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Issue 219 Volume 21 July 2017
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Editorial
Dan L. Hollifield
The Senior Editor's usual rants about whatever…
Serials and Long Fiction
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The Way Of Knowing
Stephani Maari Booker
Lost down a sinkhole, she discovered a previously unknown alien culture— and a new sense of belonging.
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The Best Long Fiction of the First Twenty Years
The Keeper of Snow's End
Michael Lejeune
Once a year, while children all across the country hunt happily for Easter eggs, the men of the isolated farming community Nerleth go on
a different kind of hunt. The survival of their town is at stake, so they have to get it right. However, one of their own has gone very,
very, wrong.
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Short Stories
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AfterBook
Glenn M. Diamond
Sometimes the shortcut to social media fame is just not worth it.
Cave Fish
J. S. Helgerson
Building a foreign affairs relationship with an alien species may be trickier than we thought.
Optimal Efficiency
Vanessa Kittle
How do we treat our machines when they build relationships?
Sand Sharks
Walter G. Esselman
Sometimes violence is not the answer; understanding is.
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September 1917
Jonny Edward
A glimpse of what happens when humans interfere with the laws of physics.
Soul for Sale
Susan Anwin
Always read the fine print of any contract, especially when your soul is at stake.
The Disfigured Man
Michael Falcone
How do we explain our inhumanity when karma hits?
The Exile
Derrick R. Lafayette
The stress of living in a hostile environment can be a killer.
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The Flower of Time
Jon Vassa
A man goes to the ends of the Earth to make amends
Timely
Misadventures
Thomas Wm. Hamilton
Even our most altruistic actions can have unintended effects.
Wait Here
Ray Prew
What lies beyond this life and the next?
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The Best Shorts of the First Twenty Years
2007
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The Missing Bag
J. Alan Brown
Had the little aliens planted a bomb somewhere in the Houston International Air-and-SpacePort? Morgan Jefferson couldn't
ignore the possibility, not after the April Fools' Day disaster.
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Black Box Betty
Frederick Rustam
The 'betty' was one of a kind— a hardware/software/firmware intelligent search interface with the emphasis on
'intelligent'.
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Inside Out
E. S. Strout
The first mission to Sagittarius-A had gone silent for reasons unknown. So Major Judith Saul was taking backup with her—
an A.I. package implanted in her brain.
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2008
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The Last One
J. B. Hogan
Stephen wasn't crazy about the outing to the zoo. There was a lot of walking, some of the people looking a little scary, and
the food…
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Cats and Fairies
Stuart Sharp
Like all cats, Nadia had a certain air of mystery. She'd arrived out of nowhere, and sometimes behaved in rather unfeline
ways. But the intruders who came to see her made Nadia seem like the very paragon of normalcy!
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Paralysis
Jeff Curry
Unable to move, barely able to breathe, to see… It had happened before, but what if it was permanent this time? And
was there someone else in the room?
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Flash Fiction
The Aphelion Flash Fiction Contest
We run a monthly flash fiction contest in the "Fun and Games" folder in Aphelion's forum. In the contest we
post a challenge with a specific theme and genre and participants write a flash story based on the challenge guidelines. The contest is a
great place to hone your writing skills, meet some fellow writers, receive some feedback, and possibly win a prize. New participants are
always welcome. Submissions for the contest are done through the forum. Flash stories from all of our previous contest challenges are
archived in the forum as well.
Over 500 stories are included in our archive. To start reading some of these great flash stories, check out either
Index 1 or Index 2.
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Poetry and Filk Music
The Best Poetry of the First Twenty Years
2007-2008
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Articles and features
 The Best Mare Inebrium Tales from Our
First Twenty Years
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Rerun
Bill Wolfe
In the back of every mind, a monster lurks—chained in the mind's dark recesses, kept away from the light of day for all
eternity… but chains can break. Corbeatee’s ability to control biological systems was absolute; he was merely very good
with mechanical devices. But he was learning fast.
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Fish for Orion
Lee Foster
"I hunt everything. Hunt dangerous things, no one else will hunt." He touched the butt of a bone-handled weapon on his
belt. "I hunt great cat-creatures. I hunt giant white, crushing creature. Use skeleton for trophy room. I hunt mutated giant
killer quadruped." He fingered his white furred GEEB polar bear cloak. He leaned close to me and said in a conspiratorial tone,
"But I run out of things to hunt. No more great killer beasts. I become building-stick." Then he smiled his toothsome smile
and looked up towards Kazsh-ak Tier…
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Sociology Experiment
Wishbone
"I was only trying to get an idea for my thesis on Non-terran sociology…' A little knowledge can be a dangerous
thing.
Where Angels Fear to Tread
Bill Wolfe
When a gathering of Gods found that they needed advice, they knew to ask a bartender. They usurped the bodies of a handy group of
Abvarnan farmers and marched them purposefully into the Mare Inebrium on the busiest holiday of the Bethdish year. Fortunately for
the Devine, Larrye was the one who took Their order…
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Sheffield's Eleventh
Jeff Williams
"Mr. Grym… gives you this challenge. Virtually all of City of Lights is…'open'…shall we say. To the
enterprising entrepreneur, there is an entree into virtually every business, every bank, every shop, if the cards are played right and if
the man or woman is quick, smart, and intelligent. Every building is transparent to your skills and talents under the right circumstances.
Every building, that is, except one… The Tower, my friends—The one building that has never been burglarized beyond petty
drunks stealing petty bags of petty peanuts. Nothing more than the occasional ashtray or shot glass. Nothing of any consequence besides
bathroom towels. No one in this room, indeed, no one in the history of Bethdish has ever broken into the Mare Inebrium Tower and stolen
anything of value."
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Aphelion Webzine is © 1997-2023 by Dan L. Hollifield
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