbiting Callisto and has just been heavily medicated when a group of armed pirates do a makeshift dock and start ransacking drugs and food. A much more pragmatic and physical colleague, Xiao, is also in Lottie’s area, distant from the pirates, when they realise it is up to them to save the station and become “The Unlikely Heroines Of Callisto Station”. Marie Vibbert has crafted a riveting adventure tale! In an alternate world where Robert Kennedy survived assassination and became President, a female Ukrainian defector becomes a NASA astronaut and pursues her dreams in “The Next Frontier” by Rosemary Claire Smith, while James C. Glass takes us to the super-Earth planet “Humility” where a sudden reduction in planetary magnetic fields could prove fatal to an orbiting habitat. Raymund Eich has a problem with some pets on the Aussie-settled planet of New South Wales, where genetically re-created megafauna are being threatened. (He also resurrected some quaint ’Strine terms as well!), and a divorced granny, Wind, moves in with her widower son and his daughter Windy under a domed city when a large earthquake threatens disaster for the dome. Wind must get to safety or radiation or falling beams and glass will kill her in “Long Day Lake” by Joe McDermott.

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

A (excellent):

Siliconisis by Tom Jolly
Rocket by Frank Wu

B (very good):

The Heroes of the Nation by Brenda Kalt
Tin Man by Edd Vick & Manny Frishberg
Humility by James C. Glass
The Last Farewell by Alan K. Baker

C (average):

The Unlikely Heroines of Callisto Station by Marie Vibbert
Sample Return by C. Stuart Hardwick
Mandatory Arbitration by Leonard Richardson
Reassembly by Audrey Ference
Minnie & the Trekker by Raymond Eich
Seed Bombs by Juliet Kemp
The First Martian World War by Herb Kauderer

D (poor):

The Next Frontier by Rosemary Claire Smith
Long Day Lake by Joe McDermott

[Huey · Rating 3 out of 5]

First time perusing the legendary Analog magazine. This would make a good book to take on flights. At ca. 200 pages, it's packed tight because of its small font size.

[Karl · Rating 3 out of 5]

- “The Unlikely Heroines Of Callisto Station,” Marie Vibbert (4 Stars)
- “The Next Frontier,” Rosemary Claire Smith (3 Stars)
- “Sample Return,” C. Stuart Hardwick (3½ Stars)
- “Long Day Lake,” Joe Mcdermott (3 Stars)
- “The Heroes Of The Nation,” Brenda Kalt (3 Stars)
- “Mandatory Arbitration,” Leonard Richardson (3 Stars)
- “Siliconisis,” Tom Jolly (3 Stars)
- “Tin Man,” Edd Vick & Manny Frishberg (3½ Stars)
- “Humility,” James C. Glass (3½ Stars)
- “The Last Farewell,” Alan K. Baker (4 Stars)
- “Rocket,” Frank Wu (3½ Stars)
- “Reassembly,” Audrey Ference (2½ Stars)
- “Minnie And The Trekker,” Raymund Eich (3 Stars)
- “Seed Bombs,” Juliet Kemp (3½ Stars)
- “The First Martian World War,” Herb Kauderer (3½ Stars)

[Michael Goodine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A somewhat weaker than usual issue. A few of the stories were quite poor.

But I did like Brenda Kalt's "The Heroes of the Nation," which is a prequel to a story that appeared in Analog a couple of years ago. I'd read a novel-length version of this story. "Tin Man" by Edd Vrick and Many Frishberg was a lot of fun.

[Seth Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some really good ones in here. The novella, Unlikely Heroes of Callista Station, I found particularly enjoyable.