Fine-Tuning, by Bond Elam

[Analog]

★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention

(SF Exploration) Ray’s anxiety about his first assignment on-planet isn’t helped by a robot that won’t cooperate. Worse, no one gave him her override code. (1,405 words; Time: 04m)

The Chatter of Monkeys, by Bond Elam

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(Post Apocalypse) War and pollution are killing the last survivors on Earth, but an alien robot descends and tells young Molly that there is still time to save the planet. (5,991 words; Time: 19m)

Rating: ★★★★☆ Breathtaking

The Eighth Iteration, by Bond Elam

Analog Science Fiction and Fact, April 2015; ~14,500 words
Rating: 2, Not recommended

Lucas has taken over the small human colony on a jungle planet, and Jake and Margret try to resist.

Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)

Pro: The robot's dialogues with Jake about the iterations are interesting, as are the robot's dry comments on what went wrong for humanity. The final description of the ninth iteration is satisfying.

Con: There is way too much editorializing. All of the dialogue involving the bad guys is unnatural--they're basically cartoon villains. The notion of an alien world with food that humans can eat is not realistic, but the idea of viruses that can infect humans--with similar effects to those it has on the local animals--is beyond incredible.

Dreams of Spanish Gold, by Bond Elam

Analog Science Fiction and Fact, July/August 2015; ~2,200 words
Rating: NR, Not Rated: insufficient speculative element

A godlike AI becomes human to learn the meaning of being human.

Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)

Strip off the AI bits at start and end, and this is the first half of a simple boy-meets-girl story.