July's picks from our fellow magazines, selected for your enjoyment.
- To Catch a Foo Fighter - David Hankins
"To Catch a Foo Fighter" introduces us to Lieutenant Jimmy "Wraith" Rigg, a mute pilot chosen to fly the experimental X-73 jet. Tasked with capturing a foo fighter, a type of UFO that has intrigued the U.S. Navy since World War II, Rigg's mission takes unexpected turns, leading to first contact with an intelligent alien presence. David's story explores themes of communication, technological integration, and the challenges of human-alien interaction.
- The Ninth Tentacle - Geoffrey Hart
Kepler Award winner
The mussels dragged us upslope to one of the carved coral shapes with eight radiating branches that resembled octopods. We'd long since stopped struggling; the mussels vastly outnumbered us, and where could we flee? Even if our airsuit remained functional, we'd have to cross the barren land, hoping to arrive before the lash of Secundus' killing sunlight.
One by one, the mussels drove spikes through our tentacles, leaving us splayed out on the rough coral, fire running up and down our tentacles.
Their work done, they left us to die.
- Don't Look! - Larry Hodges
Just because we know how to make smart devices neurotic, may not mean we should...
- Interview #5 - Stacie Turner
“I am a god,” the woman said.