★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended
(SF Adventure) A teenage boy enters a dangerous race on Callisto. The nanites in his body worry that he intends to kill himself, and they’re determined to protect him. (4,316 words; Time: 14m)
"The Callisto Stakes," by Doug C. Souza [bio] (edited by Sheila Williams), appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction issue 09-10|18, published on August 16, 2018 by Penny Publications.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Pro: He cleverly evades the nanites and escapes the Callisto police state with his sister.
Con: I couldn’t suspend disbelief for this one. The government has nanites in all the citizens but can’t keep them under control? There’s a big race that’s illegal but going to take 20+ hours and the government can’t stop it? Etc.
Separately, the velocity required merely to depart Callisto is 2.44 km/sec, which is far beyond the 800 km/hr the kid’s racer can do—never mind what it would take to enter a transfer orbit to Ganymede—so the kid’s plan won’t work at all.
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Doug C. Souza Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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Con: I couldn’t suspend disbelief for this one. The government has nanites in all the citizens but can’t keep them under control? There’s a big race that’s illegal but going to take 20+ hours and the government can’t stop it? Etc.
Separately, the velocity required merely to depart Callisto is 2.44 km/sec, which is far beyond the 800 km/hr the kid’s racer can do—never mind what it would take to enter a transfer orbit to Ganymede—so the kid’s plan won’t work at all.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 09-10|18)
Doug C. Souza Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
I did quite enjoy the fact that the story was written from the nanties' POV.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'll admit that was cute. Although, strictly speaking, they're another instance of those emotional AI's I disapprove of. :-)
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