Issue 250 Celebration
Issue 250, online in May-June this year celebrates the "coming of age" of AntipodeanSF.
Calling all past antipodes-resident contributors. There is still room for your story, and it can be up to 3000 words long.
Deadline for inclusion is March 31 2019.
Not only will this be a special bumper issue, but it will also be published using dead trees and ink, available on demand online, and any profits will be donated into the ASFF's National Australia Fan Fund.
So, folks, get writing downside-up, and get back into AntiSF!
Nuke.
Speculative Flash Fiction
G'day flash loving folks, you're about to launch into an adventure at AntipodeanSF, the online magazine that's devoted to the regular monthly publication of fabulous and original science-fiction, fantasy, or horror mini-stories of about 500–1000 words each, with occasional feature stories of 2000 words and beyond.
AntipodeanSF will entertain you, and get you out there, perhaps even over the moon, yet won't take hours to read.
Please spend a few moments to read this month's stories. Alternatively, listen to all of them on the AntipodeanSF Radio Show, weekly, as per the schedule.
Nuke.
Two Sons Two Moons
By Carolyn Eccles
His hands were crescent moons as his father’s had been — fingers fused uselessly together and paralysed in a clawed curve.
The uncommon malformations were not passed down by blood but by chance.
The Day The President Vanished
By Matthew Lee
The Real President @realPresident @manInBlack
Let me guess... The Truth Is Out There! Yet another nutjob on the White House payroll. Ludicrous!
Man in Black @manInBlack @realPresident
The most powerful man in the world apparently thinks that the fact his enemies come in many forms is ludicrous. I strongly suggest Mr. President open his mind. E pur si muove.
Soulmates
By JL Cooper
He kissed her goodbye whilst she slept.
It was a kiss of habit, tender but without feeling.
Her freckled forehead furrowed, and her eyes opened slowly then quickly.
“You’re really leaving?” she asked.
Second Duty
By Zebuline Carter
When I walked up the main mall strip that day, texting instead of watching where I was going, I had no idea of what I was going to get myself into. Now, a month later, I was being questioned by a Doomsman at a Consumer Services formal hearing. The fact that it was taking place on a phone screen the size of my palm didn't make it any easier.
Mistress
By John Brantingham
Harvey Michaels comes into the apartment no one knows about that he’s rented in the good part of New Los Angeles and says, “Music on, something soothing. Bossa nova.” After the music comes on, he walks to his bar and says, “Scotch and soda, make it a double. I’ve had a hard day.” He listens to the ice clink into the glass, two cubes the way he likes it. There’s the barely audible sound of the glass being filled, and then the little door opens.
Mission 11B
By Justin O'Leary
Jay had no proof the food would grow in this new land — only theories. Once their first-year supplies ran out, they were on their own.
Kade raced past him with his arms outstretched. 'I'm a shuttle, Daddy.'
Mary Khan Starts a Union
By Benjamin Muir
Mary Khan swore in the marketplace, at first under her breath, then openly in defiance of the public setting. She fumbled as she attempted to mount her mule hands-free, balancing two small children and her shopping. The creature darted forward defiantly, leaving Mary to topple over, spilling grain from her rucksack as she twisted like a cat to avoid falling on her progeny. She recovered the goods before attending to the screeching babes; Genghis Junior and Harold were, after all, the offspring of The Great Khan. Surely a child sired by the man who united the Mongols and killed millions could endure a small drop?
Malfunction
By Martin Lochman
“Warning! Tractor beam malfunction! Warning!...”
The incredibly loud mechanical voice reverberates through the halls and corridors of an enormous spherical vessel. It travels at a speed of a mere twenty kilometers per second on its way across the void of space, heading towards the centre of a star system with eight or nine reasonably sized planetary bodies.
Hairy Story
By Tim Train
Greasy and moist and matted from the gutters and sinks it has been washed down, all the pubic hair, beard hair, chest hair, facial hair, head hair, underarm hair, and leg hair that has ever been shaved, waxed, and exfoliated creeps up again and clumps into balls — which then join together to form a hair-replica of the humans it originally sprouted from.
It has come to confront humans for forsaking the natural condition.
Evolution
By Botond Teklesz
Osmand rubbed his eyes and adjusted the electron microscope. Something really weird here. A sugar coat had attached to the external surface of the monkey's neurons. Sugar coats were specific to invertebrate cells. Strange.
Nearby, the EEG beeped faster. The brain activity of the monkey was increasing even though half of the organ was already resected, sitting in a bloody pool in the bin beside Osmand's surgical table.
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AntiSF & The ASFF
AntipodeanSF supports the ASFF
Please visit the ASFF website and consider joining for up-to-date info about Australian SF cons, awards, competitions, and to receive the Foundation's newsletter, Instrumentality, and more.
AntiSF's Production Crew
Ion Newcombe is the editor and publisher of AntipodeanSF, Australia’s longest running online speculative fiction magazine, regularly issued since January 1998, and conceived back around November 2007. He has been a zealous reader and occasional writer of SF since his childhood in the 1960s, and even sold a few stories here and there back in the '90s.
“Nuke”, who it turns out loves editing more than writing, lives in the New South Wales North Coast holiday destination of Nambucca Heads, where he is self-employed in IT training, computer support, desktop publishing, editing, writing, and website implementation. He is also the resident tech-head, skeptic, and board member of community radio station 2NVR, where he produces a number of shows including The AntipodeanSF Radio Show.
Mark Webb's midlife crisis came in the form of attempting to write speculative fiction at a very slow pace. His wife maintains this is a good outcome considering the more expensive and cliched alternatives. Evidence of Mark's attempts to procrastinate in his writing, including general musings and reviews of books he has been reading, can be found at www.markwebb.name.
One of Mark’s very best forms of writing procrastination is to produce the eBook series for AntipodeanSF, which he has been doing since issue 175.
Main Menu
In The Next Issue...
Coming In Issue 247
As Time Ticks On
by Elizabeth Kovacs
Beneficence
by David Scholes
Best Thing Since Sliced Bread
by Andy McGee
Cleanse
by Mark Tremble
Left Overs
by Monica Carroll
Statement To The Ship Walkabout's Coroner
by Wes Parish
Stop Copying Me
by Jason Retallack
The Alien Nutcracker
by Brenda Anderson
What's So Funny?
by Ed Errington
My Dream Girl
by Tim Train
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Most Read Stories
AntipodeanSF January 2019
ISSUE 246
Speculative Fiction
Downside-Up
ISSN 1442-0686
Online Since Feb 1998
AntiSF's Narration Team
Mark is an astrophysicist and space scientist who worked on the Cassini/Huygens mission to Saturn. Following this he worked in computer consultancy, engineering, and high energy research (with a stint at the JET Fusion Torus).
All this science hasn't damped his love of fantasy and science fiction. It has, however, ruined his enjoyment of rainbows, colourful flames on romantic log fires, and rings around the moon. He has previously been published in Stupefying Stories Showcase, Everyday Fiction, Escape Pod, Perihelion and also on AntipodeanSF where he is part of the narration team.
Margaret lives the good life on a small piece of rural New South Wales Australia, with an amazing man, a couple of pets, and several rambunctious wombats.
She feels so lucky to be a part of the AntiSF team.
Timothy Gwyn is a professional pilot in Canada, where he flies to remote communities. During a lull in his flying career, he was a radio announcer for three years, and he is also an author.
In addition to short stories at AntipodeanSF and NewMyths.com, his SF novel is available internationally in print and ebook formats. "Avians" draws on his love of alternative aviation to tell the tale of a girl who runs away from home to join a cadre of glider pilots on a world without metal or fossil fuels.
On Twitter, he is @timothygwyn, and his blogs are at <timothygwyn.com>.
Garry Dean lives on the Mid Coast of New South Wales Australia, and has been a fan of SF for most of his natural life. Being vision impaired, he makes good use of voice recognition and text to speech in order to write. Many of his stories have appeared in AntipodeanSF over the years, and his love of all things audio led him to join the narration team in 2017.
You can read examples of Garry's fiction on his website <https://garrydean.wordpress.com>
Carolyn's work spans devising, performance, theatre-in-education and a collaborative visual art practice.
She tours children's works to schools nationally with School Performance Tours, is a member of the Bathurst physical theatre ensemble Lingua Franca and one half of darkroom — a visual arts practice with videographer Sean O'Keeffe.
(Photo by Jeremy Belinfante)
Pixie is a voice actor, cabaret performer & slam poet From the Blue Mountains in NSW.
She enjoys writing short fiction, plays for radio and stage as well as her own brand of weird poetry.
She hosts the 'Off-Beet Poetry Slam' held bi-monthly in Katoomba,
And is a theatre reviewer for 2SER FM in Sydney.
David Whitaker is originally from the UK though has travelled around a bit and now resides in India. He has a degree in Journalism, however decided that as he’s always preferred making things up it should ultimately become a resource rather than a profession.
His stories, covering everything from sci-fi to philosophy, have been published across the globe and links to each can be found at <wordsbydavid.com>
Laurie Bell lives in Melbourne, Australia. She was that girl you found with her nose always buried in a book. She has been writing ever since she was a little girl and first picked up a pen. From books to short stories, radio plays to snippets of ideas and reading them aloud to anyone who will listen.
She is the author of The Butterfly Stone (YA/ Fantasy — available now) and White Fire (Sci Fi — available now)
You can read more of her work on her blog Look for her on Facebook <www.facebook.com/WriterLaurieBell/> or Twitter: <@LaurienotLori>
SF News
Upcoming Cons
Nullus Anxietas VII: The Australian Discworld Convention — will be held in Melbourne on April 12-14, 2019, and is themed on Going Postal. More information: <https://ausdwcon.org/>.
Swancon 2019 — 18/04/2019 - 22/04/2019, Esplanade Hotel Fremantle by Rydges 46-54 Marine Terrace, Fremantle WA 6160. Swancon is Australia's longest-running science-fiction, fantasy, and speculative fiction convention, and is the premiere event in Perth for fans of all forms of speculative media. More information: <https://swancon.com.au>.
Continuum 15 Other Worlds (Natcon 58): Continuum 15 is the Australian National SF Convention, to be held in Melbourne on June 7–10. More information and memberships <https://continuum.org.au>. AntipodeanSF will be at Continuum 15 and celebrating Issue 250 of AntiSF!
Worldcon Dublin 2019 — An Irish Worldcon 15/08/2019 till 19/08/2019, The Convention Centre Dublin (CCD). <More info here>
For more up-to-date Aussie SF info join the ASFF: <asff.org.au>.
The AntipodeanSF Radio Show
AntiSF Radio Show
The AntipodeanSF Radio Show delivers audio from the pages of this magazine.
The weekly program features the stories from recently published issues, usually narrated by the authors themselves.
Listen to the latest episode now:
The AntipodeanSF Radio Show is also broadcast on community radio, 2NVR, 105.9FM every Saturday evening at 8:30pm.
You can find every broadcast episode online here: http://antisf.libsyn.com
SF Quote
There’s no real objection to escapism, in the right places… We all want to escape occasionally. But science fiction is often very far from escapism, in fact you might say that science fiction is escape into reality… It’s a fiction which does concern itself with real issues: the origin of man; our future. In fact I can’t think of any form of literature which is more concerned with real issues, reality.