Against the Stars, by James Gunn

[Asimov's]

★★☆☆☆

(Fantasy Science; In Our Stars) A group of scientists and spiritual leaders gathers to discuss what to do about a hostile alien AI that might threaten the Earth or might not exist at all. (14,030 words; Time: 46m)

This story is a direct sequel to In Our Stars and will be hard to make sense of if you haven’t read that one first.

In Our Stars, by James Gunn

[Asimov's]

★★☆☆☆

(SF Adventure; In Our Stars) Harry travels all over the late 21st-Century world looking for answers to his questions about certain coincidental events that seem to be more than coincidences, suggesting there may be a meaning to life after all. (14,716 words; Time: 49m)

Quantum Theory, by James Gunn

[Asimov's]

★★☆☆☆

(AI Fantasy) The world’s first quantum computer becomes intelligent and starts hassling the intern who was supposed to be watching it. (1,811 words; Time: 06m)

The Little Sailboat, by James Gunn

[Analog]

★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended

(SF Fable) The bad people laughed at the little sailboat, so far from the sea, but it knew the sea was coming. (339 words; Time: 01m)

Attack on Terminal: The Pilgrims' Story, by James Gunn

[Asimov's]

★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended

(SF Adventure) The crowd of pilgrims in the waiting room are attacked by poorly understood barbarians. (2,629 words; Time: 08m)

The Waiting Room: The Pedia's Story, by James Gunn

[Asimov's]

★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended

(Space Opera) The Pedia sits inside Riley’s brain, giving him encyclopedic knowledge, but uncomfortable with him taking any sort of risk. (1,106 words; Time: 03m)

The Final Commandment: Trey's Story, by James Gunn

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(SF Background) In which we learn the backstory of Trey, the intelligent machine whose quest on behalf of the frozen remains of the last survivors of its creators takes it to planet Terminal. (3,646 words; Time: 12m)

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ Needs Improvement

This is a background document, not a story, and it will most likely be of more interest to readers of the author’s “Transcendence” trilogy

The Seeds of Consciousness: 4107's Story, by James Gunn

[Asimov's]

★☆☆☆☆ Needs Improvement

(SF Background) In which we learn the history of the intelligent plants of planet Flora and how 4107 came to travel to planet Terminal. (4,258 words; Time: 14m)

Recommended By: 👍STomaino+1 (Q&A)

This is a background document, not a story, and it will most likely be of more interest to readers of the author’s “Transcendence” trilogy

Love and Death and the Star that Shall Not Be Named: Kom's Story, by James Gunn

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(SF Adventure; Transcendental) Kom violates the taboos of his own species and visits the sun that shall not be named, finding it something of a disappointment. But the alien he finds there changes him forever. (4,918 words; Time: 16m)

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended

The Ganymede Gambit: Jan’s Story, by James Gunn

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(Space Opera; Transcendental) Jan and his siblings work on a secret base near Jupiter, where they plan to attempt to terraform Ganymede. (5,773 words; Time: 19m)

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ Needs Improvement

Arriving At Terminal: Xi's Story, by James Gunn

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(Space Opera; Transcendental) In which Xi arrives at the space elevator on planet Terminal and we learn all about his history. (5,773 words; Time: 19m)

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ Needs Improvement

Weighty Matters: Tordor's Story, by James Gunn

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(Military SF; Transcendental) Tordor’s species produces warriors by brutal training starting from a young age. He’s very successful, but he dreams of changing the system. (5,871 words; Time: 19m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

Transcendental Mission: Riley's Story, by James Gunn

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(SF; Transcendental) Riley finds himself in a place with no light and no sound, and he can’t even feel his body. He tries to remember how he got there. (5,014 words; Time: 16m)

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ Needs Improvement

The Escape of the Adastra: Asha's Story, by James Gunn

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(Generation Ship) Aliens captured the Adastra years ago, but Asha and her boyfriend have a plan to escape and get a warning back to Earth. (5,931 words; Time: 19m)

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ Needs Improvement

New Earth, by James Gunn

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(Hard SF) Human colonists arrive at a new world but debate how cautious they need to be, given that there's no animal life. (2,746 words)

Rating: 1, Needs Improvement

 

Saving the World, by James Gunn

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(SF) The narrator, a brain researcher, explores a theory that science fiction texts can be used to cause test subjects to think more rationally. (2,361 words; Time: 07m)

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆, Needs Improvement