“Uncle Jimmy!” he screamed. I turned away quickly as she bore him off. Really, it was for the best.
I made my way along the rail and emerged on the aft deck, where I nearly ran into Nan D’Araignee. She did not see me, however; she was fervently kissing a great bearded fellow in a brass-buttoned blue coat, which he had opened to wrap about them both, making a warm protected place for her in his arms. He looked up and saw me. His eyes, timid and kindly, widened, and he nodded in recognition.
“Kalugin,” I acknowledged with brittle courtesy, tipping my hat. I edged on past them quickly, but not so quickly as to suggest I was fleeing. What had I to flee from? Not guilt, certainly. No gentleman dishonourably covets another gentleman’s lady.
As I reached the aft saloon we felt it beginning, with the rising surge that lifted the Thunderer at its mooring and threatened to swamp the fleeing whaleboats; we heard the roar coming up from the earth, and in the City some mortals sat up in their beds and frowned at what they could sense but not quite hear yet.
I clung to the rail of the Thunderer. My fellow operatives were hurrying to the stern of the ship to be witness to History, and nearly every face bore an expression compounded of mingled horror and eagerness. There were one or two who turned away, averting their eyes. There were those like me, sick and exhausted, who merely stared.
And really, from where we lay offshore, there was not much to see; no DeMille spectacle; no more at first than a puff of dust rising into the air. But very clear across the water we heard the rumbling, and then the roar of bricks coming down, and steel snapping, and timbers groaning, and the high sweet shattering of glass, and the tolling in all discordance of bronze-throated bells. Loud as the Last Trumpet, but not loud enough to drown out the screams of the dying. No, the roar of the earthquake even paused for a space, as if to let us hear mortal agony more clearly; then the little we had been able to see of the City was concealed in a roiling fog the colour of a bloodstain.
I turned away, and chanced to look up at the open doorway of a stateroom on the deck above. There stood Labienus, watching the death of three thousand mortals with an avid stare. That was when I knew, and knew beyond question, whose weapon I was.
I hadn’t escaped. My splendid mansion, with all its gilded conceits, had collapsed in a rain of bricks and broken plaster.
A hand settled on my shoulder and I dropped my gaze to behold Lewis, of all people, looking into my face with compassion.
“I know,” he murmured, “I know, old fellow. Too much horror to bear. At least it’s finished now, for those poor mortals and for us. At least we’ve done our jobs. Brace up! Can I get you a drink?”
What did he recognize in my sick white face? Not the features of a man who had emptied a phial into an innocent-looking cup of wine, and given it to him under pretence of calming his nerves. Why, I’d always been a poisoner, hadn’t I? But it had happened long ago, and he had no memory of it anyway. I’d seen to that. And Lewis would never suspect me of such behaviour in any case. We were both gentlemen, after all.
“No, thank you,” I replied, “I believe I’ll just take the air for a little while out here. It’s a fine restorative to the nerves, you know. Sea air.”
“So it is,” he agreed, stepping back. “That’s the spirit! And it’s not as though you could have done anything more. You know what they say: History cannot be changed.” He gave me a final helpful thump on the arm and moved away, clinging to the rail as the deck pitched.
Alone, I fixed my eyes on the wide horizon of the cold and perfect sea. I drew in a deep breath of chill air.
One can write lies. And live them.
Two operatives in uniform were making their way toward me through the press of the crowd. I looked across at them.
“Executive Facilitator Victor?”
I nodded. They shouldered into place, one on either side of me.
“Sir, your presence is urgently requested. Mr Labienus sends his apologies for unavoidably revising your schedule,” one of them recited.
“Certainly.” I exhaled. “By all means, gentlemen, let us go.”
We made our way across deck to the forward compartments, avoiding the hatches where the crew were busily loading down the Art, the Music, the Literature, the fine flowering of the Humanity that we had, after all, been created to save.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
1999
Daniel Abraham, “Jaycee,” Asimov’s, December.
—, & Michaela Roessner, Sage Walker, Walter Jon Williams, “Tauromaquia,” Event Horizon, August/September.
Brian Aldiss, “An Apollo Asteroid,” Moon Shots.
Poul Anderson, “The Shrine for Lost Children,” F&SF, October/November.
Michael Armstrong, “Recalled to Home,” Asimov’s, April.
—, “Of Bitches Born,” Not of Woman Born.
Eleanor Arnason, “The Actors,” F&SF, December.
—, “The Grammarian’s Five Daughters,” Realms of Fantasy, June.
—, “Stellar Harvest,” Asimov’s, April.
Constance Ash, “The Leopard’s Garden,” Not of Woman Born.
Paolo Bacigalupi, “A Pocketful of Dharma,” F&SF, February.
Kage Baker, “The Fourth Branch,” Amazing, Summer.
—, “The Queen in the Hill,” Realms of Fantasy, December.
—, “Smart Alec,” Asimov’s, September.
Tony Ballantyne, “Soldier.exe,” Interzone, June.
John Barnes, “Bang On!” Apostrophes & Apocalypses.
—, “Enrico Fermi and the Dead Cat,” Apostrophes & Apocalypses.
William Barton, “Soldier’s Home,” Asimov’s, May.
Stephen Baxter, “Huddle,” F&SF, May.
—, “The Plain of Bones,” Interzone, February.
—, “Saddle Point: The Face of Kintu,” Science Fiction Age, May.
—, “Spindrift,” Asimov’s, March.
Greg Bear, “The Way of All Ghosts,” Far Horizons.
Chris Beckett, “Valour,” Interzone, March.
M. Shayne Bell, “The Game,” Realms of Fantasy, April.
Gregory Benford, “A Hunger for the Infinite,” Far Horizons.
Judith Berman, “The Window,” Asimov’s, August.
Terry Bisson, “macs,” F&SF, October/November.
—, “Smoother,” F&SF, January.
Paul Blake, “Watching the Angels,” Altair Four.
Nelson Bond, “Proof of the Pudding,” Asimov’s, October/November.
Ben Bova, “Red Sky at Morning,” Analog, May.
T. Coraghessan Boyle, “After the Plague,” Playboy, September.
Scott Bradfield, “Dazzle Redux,” F&SF, December.
Elizabeth Braswell, “The Bride,” Amazing, Winter.
David Brin, “Temptation,” Far Horizons.
Keith Brooke & Eric Brown, “The Flight of the Oh Carrollian,” Interzone, July.
Eric Brown, “Dark Calvary,” Science Fiction Age, January.
—, “Hunting the Slarque,” Interzone, March.
—, “Steps Along the Way,” Moon Shots.
—, “Venus Macabre,” Aboriginal SF, Winter.
Stephen L. Burns, “Vultures,” Analog, February.
Pat Cadigan, & Kathleen Ann Goonan, Paul Witcover, Sean Stewart, “Camera Obscura,” Event Horizon, April/May.
Orson Scott Card, “Heal Thyself,” Amazing, Summer.
—, “Investment Counselor,” Far Horizons.
—, “Vessel,” F&SF, December.
Amy Sterling Casil, “Letters from Arles,” Talebones, Winter.
Adam-Troy Castro & Jerry Oltion, “The Astronaut from Wyoming,” Analog, July/August.
Robert R. Chase, “Heat,” Analog, December.
Rob Chilson, “The Hestwood,” F&SF, April.
Rick Cook, “The Host of the Air,” Analog, March.
Bruce Coville, “The Giant’s Tooth,” Realms of Fantasy, December.
Albert E. Cowdrey, “Revenge,” F&SF, May.
> Robert Cox, “The Grandmaster’s Last Crusade,” Aurealis 24.
Tony Daniel, “In from the Commons,” Asimov’s, October/November.
—, “Mystery Box,” Asimov’s, April.
Don D’Ammassa, “Wormdance,” Asimov’s, May.
Stephen Dedman, “A Single Shadow,” Weird Tales, Summer.
—, “The Lady Macbeth Blues,” Interzone, October.
—, “Unequal Laws,” Science Fiction Age, March.
A.M. Dellamonica, “The Dark Hour,” Tesseracts8.
Nicholas A. DiChario, “Movin’ On,” Weird Tales, Spring.
—, “Sarajevo,” F&SF, March.
Paul Di Filippo, “Angelmakers,” Interzone, March.
—, “Fax,” Pirate Writings 17.
Cory Doctorow, “Home Again, Home Again,” Tesseracts8.
—, “Visit the Sins,” Asimov’s, June.
Terry Dowling, “The View in Nancy’s Window,” Interzone, August.
Gardner Dozois, “A Knight of Ghosts and Shadows,” Asimov’s, October/November.
L. Timmel Duchamp, “Living Trust,” Asimov’s, February.
Andy Duncan, “The Executioners’ Guild,” Asimov’s, August.
—, “Fortitude,” Realms of Fantasy, June.
—, “From Alfano’s Reliquary,” Weird Tales, Fall.
—, “Grand Guignol,” Weird Tales, Winter.
S.N. Dyer, “Original Sin,” Asimov’s, January.
Scott Edelman, “The Last Man on the Moon,” Moon Shots.
Kandis Elliot, “TCoB,” Analog, September.
Harlan Ellison, “Objects of Desire in the Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear,” F&SF, October/November.
Timons Esaias, “Lilith, Searching,” The Age of Reason.
John Ezzy, “The Old God Begins to Reassert Himself,” Aurealis 24.
Gregory Feeley, “Ladies in Their Letters,” Asimov’s, June.
Gemma Files, “Blood Makes Noise,” TransVersions 11.
Sheila Finch, “No Brighter Glory,” F&SF, April.
Eliot Fintushel, “De Rerum,” Aboriginal SF, Spring.
—, “Iz and the Blue God,” Asimov’s, April.
—, “Open Mike,” Asimov’s, December.
—, “We from Afar,” Science Fiction Age, July.
Michael F. Flynn, “Flame of Iron,” Analog, March.
—, “Prudence and Fortitude,” Analog, April.
Peter Friend, “Stormy Weather,” Interzone, August.
Valerie J. Freireich, “Suburban Ecology,” Asimov’s, August.
Esther M. Friesner, “Chanoyu,” Asimov’s, March.
—, “How to Make Unicorn Pie,” F&SF, January.
—, “Love, Crystal and Stone,” Albedo 19.
R. Garcia y Robertson, “Diana by Starlight,” Asimov’s, March.
—, “Forever Free,” Past Lives, Present Tense.
—, “Strongbow,” F&SF, August.
David Gill, “Of Divers, Hawkers and Slugs,” Interzone, November.
Alexander Glass, “Grandma’s Bubble and the Speaking Clock,” Interzone, May.
—, “The Mirror Repair’d,” Interzone, January.
James C. Glass, “Shadows,” Analog, January.
Lisa Goldstein, “The Witch’s Child,” Realms of Fantasy, December.
Colin Greenland, “Miss Becky Laban and the Galactic League,” Albedo 18.
—, “The Way to Norwich,” Moon Shots.
Eileen Gunn, & Andy Duncan, Pat Murphy, Michael Swanwick, “Green Fire,” Event Horizon, January.
James Gunn, “The Giftie,” Analog, September.
Karen Haber, “The Sweet Taste of Regret,” Science Fiction Age, July.
Joe Haldeman, “A Separate War,” Far Horizons.
Jeff Hecht, “The Rumor of the Ruined City,” Asimov’s, April.
Nina Kiriki Hoffman, “Mud,” Amazing, Winter.
—, “Salvage Efforts,” F&SF, August.
Brian A. Hopkins, “Reflections on a Classic Machine,” Dark Planet, October.
Ben Jeapes, “Go with the Flow,” Interzone, April.
Phillip C. Jennings, “Old Glory,” Asimov’s, May.
—, “Otherness,” Amazing, Fall.
Jan Lars Jensen, “The Secret History of the Ornithopter,” F&SF, June.
Bill Johnson, “The Vaults of Permian Love,” Analog, May.
Kij Johnson, “Chenting, in the Land of the Dead,” Realms of Fantasy, October.
S. Ivan Jurisevic, “Captain Starlight and the Flying Saucer,” Interzone, August.
Michael Kandel, “Hooking Up,” F&SF, August.
William H. Keith, Jr., “Fossils,” Asimov’s, August.
J. Gregory Keyes, “An Air of Deception,” Amazing, Spring.
Nancy Kress, “Sleeping Dogs,” Far Horizons.
Kathryn Kulpa, “The Night Copernicus Died,” Asimov’s, February.
Douglas Lain, “Instant Labor,” Amazing, Spring.
Geoffrey A. Landis, “Interview with an Artist,” Asimov’s, July.
—, “Into the Blue Abyss,” Asimov’s, August.
—, “The Leaning Towers of Venice,” The Age of Reason.
Miriam Landau, “Allies,” Asimov’s, March.
Chris Lawson, “Chinese Rooms,” Eidolon 28.
Tanith Lee, “Scarlet and Gold,” Weird Tales, Summer.
—, “Where Does the Town Go at Night?” Interzone, September.
Ursula K. Le Guin, “Darkrose and Diamond,” F&SF, October/November.
—, “Old Music and the Slave Woman,” Far Horizons.
Jonathan Lethem, James Patrick Kelly, & John Kessel, “Ninety Percent of Everything,” F&SF, September.
Kelly Link, “The Girl Detective,” Event Horizon, March.
Richard A. Lupoff, “31.12.99,” Interzone, September.
Ian R. MacLeod, “The Chop Girl,” Asimov’s, December.
Paul J. McAuley, “Alien TV,” Interzone, April.
—, “Before the Flood,” Interzone, May.
—, “Naming the Dead,” Interzone, November.
—, & Michael Marshall Smith, Jeff VanderMeer, “Dead Stringer for Love,” Event Horizon, June/August.
Sally McBride, “Speaking Sea,” Tesseracts8.
Anne McCaffery, “The Ship That Returned,” Far Horizons.
Wil McCarthy, “Once Upon a Matter Crushed,” Science Fiction Age, July.
Jack McDevitt, “Dead in the Water,” Not of Woman Born.
Ian McDonald, “Breakfast on the Moon, with Georges,” Moon Shots.
Christopher McKitterick, “Circles of Light and Shadow,” Analog, February.
Elisabeth Malartre, “Evolution Never Sleeps,” Asimov’s, July.
Barry N. Malzberg, “Shiva,” Science Fiction Age, May.
Joseph Manzione, “Emperor Penguins,” Analog, July/August.
David Marusek, “Cabbages and Kales, or, How We Downsized North America,” Asimov’s, February.
—, “Yurek Rutz, Yurek Rutz, Yurek Rutz,” Asimov’s, January.
Kathleen M. Massie-Ferch, “Moon Hunters,” Moon Shots.
Michael Meddor, “The Wizard Retires,” F&SF, September.
Yves Meynard, “Within the Mechanism,” Tesseracts8.
Lyda Morehouse, “Twelve Traditions,” Science Fiction Age, May.
Andrew Morris, “Emotional Bypass,” Eidolon 28.
Derryl Murphy, “Northwest Passage,” Realms of Fantasy, February.
Vera Nazarian, “Rossia Moya,” The Age of Reason.
Kim Newman, “Angel Down, Sussex,” Interzone, November.
Simon Ng, “The Heart Drummer,” Eidolon 28.
David Nickle, “Ground-Bound,” On Spec, Spring.
G. David Nordley, “Democritus’ Violin,” Analog, April.
—, “Mustardseed,” Asimov’s, September.
—, “The Touch,” The Age of Reason.
Jerry Oltion, “Biosphere,” F&SF, June.
Susan Palwick, “Judith’s Flowers,” Not of
Woman Born.
Severna Park, “The Breadfruit Empire,” Event Horizon, May.
—, “Harbingers,” Event Horizon, January.
Richard Parks, “Take a Long Step,” Realms of Fantasy, April.
Ursula Pflug, “Gone with the Sea,” Tesseracts8.
Frederik Pohl, “The Boy Who Would Live Forever,” Far Horizons.
Tom Purdom, “Fossil Games,” Asimov’s, February.
—, “Woman’s Work,” Asimov’s, August.
Wolf Read, “The Trees of Verita,” Analog, June.
Robert Reed, “At the Corner of Darwin and Eternity,” Interzone, October.
—, “Baby’s Fire,” Asimov’s, July.
—, “The Challenger,” Science Fiction Age, May.
—, “Game of the Century,” F&SF, May.
—, “Human Bay,” Asimov’s, May.
—, “Mac and Me,” Asimov’s, February.
—, “Nod,” Asimov’s, September.
—, “What It Is,” Science Fiction Age, September.
—, “Will Be,” F&SF, January.
Jessica Wynne Reisman, “Raney’s Hounds,” Realms of Fantasy, October.
Mike Resnick, “Hunting the Snark,” Asimov’s, December.
Alastair Reynolds, “Angels of Ashes,” Asimov’s, July.
—, “Viper,” Asimov’s, December.
Uncle River, “The Dashing About Flying Box People,” Analog, April.
Kim Stanley Robinson, “Arthur Sternbach Brings the Curveball to Mars,” Asimov’s, August.
—, “Maya and Desmond,” The Martians.
—, “Sexual Dimorphism,” Asimov’s, June.
—, “What Matters,” The Martians.
Bruce Holland Rogers, “How the Highland People Came to Be,” Realms of Fantasy, August.
Chuck Rothman, “Sundials,” Aboriginal SF, Fall.
Diana Rowland, “Extant,” The Age of Reason.
Rudy Rucker & Paul Di Filippo, “The Square Root of Pythagoras,” Science Fiction Age, November.
Kristine Kathryn Rusch, “Bonding,” Asimov’s, April.
—, “Flowers and the Last Hurrah,” Analog, March.
—, “Relics,” Past Lives, Present Tense.
—, “The Women of Whale Rock,” F&SF, March.
Richard Paul Russo, “Watching Lear Dream,” F&SF, July.
William Sanders, “Dirty Little Cowards,” Asimov’s, June.
—, “Jennifer, Just Before Midnight,” F&SF, August.
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