Generations, by Megan Lindholm

[Asimov's]

★★★☆☆

(SF) A young woman helps her famous, accomplished, wheelchair-bound aunt. (956 words; Time: 03m)

Recommended By: 👍STomaino+1 (Q&A)

Why I'll Never Get Tenure, by Peter Wood

[Asimov's]

★★★☆☆

(SF Humor) When Kate’s physics experiment goes haywire, her ex-girlfriend and the pompous professor she dumped Kate for turn up to make things even worse. (4,167 words; Time: 13m)

Bereft, I Come to a Nameless World, by Benjamin Rosenbaum

[Asimov's]

★★☆☆☆

(Far-Future SF) An ancient transhuman fleeing a disaster of its own making comes to a distant world looking for an old friend. (5,693 words; Time: 18m)

Imaginary Children, by Janet Stilson

[Asimov's]

★★☆☆☆

(SF Drama) Peta’s rich and powerful, but her biological clock runs out in two months, and she really wants to have a child before it’s too late. (7,059 words; Time: 23m)

We All Lose if they Take Mizuba, by Tom Purdom

[Asimov's]

★★★☆☆

(Military SF) Elio controls a group of combat machines in a battle to defend his asteroid city from attack by humans who’ve modified themselves to be extra aggressive. (5,980 words; Time: 19m)

The Last Water Baron, by Hollis Joel Henry

[Asimov's]

★★★☆☆

(SF Thriller) In a world where water is very precious, “Tommy” hides in the Caribbean from people who want to punish him for his role in the catastrophe. (6,420 words; Time: 21m)

Marbles, by Sean Monaghan

[Asimov's]

★★★☆☆

(SF Drama; Shilinka Switalla) Gabrielle has fallen behind on her task of finding a location for Shilinka Switalla’s next big art installation, so when the famous artist turns up, she’s sure she’s going to be fired. But Shilinka has something else in mind. (10,147 words; Time: 33m)

Recommended By: 👍STomaino+1 (Q&A)

The Beast Adjoins, by Ted Kosmatka

[Asimov's]

★★★☆☆

(AI Apocalypse) A Beast comes to the comet where one of the last humans hides with her son. But she’s prepared a surprise for it—if it works. (8,985 words; Time: 29m)

Tool Use by the Humans of Danzhai County, by Derek Künsken

[Asimov's]

★★★☆☆

(SF Epic) Over 100 years in China, we track Qiao Fue and his illegitimate daughter Lian Mee as they separately try to revolutionize AI and bioengineering. (24,931 words; Time: 1h:23m)

Nic and Viv's Compulsory Courtship, by Will McIntosh

[Asimov's]

★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention

(SF Drama) When the city AI sets Viv up with her “ideal partner,” Viv points out she’s already engaged. But the AI won’t take “no” for an answer. (17,535 words; Time: 58m)

Recommended By: 👍STomaino+1 (Q&A)

Ennui, by Filip Wiltgren

[Analog]

★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention

(SF Thriller) Mord is an AI that controls a starship, but the population is dropping as more and more passengers commit suicide due to ennui. And the problem seems to affect all systems everywhere. (4,759 words; Time: 15m)

Recommended By: 👍STomaino+1 (Q&A)

Keeping the Peace, by Elisabeth R. Adams

[Analog]

★★★☆☆

(Alien SF) A race of intelligent lizards prepares their conquest of the Solar System, but one of them is a dissenter with a plan. (3,983 words; Time: 13m)

Fuel Me Once, by Allen Lang

[Analog]

★★★☆☆

(SF Drama) Two oil men at a bar discuss the possibility of getting hydrocarbons from Titan. (916 words; Time: 03m)

Retention, by Alec Nevala-Lee

[Analog]

★★★★☆ Persist with this one; there’s more here than meets the eye.

(SF Thriller) It all started when Perry tried to call customer service to cancel his account, but the online system was amazingly persistent in finding ways to discourage him from that. (2,731 words; Time: 09m)

Recommended By: 👍STomaino+1 (Q&A)

Nanoscopic Nemesis, by P.K. Torrens

[Analog]

★★★☆☆

(SF Adventure) A medical nanobot investigates a free-floating cancer cell inside the human it’s protecting. (930 words; Time: 03m)

Mars, the Dumping Ground of the Solar System, by Andrew Kozma

[Analog]

★★☆☆☆

(SF Drama) Jonquil works with genetically engineered people who helped terraform the solar system but who, now that they’re not needed, are warehoused on Mars. Today he’s looking for a missing girl. (3,519 words; Time: 11m)

Lowlife Orbit, by Rich Larson

[Analog]

★★★☆☆

(SF Drama) A space pirate shows his nephew how to steal terraforming supplied headed for Mars. (975 words; Time: 03m)

On the Changing Roles of Dockworkers, by Marie Vibbert

[Analog]

★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention

(SF Drama) Mary works the docks in Cleveland, OH, which means managing the robots. She’s investigating why a robot that’s was disconnected from the network didn’t trigger an alarm. (2,453 words; Time: 08m)

Aboard the Mithridates, by Sean Vivier

[Analog]

★★★☆☆

(Generation Ship) Zarah notices that one of the other kids in school is struggling with the steady increase in sulfur in the ship’s atmosphere, and she’s determined to help him. (2,439 words; Time: 08m)

The Mad Cabbage, by Céline Malgen

[Analog]

★☆☆☆☆

(Hard SF) A Ph.D. student struggles to figure out why her fermented cabbage experiment has produced a result that’s almost as acidic as car-battery acid. (3,121 words; Time: 10m)