Thursday, August 23, 2018

The Callisto Stakes, by Doug C. Souza

[Asimov's]
★★☆☆☆ 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 (edited by Sheila Williams), appeared in issue 09-10|18, published on by .

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.

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.

2 comments (may contain spoilers):

  1. I did quite enjoy the fact that the story was written from the nanties' POV.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, I'll admit that was cute. Although, strictly speaking, they're another instance of those emotional AI's I disapprove of. :-)

      Delete