“Congratulations.”
“I didn’t say I solved it, Able. Company thinks I did, though. Upside, they’re saying things started to change the moment I came on board. Except I wasn’t the only one who came on board that day.” He took a long drink and looked around. “So this is the Hole. It’s not so bad; why the Hole?”
“Because this is downside, Dr. Porter. And they call this the asshole of the station.”
“Do they, Able?”
“They do, Dr. Porter. I knew a guy once, his asshole seized up on him. Eventually, his head exploded.” A sudden loud burst of music cut off the psychologist’s reply. “Strawberry! Tell Logan to turn his damned foot down!”
The music dimmed.
Dr. Porter smiled into his coffee. “You knew a guy once?”
“I knew a lot of guys, Doc.”
“And you say you’re just a bartender.”
“No, I don’t.”
“But…”
Able drew a beer and set it on Spike’s tray. “I don’t believe I ever used the word just.”
Tanya Huff lives and writes in rural Ontario with her partner, four cats, and an unintentional chihuahua. After sixteen fantasies, she has written two space operas, Valor’s Choice and The Better Part of Valor, now out from DAW. Just published by DAW is Long Hot Summoning, the third novel in her Keeper series, which began with Summon the Keeper and The Second Summoning. In her spare time she gardens and complains about the weather.
Editor’s Bio
Julie E. Czerneda comes by her interest in space and work naturally. A former biologist turned educational writer, she has been writing and editing science and career books for almost two decades, contributing to more than 125 texts. She is also an internationally best-selling science fiction author, with six novels published by DAW Books Inc. (including two series: the Trade Pact Universe and the Webshifters), with more to come. Her short fiction and novels have been nominated for several awards, including the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, the Philip K. Dick Award for Distinguished Science Fiction, and the Prix Aurora Award, as well as being on the preliminary ballot for the Nebula. A strong proponent of using science fiction in classrooms, Julie is series editor for Tales from the Wonder Zone and author of the acclaimed No Limits: Developing Scientific Literacy Using Science Fiction. And, given any chance at all, she looks up into space and imagines how busy we’ll be there.
Need a Job, Go to Mars…
or the nearest space station or colony world. But what kind of career opportunities will you find on the ever-expanding frontiers of space? And how many alien beings will be vying for the same positions? To discover some of the possibilities, check out Space, Inc., and such entertaining and original tales as:
“Attached Please Find My Novel”—Sometimes you found tomorrow’s best-sellers in the most unexpected places…
“The Siren Stone”—Their mission was to blow up an asteroid before it could destroy a space station and its entire population, but nothing could prepare them for what they discovered when they rendezvoused with this giant piece of rock…
“Come All Ye Faithful”—Finding a real congregation on Mars wasn’t going to be easy—in fact he had to admit it would be a miracle if it ever happened…
Space Inc.
edited by Julie E. Czerneda
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Copyright © 2003 by Julie E. Czerneda and Tekno Books.
All Rights Reserved.
Cover art by Jean-Pierre Normand.
DAW Book Collectors No. 1263.
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All characters and events in this book are fictitious.
Any resemblance to persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
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Acknowledgments
Introduction © 2003 by Julie E. Czerneda.
Eightfold Career Path © 2003 by James Alan Gardner.
Porter’s Progress © 2003 by Isaac Szpindel.
Catalog of Woe © 2003 by Mindy L. Klasky.
Ferret and Red © 2003 by Josepha Sherman.
A Man’s Place © 2003 by Eric Choi.
Dancing in the Dark © 2003 by Nancy Kress.
The Siren Stone © 2003 by Derwin Mak.
Feef’s House © 2003 by Doranna Durgin.
Attached Please Find My Novel © 2003 by Sean P. Fodera.
Field Trip © 2003 by S. M. and Janet Stirling.
Come All Ye Faithful © 2003 by Robert J. Sawyer.
Riggers © 2003 by Michael E. Picray.
Suspended Lives © 2003 by Alison Sinclair.
I Knew a Guy Once © 2003 by Tanya Huff.