Analog Science Fiction & Fact

Grayson George is a digital art grad student who makes mediocre fractal art. Late one night, he discovers a computer program that created a masterpiece, entrancing everyone who sees it. Grayson claims the program's spectacular work, and all of its subsequent artworks, as his own. How long will Grayson continue living a lie? Find out in “Genius, Borrowed and Brief,” read and written by Julia Darcey.

For many years, Grace and John have maintained the Winding Woods Campground, where visitors are few but life is comfortable, quiet, and happy. Out of the blue, a robot shows up on mysterious business, testing infrastructure and examining solar generators. It demands that Grace and John leave the camp they’ve called home for thirty-two years. Discover the hidden motives of this robot in “The Robot and the Winding Woods” by Brenda Cooper.

Sirina is a house cleaner who’ll take care of your typical dust, cobwebs, and all other varieties of filth, but if you’re dealing with anything that’s spilling over transdimensionally, she’s the one you’ll want to call. When a local real estate agent asks Sirina to take on her latest project, Sirina happily obliges, but quickly finds herself in a sticky situation. Find out why Sirina is “Lady Ballistic: Fast and Accurate Cleaning,” read and written by Alex Jablokov.

Dr. Cara Blake is a retired engineer who’s been out of work for about two decades. She lives in the mountains, alone, well above the overflowing rivers that have ravaged human society, with an electric vehicle she hasn’t started in five years. During her last major project, she retrofitted an old, local dam to prevent it from collapsing under the effects of climate change. Now, the dam is on the verge of failure, and Dr. Blake is the only one who possesses the knowledge and experience to keep it intact. Will Dr. Blake find a way to step in? Find out in “Last Dam Standing,” read and written by Dawn Vogel 

Missing dogs, bushes growing metallic berries, and university researchers vanishing without a trace. These are but some of a few incidents surrounding a swamp in northern British Columbia, where a local man believes he might be able to solve the mystery behind these strange phenomena. This is “It Eats Metal,” read and written by Mark Ferguson

After Toya Smith is killed by police during a traffic stop, doctors at a unique facility manage to preserve her consciousness and transfer it to a new body that should resemble her old one. Only her new body isn’t the one she expected or wanted. How will Toya adjust to her new life in a body so different from the one she’d lived in her whole life? Find out in “Second Chance,” read and written by Sakinah Hofler, winner of Analog’s Emerging Black Voices Award.

When two South Philly cops walk into a Nepalese bakery, one starts grilling the owner, Missus Singh, about rogue robots that might be helping her, while the other can’t stop thinking about how good a bear claw would be right about now. Will this good cop/bad cop duo discover the secret behind Missus Singh’s scrumptious sweets? Tune in to hear the conclusion of this police encounter that is anything but ordinary in Ryan Hunke’s “Bad Cop, No Donut,” narrated by Glen Melin.

The elsp are a species of megafauna who have been driven to the brink of extinction by environmental threats and reluctance to reproduce. When a wave of petty crime takes over the elsp's sanctuary planet, law enforcement is quick to suspect sanctuary workers. But an intrepid scientist decides to investigate for herself, and finally figure out if the elsp are sentient after all. Here is “Expert Witness,” read and written by Leonard Richardson.

Rosalina has just begun working at a migrant camp with her parents when before long a swarm of small, bee-like machines starts following her wherever she goes, sparking a media sensation. Here is “Mariposa de Hierro” read and written by Matt McHugh. 

Tamar is on a mission to salvage usable technology from a space debris field. Her routine assignment turns dicey when her crew mates vanish, and a foreign AI appears on Tamar’s radar persistently trying to communicate. Here is  “For Every Bee, a Hive,” read and written by Benjamin C. Kinney.

With Earth long destroyed by war and ecological disaster, Ernie, Kate, and Harv are humans who have started new lives on a far-flung exoplanet. With scarce options for good food or money, the trio decides to embark on a project that may net them a little cash, and remind them of what life back home used to be like. This is “The Eiffel Tower of Trappist-1b,” read and written by Jeff Reynolds.

Before he goes away to college, all Noah wants to do is relax, play video games with his friends, and practice for an upcoming tournament. His mother, however, has a different plan for her son: She’s asked his aunt Meg—whom he hasn’t seen in ten years—to take him on a little camping trip. Reluctantly, Noah goes along, but soon finds that he may have more in common with his aunt than he thought. Here is “Fly Straight and Don’t Get Eaten,” read and written by Vera Brook.

Meadow is a curious teenager who has spent her entire life on a large space ship. She thirsts for adventure, or at least a break from her overbearing mother.One day, she meets an artist who is desperately trying to clean-up a spill of small, colorful beads—not an easy task in zero-g, and a serious violation of safety code that Meadow’s mom is eager to report.Will Meadow be able to protect her new acquaintance and learn about herself in the process? Find out in “The Carina Nebula,” read and written by Kelsey Hutton

For our May/June issue, we have a special treat for our listeners—a double feature! First up is “A Place for Pax” read and written by Colin Mattson, followed by “Collateral Damage” by Jen Downes. Both stories feature spunky protagonists who are making due in futures that feature farming, ingenuity, and creative solutions.

Laxi is an alien visitor from the noble house of vlarg who doesn’t like to conquer planets by force—at least not at first. Invasion and domination are boring, conventional, and these days even the elders on their home planet agree. Instead, Laxi prefers to spend time on the world they intend to capture, sowing instability from within before making their big move. Earth, however, is proving to be a bigger challenge than expected, but Laxi may have just come up with the right marketing scheme. This is “What Women Want,” read and written by Katherine Tunning.

In Matt McHugh’s newest tale, Emi and Zieka are elite candidates that fought as hard as they could for a spot on the generation ship. Could leaving a son behind be worth the privilege to travel with humanity’s future? Find out in our newest podcast “The Area Under the Curve.”  

K3RA is an android programmed to pursue efficiency in everything it does, from working factory floors to killing its designers’ enemies. When it encounters a sluggish soybean farmer just after suffering a wartime wound, K3RA comes to a realization that may bring peace to the world. Here is “Maximum Efficiency,” read and written by Holly Schofield. 

In Tim McDaniel’s “Taking the Waters,” a scientist must negotiate for our planet’s future. See how she does in our newest podcast from the September/October issue.

Our July/August podcast is a special double feature: First, Melanie Harding-Shaw reads "My Nascent Garden," in which an AI navigates a complicated relationship; then Geoffrey Hart narrates his tale "Risky Harvest," telling the story of a harvest event that is intertwined with mating and survival. 

Delia Serrano is a crack disposal engineer for the CosmoSweep Coropration. On a typical workday, she’s catching bits of space junk and sending them to a fiery demise in earth’s atmosphere. But when NASA needs her unique skills for a daring rescue mission, Serrano jumps into action in the thrilling tale  “Bounty 1486,” read and written by the author, Wendy Nikel.  

Why are Huiling and her metal exoskeleton—and research partner—being hunted by the Feds? And the state? And where does a long-ago lover fit into the picture? Please enjoy “Nirvana or Bust” from our March/April 2022 issue read & written by Michael Swanwick.

"Amy" and "Brad" are two thieves who don’t see eye to eye. Amy wants to change the world, and Brad wants to start over, wealthy and isolated. What exactly are they looking for on the lunar surface, and can their spoils help achieve these goals?  Find out in “Splitting a Dollar,” read and written by Meghan Hyland.

While life on Earth may not always be safe or easy, traveling the space ways comes with its own host of hazards. There’s space junk. Sub-zero temperatures. And not to mention a complete lack of oxygen. In this piece from our November/December issue, a mech finds himself dragged into a daring rescue mission on Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus. Author Bill Frank gives an inspired reading of his story, "Moon Unit."

Everyone wants to talk to a human, not a chatbot. But when you are the human on the other end of the customer service phone number, with frustrating coworkers and an unbearable roommate situation, you realize that talking to humans is pretty complex. This story from Analog’s September/October issue shows us that chatting with a bot has its advantages, and dead-end jobs aren’t always what they seem. Please enjoy “Room to Live,” read and written by Marie Vibbert. 

Jer is the governor’s nestling and his Consortium colony’s legal administrator. When the judicant shows up and starts questioning how things are run around here, it becomes clear that Jer is something else too: a very dangerous lawyer. Find out why in “Mandatory Arbitration,” from Analog’s July/August issue, written and read by Leonard Richardson.

Mal and the others must continue walking and following god, no matter how tired their claws and tentacles get. But how long must the pilgrims walk? And what will happen when they reach their destination? Journey with Mal in "Pilgrimage" by Michael Adam Robson, ready by Tara Robson.

Separated from their group’s camp on his brother’s orders, a lonely Bashim lulls himself to sleep by practicing English with Top Hat Avatar, his holographic tutor. When he awakes in the middle of the night, there’s gunfire down at the camp, and Top Hat Avatar is telling him to run. Escape with Bashim and Top Hat Avatar in “The Shadow of His Wings,” from Analog’s March/April 2021 issue, written and read by Ray Nayler.

The parent company is pulling its funding from the database of gods. All of the museum exhibits and their artificial intelligences will be shut down; all employees assigned to the project are relocating to Mars. For the child of two employees, this means losing a best friend—unless it’s possible to sneak Sancus' code out of the database before they leave. See how this God-heist unfolds in “The Last Compact,” from Analog’s January/February 2021 issue, read and written by Brian Rappatta.

The assignment is straightforward: All Zu has to do is salvage some previously mined ore now lost in space, and the mountain of debt he owes to his employer will be canceled. But in “Ghost Strike,” Zu encounters greater risks—and greater rewards—than he planned for. Please enjoy Brenda Kalt’s reading of her suspenseful story from our November/December issue.

For fourteen fourteens of cycles in the mostly dry tunnels of Mars, Eldest Split and Companion have spent all of their energy on just staying alive. Meanwhile, above them, Peter Churlith lives a life of boredom and fatigue, operating machinery that excavates the Martian soil. Little does anyone realize that Peter is about to make Eldest Split and Companion’s dreams come true. Enjoy as John J. Vester reads his story, “Where There’s Life,” from the September/October issue, for our newest podcast installment.

For our July/August issue, we have a special double feature for you. First you’ll be hearing “On the Changing Roles of Dockworkers” read and written by Marie Vibbert. Before she can even sit down, Mary is sent to check on Unit 4—something is wrong with the robot’s communications logs—could it be sabotage? Our second story is “The Mad Cabbage” read and written by Céline Malgen. Microbiologist Nicole Gertner is presented with a mysterious fermented cabbage reaction and must get to the bottom of the anomalous results. Enjoy these two tales from the pages of Analog Science Fiction & Fact Magazine!

Susana never expected the first manned mission to Mars to begin the way it did: her crew gone, Earth in crisis, and she the sole engineer to see everyone’s hopes for a habitable Mars through. Will she, her rovers and robots, and NASA ground support be enough? The talented Dominica Phetteplace reads her story “Candida Eve” from the May/June 2020 issue for our newest podcast installment.

Fourteen-year-old asteroid-dweller Alaya longs for excitement and a glimpse of the sky. In “One Basket,” her grandmother offers her a chance at both. Enjoy Farah Naz Rishi’s reading of C.C. Finlay’s gripping story about courage, family, and eggs.

Fresh from the pages of our 90th anniversary issue is this exciting piece of alternate history, written and read by Eric Choi, that envisions a different outcome for the Columbia spacecraft. If you enjoy this story, be sure to find our current issue with a fact article by Eric Choi behind the science in this tale! www.analogsf.com