Iterations and other stories (collection)

Iterations and other stories by Robert J. Sawyer

Dedication

For

Andrew Weiner

friend and mentor throughout my first career as a nonfiction writer and my second one as a fiction writer

with thanks

Acknowledgments

Sincere thanks to the editors who originally published these stories, especially Martin H. Greenberg (who bought seven of them—every year, Marty is one of my nominees for the Best Editor Hugo Award; he is the driving force behind short-fiction publishing today, and richly deserves the honor), Edward E. Kramer (who bought four of them), and Mike Resnick (who bought three), plus Isaac Asimov, Cathrin Bradbury, Terry Carr, Lesley Choyce, John Robert Colombo, Peter Crowther, Julie E. Czerneda, Keith R. A. DeCandido, Marcel Gagne, Dr. Henry Gee, Ed Greenwood, John Heifers, Brad Linaweaver, Sally McBride, Shawna McCarthy, the On Spec editorial collective, Patrick Lucien Price, Victoria Schochet, Larry Segriff, Robert Sheckley, Josepha Sherman, Dale Sproule, Sally Tomasevic, and Edo van Belkom.

Thanks doubled to Edo van Belkom, who brought this book to Quarry Press; to Quarry publisher Bob Hilderley; to Susan Hannah, also of Quarry; to David G. Hartwell of Tor Books; to my agent Ralph Vicinanza; to James Alan Gardner for the wonderful introduction; and to those who were always there for me when these stories were being written, especially Ted Bleaney, David Livingstone Clink, Terence M. Green, Andrew Weiner, and, most of all, my lovely wife, Carolyn Clink.

Introduction

First things first:

If you’re browsing through this book in a bookstore, rush to the checkout immediately and BUY THE BOOK.

If you’ve already bought the book, don’t just leave it on the coffee table to impress your friends—SIT DOWN AND READ EVERY STORY.

There: I’ve fulfilled my obligations as an introduction writer. Now I can relax and just generally burble on about the glories of Robert J. Sawyer.

Also known as the Rob-Man.

Or the Robster.

Or R.J.

Or the Dean of Canadian Science Fiction.

Or the Man Who Really Deserves A Cool Nickname But No One Has Quite Found Anything That Clicks. It’s hard to come up with a short snappy sobriquet that combines talented writer, inspired visionary, and good friend all in one tight verbal package.

I’ve known Rob for more than a decade, and I’m honored to be the person who gets to gush up front about Rob’s first collection of short stories. It’s my chance to repay him for all the support and advice he’s given me over the years, not to mention the pleasure of reading his work.

Of course, Rob is best known in science-fiction circles for his novels: from his earliest book, Golden Fleece (told mostly from the viewpoint of a serial-killing computer), through his Quintaglio trilogy (featuring dinosaur versions of Galileo, Darwin, and Freud), to the space opera of Starplex and on into his near-future pieces (The Terminal Experiment, Frameshift, Factoring Humanity, Calculating God, et al.), which are balanced mixes of thriller-adventure stories, well-researched speculation, and philosophical musings. You owe it to yourself to get your hands on those books, too… but in the meantime, the book you’re holding now is an admirable microcosm of Rob Sawyer’s interests and concerns.

You’ll see, for example, Rob’s ongoing fascination with What Might Have Been, often embodied in multiple realities showing alternative ways in which one person’s life might have unfolded: what would have happened if you made a different decision at some crucial moment, if you turned left instead of right? There’s also the theme of simulated life, found in several of his novels—human intelligence copied into a computer, usually as a way of cheating death, but sometimes as a technique for understanding who a man or woman truly is. Several of the pieces in this book also reveal a covert inclination toward fantasy; Rob will probably deny it, but hey, there are three stories featuring the devil, one with vampires, and another that literally sends someone to hell. (And he keeps claiming to be a “hard science fiction” writer!)

Last and most enduringly, this book shows Rob’s love of Earth’s distant past: dinosaurs, early hominids, and paleontologists pop up over and over again, sometimes as protagonists, sometimes in disguise as aliens, sometimes in even more surprising forms… but always depicted with affection and a detailed attention to scientific accuracy. These are not trendy stage props thrown in for their current Coolness Factor—they matter to Rob, and he makes them matter to us.

Enough preamble. I could go on to enthuse about what a fine human being Rob is, or what important contributions he’s made to Canadian science fiction and to the science-fiction community as a whole; perhaps I could come up with a few telling anecdotes about the guy (or at least some juicy embarrassing ones); I could even rustle up praise and testimonials from dozens of other writers who are glad to have Rob Sawyer as their friend; but if you have any sense, you aren’t interested in blather, you just want to read some good stories.

Lucky you. This book is full of them. Enjoy!

—James Alan Gardner

James Alan Gardner is a Nebula and Hugo Award finalist whose short stories have appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. His novels include Expendable, Vigilant, Hunted, and Ascending.

The Hand You’re Dealt

Finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Short Story of the Year

Winner of the Science Fiction Chronicle Reader Award for Best Short Story of the Year

Author’s Introduction

Edward E. Kramer is one of my favorite editors; he always asks me for something challenging. But when he approached me to contribute to a libertarian science-fiction anthology he was co-editing with Brad Linaweaver, I said, Ed, baby, I’m a Canadian—I don’t think it’s technically possible to be both a Canadian and a libertarian. As he always does, Ed said a few magic words: “Well, you could write a story that shows potential problems with libertarianism—we’re looking for a balanced book.” And, lo and behold, “The Hand You’re Dealt” was created.

* * *

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

—John 8:32

“Got a new case for you,” said my boss, Raymond Chen. “Homicide.”

My heart started pounding. Mendelia habitat is supposed to be a utopia. Murder is almost unheard of here.

Chen was fat—never exercised, loved rich foods. He knew his lifestyle would take decades off his life, but, hey, that was his choice. “Somebody offed a soothsayer, over in Wheel Four,” he said, wheezing slightly. “Baranski’s on the scene now.”

My eyebrows went up. A dead soothsayer? This could be very interesting indeed.

I took my pocket forensic scanner and exited The Cop Shop. That was its real name—no taxes in Mendelia, after all. You needed a cop, you hired one. In this case, Chen had said, we were being paid by the Soothsayers’ Guild. That meant we could run up as big a bill as necessary—the SG was stinking rich. One of the few laws in Mendelia was that everyone had to use soothsayers.