#eva can turn into ufo

[nthflower]

I love fantomex absolutely nonsense character. Nothing makes sense everything about him sucks.

[dspacefear]

Meeting at Ris, Chapter 1

You can also read this on Wattpad. There’s also a prologue there, if you’re into that kind of thing. You can also hit up my inbox and tell me what other places I can post this kind of thing.

Ideally, writing more of this will take me less time than it took to write this chapter.

----

Captain Amelia Everett sat in her quarters on the UNRS Cordell, in orbit around the planet Ris. The first planet named by aliens. The Cordell was a unique ship, designed to stay in orbit around a single planet, monitoring transmissions and taking images of the planet below. It could even dispatch drones into the upper atmosphere for taking more detailed photos, though the use of the drones had only been approved recently.

The report, from communications officer Francine Berger, was on responses to the second aerial drone mission. The news was good, in that there was no news. Nothing they'd been monitoring mentioned the craft at all. It was still possible that it had been seen, of course, but hopefully a small number of people sighting a UFO would be taken the same way it was on Earth during the twentieth century. It wouldn't be a problem when they eventually made contact. Which they'd get to do. That's what Everett told herself.

The flight itself had been quite fruitful, in terms of photography and video. The data would be useful to the xenobiologist, Pavel Kuznetsov, and when the next supply ship arrived, a copy could be sent back to Earth. The supply ship would be arriving in a few days, carrying letters and orders from home, supplies for the ship and crew, and reports and letters from the crew back to Earth and the colonies.  The life on Ris would probably still require a whole new set of classifications. Every world had its own ecosystems, unique from any other's.

Everett's thoughts were then interrupted by  a trio of sharp bangs.

She immediately called Engineering. "Engineering, this is the captain. What was that sound?"

A short wait. No response. She asked again. "Engineering, report. What's happened to the ship?"

Finally, the voice of the chief engineer, Maria Tran, came back over the intercom. "Something hit us, Cap. Small, but moving fast, ripped through the ship. Engineering strut got hit, possibly others. Sally's been hit in the leg. I called Doctor Brecher, he's on the way."

"Make sure she'll be okay first. Figure out what kind of damage we've taken. Call me at the bridge then. Everett out." Everett switched the intercom off, grabbed her tablet, and rushed out of her room.

----

In the Engineering strut, Tran turned back to her two engineers. Henry Micallef was kneeling over Sally Parker, pressing a cloth into the wound on her leg. She said to them, "Captain called. She knows we're holed, once we're sorted here she'll probably call me up to the bridge."

Micallef didn't even look up, and Tran didn't bother to see if he did, already grabbing the hull patch kit off the wall. Finding the hole and applying the temporary patch was short work with the kit. A pressure difference of one atmosphere through such a small hole wasn't nearly enough to cause any serious risk beyond slowly losing air, fortunately, and she had managed to seal the hull before too much was lost.

Checking her tablet, there were a few other issues on the ship - loss of pressure in a storage room, the same in Central Engineering, and loss of power to the warp drive. Whatever they'd had the misfortune to pass through did a real number on the ship. As Tran rushed out to check on the other rooms that had been hit, she passed by  Doctor Brecher and Nurse Oyana, rushing in.

----

Everett arrived on the bridge to questions from all three people there, the astrogator, pilot, and comms officer.

"What was that noise?"

"Is the ship damaged?"

"Are we in trouble here?"

Everett answered all of them at once, "We got hit by something. Micrometeor, probably. Maria's assessing the damage, but Sally's hurt. We'll figure out how bad everything is, and worst case... we're right above a habitable world, and the ship's designed to splash down there if we need it to."

"Captain." It was Tulsidas Kamath, the astrogator. "I have to tell you that we're not supposed to make contact."

"I know that. We're preparing for the worst and hoping we won't need it. Emergency prep. I'd rather we make contact than all of us die. Speaking of which, talk to Horne and Boral, figure out a good place for a water landing. Near someone who's likely to be friendly."

"I'll get right on it, Captain." Kamath immediately turned back to his boards, paging for the xenosociologists.

----

The research strut was already in the middle of emergency prep when Kamath's call came through. One of the xenolinguists, Dr. Susanto, picked up.  "Xenoscience. We're already in prep, Bridge."

"That's fine. Captain wants the xenosocs up here to help find a place to land if we need to," Kamath replied.

"Are you sure? I don't know if Fan will like the idea of making contact."

"Then he can come up here and argue with the Captain himself. Just make sure he brings Horne and Boral with him."

"Fine." Susanto turned around in her seat. "Dr. Fan? Kamath called from the bridge, he says Everett wants Boral and Horne up there to talk about landing sites."

Dr. Fan Shuren, Head of Research on the Cordell, rushed over. "What the hell is she thinking? We can't make contact."

"I think it's more of an emergency thing than a contact thing."

Fan rubbed his temples. "Tell the bridge that what we need is to have an actual, in-person meeting once we know the state of the ship. Her, Tran, myself, Horne, and Boral."

Susanto turned back to the console. "Alright, Bridge, Fan says-"

"Yeah, I heard," Kamath interrupted. "If Fan wants to wait until Engineering has a report to start working on any plans, then that's his call, but the Captain won't be happy."

----

Half an hour later, Tran walked onto the bridge, significantly more exhausted than before the impacts, and sat down at what was a long table by the cramped standards of spaceships.  The full bridge crew was there, along with Fan and the two xenosociologists. She looked around the room at everyone. "Alright, here's how it is," she said. "We're hurt bad. Engineering was the only strut to take a hit, but the central section took a few bad ones. The warp drive is out, so we're stuck here. Atmospherics got hit, and the central scrubbers are shot. Central storage also got hit, so we don't have any replacements for the scrubbers, and a lot of other equipment got lost, too."

The room was quiet. This was about as bad as things could get without the ship just being torn apart. For a few seconds, everyone sat still as the news sunk in. Everett was the first to speak up. "How long have we got, and what can we do in that timeframe?"

"Quick guesstimate? Ten hours. Ten and a half, maybe. Then however long our supply of internals and EVA gear would last. That'd give us maybe three more hours if the whole crew was on them," Tran answered. "As for what we can do... for repairs, there's not much that would let us stay up here. We can make an emergency landing, after we finish properly patching the external hull and shut down the reactor. Henry and I can manage that job. I don't know how we'd do on the planet, but it's probably better than choking to death up here."

"You understand that actually making contact with the reneten would mean incredible trouble for us when we're rescued, if the others even decide to rescue us," Fan said. "And that's if we live. If we don't, then we've dropped an alien spaceship on their planet and any cultural contamination from that is for nothing."

Everett held a hand out to stop him. "It's my responsibility, and the trouble will be for me.   If the only way to keep everyone alive is to land, then that's what we're going to do. If we make it through the landing, we're going to need help if we want to live. I can't order you or any of the other researchers to do anything, but the operations crew is going to be doing our best to keep everyone alive, and I'd appreciate it if you cooperated."

Fan sighed. "I'm not seriously suggesting that we die up here. I guess. I just want to make sure everyone knows what we're getting into."

Tran slammed the table. "You guess? You guess that it's a good idea not to suffocate?"

Fan stood up. "Look. I have reservations about opening up contact. The spacefaring nations are going to pounce on this planet if they think they can get away with it, and if we crash and they send a rescue mission it ends the contact debate."

Tran stood up to match him. "I didn't come out here to die because it would make Earth face some inconvenient questions if I didn't. It won't make any difference if they make contact now or in a year, it'll be the same people doing the same thing."

"Both of you, sit down." Everett was calm, but firm. "We have emergency protocols. The ship is too badly damaged to stay in orbit safely, so Engineering will do what they can so we can make a water landing. We call for help and we try to make sure the people who find us are friendly.  It's hardly an ideal way to make planetfall or first contact, but we either make it work or we die.

Tran, if that's the full damage report, then we're short on time. Can you make sure the ship is capable of atmospheric entry quickly enough?"

When it came to the ship, Tran was much calmer. "The final hull fix won't be any trouble, even with only two of us. We don't have any major structural issues, so it'll only be a couple hours at most to make sure we're ready to hit atmo."

Everett nodded. "Good. You should start now. We'll work out where we're going to put down and what we're going to send as an SOS in the meantime."

Tran stood. "Alright. I'll report back as soon as we're ready." With that, she left the bridge.

"So," said Everett. "We've got an entire planet to choose from, but I think it's best if we start with language. The most common language in broadcasts we've picked up has been Sitan, and that's what the operations crew is most familiar with from the programs that we've been viewing. What's the situation with understanding other languages on your end?"

Fan signaled to Horne, who  pressed a couple buttons on the side of the table, bringing up a map of the planet below.  "Sitan is the most understood language, but we're still a long way off from even a remotely complete dictionary. I doubt we'd qualify as fluent, but we should be able to communicate well enough to tell them we're peaceful and ask for help," Fan said.

Everett nodded. "Alright then, who do we ask for help that speaks that language? I know that our maps of their countries aren't exactly complete, but we have some idea, right?"

Horne pressed a couple other buttons, and the map changed, overlaying borders. "We've got a decent idea from news broadcasts we've analyzed, but it's not perfect, especially in a few parts of the world," he said, indicating a couple areas where there were either no borders or ones marked as unclear. "We're not entirely clear on the political systems in some areas, but they're definitely not all the same as human states, anyways."

"So what's that actually mean for our choice of a landing site?" Everett asked.

"Well, uh, the parts we don't have clear maps on aren't that important, I guess," Horne replied sheepishly. "In terms of who we should get picked up by, most of the northwest continent there, called Utsim, mostly speaks Sitan or a closely related language, and they all use the same alphabetical writing system as far as we can tell. The channel along the southern side there, which they call the Belt" as Horne pointed to a feature on the map, " has Sitan as the most common language on both sides, though there's a lot of others on the southern side."

"Alright then, what about political concerns?" Everett asked. "I don't expect an encyclopedic knowledge of the situation down there, but I'd rather make first contact with someone who's likely to be friendly to us."

The scientists exchanged looks briefly. "I'm afraid we don't have much that we can rely on to be objective," Fan replied. "Our best bet is the large nation along the northern end of the Belt, Sita. They speak the right language, obviously. They seem close enough to our idea of a democracy, but we have precious little information about the details. If you want someone palatable, they're a good choice. We can probably land in the Belt near one of their cities and get picked up."

Everett leaned back in her chair slightly, considering. "Well, it doesn't guarantee they won't black-bag us and take us to a lab. But if they're smart, they'll probably understand that's a bad look for when someone comes looking for us. Culturally, do you think they'd take us well?"

Boral spoke up. "We're shooting in the dark here, and honestly, trying to make cultural judgements like that is an iffy thing with human cultures where we actually have complete information. I'm not going to guess at it based on kids' shows and the five o'clock news, and neither should any of us."

"Fine," Everett sighed. "It's just a lot of uncertainty. Too much that we don't know, too many guesses and hopefullys. Going with Sita for the people we're aiming for, what's our actual landing site? There's a few big cities along the northern shore of the Belt, I've seen this planet enough at night to know that. It's close enough to the equator for us to get there even at a limp. Which one of those is best for us to aim to splash down near?"

"I'm not sure we should come down too close to any of them," Fan said. "We don't know how closely they watch the skies, and the last thing we want is to cause panic if they pick us up on radar and think we're headed for the city itself."

Kamath, the astrogator, interrupted at that. "I wouldn't dare put us that close to any of them anyways. This ship might technically be capable of an emergency landing in water, but it won't be an easy flight, so wherever we choose I'm giving us enough room for a lot of error."

"I'm not sure if you need to be that cautious about my flying, Ryan," said Kim Park, the ship's pilot, "but I'll give you that it's not exactly going to be a smooth trip through the atmosphere. Better safe than sorry."

"Alright, all of you." Everett switched the map to a view of the planet at night, then circled three particularly bright clusters of light along the Sitan shore of the Belt. "Let's take these three areas. I'm pretty sure all of them have more than one city in the area, but which one we end up in might be down to luck even if we do make contact on friendly terms. Does it particularly matter which one we head for? Coming down near the capital might be nice, if their capital is on that shore, if only so we can hopefully get out ahead of some of the political issues."

"The capital is inland, but the largest city is Seo Tist, a port along the coast here," Boral said, pointing to the largest of the clusters of light. "There's other cities in the area, of course, so there's no guarantee we'll be towed into Seo Tist itself, but if you want to go big, that's where to go."

Everett nodded. "Alright. Kamath, Park, plot the descent. One person will have to check with them to make sure that there's nothing that will make us look like a threat on the way down. Someone else is going to have to work with Berger and I and figure out the distress broadcast and what we'll say when we finally get picked up. We'll start the broadcast when we're in the atmosphere. Unless anyone has any questions, I think we're ready to break up and get to work."

"I do, actually." It was Fan again. "How do we deal with them once we land? What do we tell them? What do we try to hide?" Everett paused for a moment. "I think our best policy is to just be honest with them. Tell them what we know if they ask, tell them anything we think would be helpful. There's no point in lying. We won't be able to keep all our stories straight, so it'll just destroy any trust." "Are you worried about cultural contamination?" Fan asked.

"Or giving away anything important?" added Boral.

Everett made a dismissive sound. "Contamination is done damage just by landing. And as for anything important, what are they going to do? They don't even have anything in orbit, let alone the ability to get out of their system. Besides, they need every bit of information they can get. If this goes well, then we won't regret telling them anything. If it goes badly, they'll need to know as much as they can if they don't want to get flattened."

Fan raised an eyebrow.

"Believe it or not, I actually don't want them to get flattened," Everett said. "I'd like to think we're better than that. But I want them as prepared as possible if we're not. So, every reason I can think of tells me to just be honest with them."

"Reasonable. We'll go with telling them what they want, within reason, then. I'll tell Research, you tell Ops. If that's all..." Fan glanced around. Nobody said anything. "If that's all, then I think we're ready?"

"Let's go, then." Everett stood up, followed by everyone else.

----

During preparations, Tran made time to call the medical bay.

"Brecher here. I'm guessing you're calling about Sally, Engineering?"

"Yeah, it's Maria calling from over here. How is she, doc?" "She's unconscious, but she's stable. Her leg is broken, and there's not a whole lot we can do except let her rest and heal."

"You think she'll be okay when we land?"

"If the landing isn't too rough, she'll be fine. I don't know what kind of hospitals they'll have down there, but there's not a whole lot that she needs right now except time."

"Alright. Thanks. I'll get back to work over here." Tran hung up, taking a moment before she went back to preparation. Since the ship got hit, things had been moving quickly enough that she hadn't really had time to think about much beyond how they were going to survive. Ordinarily, getting to make first contact would be exciting. But throwing themselves onto the mercy of the reneten, with no way of knowing if anyone would even come for them, no way of knowing when or even if they'd get home? It was terrifying. Tran took a deep breath. The only thing left to do was work. If she was working, she wasn't worrying.

----

Four and a half hours later, the crew of the Cordell was as ready as they could ever be for an emergency landing on a planet inhabited by strange, intelligent life. While the remaining engineers patched the hull, the bridge and research crew planned their flight path and broadcasts. The crew prepared the ship for atmospheric entry, securing loose objects and double-checking safety measures.

On the bridge, everyone was  buckled into their seats. Captain Everett switched on the com on her seat, calling the other sections of the ship one by one. "Research, status?"

"Secured for maneuver," Fan replied.

"Engineering, status?"

"Ready for entry," Tran's voice came back.

"Medical, status?"

"Strapped in over here. Try not to be too rough." Brecher said.

"We're beginning maneuvers, then. Helm, stop rotation and bring the struts in. Bring us down when you're ready."

Park adjusted the controls, and the ship's rotation slowed. Once it reached a stop, she threw a lever and the struts' position was unlocked, allowing a small rocket on each strut to fire for a brief moment, slowly swinging them and everyone in them inwards to the core of the ship. Once they hit the center, with an audible thump, locks along the ship activated and shields extended over vulnerable mechanical components. With the three arms secured to the body, the ship could maneuver.

Another adjustment of the controls, and the ship slowly aligned itself properly. Park waited for a few moments, until the ship was at the point that Kamath's calculations marked for her. She fired the engines, and the ship lost velocity quickly, putting it on a path to land on Ris.

As the ship hit the atmosphere, a low rumbling sounded throughout the vessel. While a slightly more controlled entry than some were in the days of old, it was still rough on the ship and the crew. The forces on the ship were incredible during its descent. The ship held together, but even if she made it to the planet and stayed afloat on the sea, the Cordell certainly could not handle this kind of stress again.

The crew fared better, but not by much. Though the ship was technically capable of making the emergency landing, it was not a smooth ride by any means, not helped by the damage sustained. Even strapped in, a fair number of the crew was going to walk away with a couple bruises.

Brecher called the bridge, asking, "How much longer are we going to have to sit here? I don't want to leave Sally for too long after getting shaken around like this."

Park switched her mic on, answering him, "Fourteen minutes to splashdown. Broadcasts start in two. I'm doing my best."

"I know." Brecher closed the channel.  Glancing at Parker's vitals, they were holding steady, and there was no sign of injury, external or internal. This was far riskier than he'd like, but so far, she wasn't in any serious danger.

Once the ship had slowed enough that transmissions could get through, Berger started the distress signal. It was a simple, repeating message on a radio band commonly used for emergencies on Ris. The message was, "We are a small craft making an emergency water landing, expected position approximately 80 atsoor south-southwest of Seo Tist. We have injured onboard and need immediate assistance."

The turbulence only got worse as the ship descended. The ship shook terribly, slowly losing speed to friction. Park kept his eyes on the plotted trajectory, keeping the ship on the proper path, and Kamath kept his on the altitude, waiting to tell Park when to deploy chutes and brakes. A few tense minutes passed before Kamath said "Hit the brakes." The ship jerked as Park deployed the drogue chute and airbrakes, pressing the occupants against their restraints.

Everett stared into the middle distance as they got closer to splashdown, running things over in her head. She was excited about finally making contact, but guilty about that excitement; it wasn't exactly an ideal situation, and there were some in the crew, like Tran, who were going to have a very hard time. Not to mention that Parker was injured, and there was no guarantee that they would even get a response out of the rest of humanity. Still, Everett put that to the side for the moment. She needed a plan for those first moments of first contact.

Hopefully they would be picked up quickly. Assuming they were, if it was some kind of reneten equivalent of a coast guard, they would have a good chance of being taken directly to some authority. A civilian vessel might take a bit longer, but there was no way that the planet's authorities, all of them, wouldn't take interest in actual space aliens in a starship. A real risk was getting picked up by someone who wasn't either Sitan or friendly enough. A small risk, with where they were coming down, but still a risk.

The moments of first contact would start simple and rapidly become much more complicated. Get their attention, tell them we're not here to invade, and get a ride to shore. It sounded simple, but there would definitely be a lot of talking to do to convince whoever found them that the whole thing was actually what it looked like. Once they got there... if they could get the ship towed in quickly, assuming it stayed afloat, it would make their lives a lot easier. If not, then contacting their supply ship became more complicated. That was a matter for the engineers to figure out, at least.

Any talking beyond that would just have to be figured out once they knew what they were even dealing with.

Park switched an intercom on, broadcasting to the whole ship. "Splashdown in one minute. All hands brace." Across the ship, everyone took a deep breath, waiting out the last few moments before landing. The ship hit the water with a mighty roar, the deceleration pressing everyone into their restraints again. The force was far harsher than the earlier braking in the atmosphere.

Once the ship had slowed, Everett unfastened herself, taking a couple experimental steps under Risian gravity before calling the rest of the ship. The crew set up watches outside, keeping an eye out for any ships nearby, and changed the distress signal to indicate that they were on the water.

After a couple hours, a ship appeared on the horizon, coming towards them. It was quickly flagged down, and Everett, Fan, and Susanto stood outside the airlock to meet the incoming rescue. The ship looked like it might have been some kind of cutter or corvette, a smallish craft flying the Sitan flag. As the ship got closer, the deck got more and more crowded, word spreading through the reneten crew that something very, very strange was happening. By the time it arrived, nearly the entire crew was staring at the three humans and the strange vessel they'd apparently arrived in.

Everett shouted to the reneten, in her best Sitan,

"Hello! We come in peace."

[scifigeneration]

The Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival Announces 2020 Lineup at Museum of the Moving Image

Festival Introduces Film Premieres, Virtual Reality Series, Sci-Fi and Supernatural Screenplay Competition.

The Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival spotlights the literary genius of novelist Philip K. Dick. The festival has unveiled the full lineup for its eighth annual season. Events include film screenings and premieres, panel discussions, virtual reality demonstrations, and the launch of a new screenplay competition aimed at enhancing the filmmaking experience for audiences. As a platform for critical thinkers who explore the benefits and obstacles of science and technology, the festival showcases a variety of themes associated with independent storytelling. Held at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, NY, the festival runs from March 4-8, 2020.

The festival maintains its annual presence in New York, this time screened exclusively in the borough of Queens. “There is a strong cultural scene and appreciation for science fiction here,” said Daniel Abella, the founder and director of the event. “Everyone has been impacted by the advantages and disadvantages of this new world we live in and that knowledge strengthens the overall experience of the festival.” Festivities begin on Wednesday, March 4th with U.S. Premiere of the feature film Imperial Blue directed by Dan Moss and produced by David Cecil and Semulema Daniel Katenda. The film, which follows a drug smuggler on the quest to locate a sacred African herb that gives the power of prophecy, will be followed by a discussion with filmmakers. A short film block runs on Thursday, March 5th with the presentation of A Poem in Bamboo directed by Xufei Wu and Chan Yao Chang, an atmospheric study of a beautiful mansion plagued by strange noises. The program continues with titles such as Jesca Prudencio’s American Quartet, a revealing look at a small town bitterly divided when a young Muslim-American woman puts herself at risk when she shares her private, digitized memories with strangers in an attempt to triumph over hate, and Tim Hall’s Memory Unit about the mysterious hospitalization of an Alzheimer’s patient. On Friday, March 6th, science fiction and horror shorts take center stage with Izzy Ezagui’s Good Head about a man immobilized in a strange room, and Jason Rogan’s Stalag III-C about a U.S. paratrooper in WWII who leads a daring escape from a Nazi POW camp and encounters even more evil beyond prison walls. Then, Chris Levitus greets viewers with a man bleeding from a hole in his chest in The Wound and Warren DiFranco Hsu brings forth a dystopian world in Obsolete Model, where the past must be changed to save the future.

A dynamic lineup on Saturday, March 7th features director Gisella Bustios, renowned scientist Dr. Ronald Mallet, and lecturer Wanda Gregory on hand for the screening of A Brief History of Time Travel. The documentary takes viewers on a journey through the origins of time travel and its influence on the science fiction genre with commentary from distinguished members of the science community. The day continues with a block of shorts influenced by the work Philip K. Dick including Hekla Egilsdottir’s Beyond the Door about the influence of a peculiar cuckoo clock and the U.S. Premiere of After Ray directed by Natasha Halevi about a modified human struggling with memory loss. Also screening is the poignant Wide Awake in Bridgewater directed by Erik Lee and produced by Mark Lynch about a man who rediscovers the love of his life fifty years after her disappearance.

International sci-fi shorts starts the final day of the festival on Sunday, March 8th with the NYC Premiere of Eva - A Crispr Story directed by Puneet Bharill about a group of researchers confronting the unknown upon the implementation of a new technology. Further shorts include Christopher Armstrong’s Memory Man about a future society where psychic abilities are outlawed and Charles De Lauzirika’s Love Bite that shows the ramifications of a couple’s deadly bet during a zombie apocalypse. The night continues with two feature film presentations beginning with Anya directed by Jacob Akira Okada and Carylanna Taylor about a newlywed couple’s journey to parenthood that catapults them into a genetics mystery that threatens the future of humanity. Erin Berry’s Majic, which follows the discovery of a secret U.S. spy agency founded after the 1947 UFO incident in Roswell, is the festival’s closing night film. Filmmakers and guests of both features will be available for panels.

Expanding its outlook to incorporate the many stages of the filmmaking process into festival events, a screenplay competition has been introduced. “The screenplay is the beating heart of a film,” said Abella, who developed the category to help audiences value films beyond their visual aspects onscreen. “Our plan is to emphasize the importance and necessity of good storytelling.” The category semifinalists for Best Sci-Fi, Best Sci-Fi Prototyping, and Best Supernatural screenplays were chosen based on story, characterization, originality, readability, and attention to detail. “For sci-fi prototyping, the emphasis is on the design and architecting of an entire future world from scratch. Attention to detail and the impact of its surroundings is paramount,” said Abella. “For the sci-fi and supernatural categories, our focus is more on the characters themselves and how their inner world is affected by science, technology, nature, and politics.” Winners will be announced on Sunday, March 8th. The festival will also continue its popular virtual reality demonstrations on Saturday, March 7th and Sunday, March 8th. “Virtual reality enables us to explore our world in a more immersive way,” said Abella. “Through this simulation, we can better understand other environments and the challenges in people’s lives.” Guests will experience Davey Jose’s Living with Spinal Cord Injury from the perspective of future patients restored to health by “the cure.” The Inner World of Miss Q directed by David Wesemann will help users locate the whereabouts of a woman’s missing ghost and body.

As the festival remains committed to presenting innovative and thought-provoking independent films, Abella hopes audiences recognize the relevance of Philip K. Dick’s work. “PKD had his finger on the pulse of today’s society and our future,” he said. “His work resonates so well because he explored themes of artificial intelligence, the surveillance state, and the genetic modification of humans. He established himself as an icon of science fiction, which is truly the science of tomorrow.”

WEDNESDAY, March 4, 2020:

Museum of the Moving Image (36-01 35th Ave, Astoria, NY 11106)

Feature Presentation Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm

Imperial Blue (2019) — U.S. PREMIERE Director: Dan Moss Producer/Writer: David Cecil Producer: Semulema Daniel Katenda Editor: Callum Male Run Time/Country: 93 min, UK/Uganda

Synopsis: Hugo Winter, a roguish American drug smuggler is on a quest for a mysterious African drug called Bulu which gives the user the powers of prophecy. In Uganda, he meets two sisters who can help him find the source of Bulu, but they have competing agendas. Kisakye, a devout Christian, wants to sell the drug to save her village, whereas Angela, a criminal hustler, is only interested in getting rich quick. As Hugo follows them deeper into the jungle, he begins to doubt whether his prophetic visions are leading him to death or glory.

Post-Film Q&A:

Producers David Cecil and Semulema Daniel Katenda, editor Callum Male, and cinematographer Ezequiel Romero will be present for a discussion after the screening.

THURSDAY, March 5, 2020:

Museum of the Moving Image (36-01 35th Ave, Astoria, NY 11106)

Sci-Fi Shorts Program

Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm

A Poem in Bamboo (2019) Director: Xufei Wu, Chun-Yao Chang Run Time/Country: 5 min, USA

Synopsis: In 1920s, Southern China, a young bridegroom is visiting his aunt who lives alone in the distant mountains. Bamboo grows everywhere like an ocean. The mansion is beautiful and his aunt seems kind but there is a locked room in the attic with strange noises.

American Quartet (2019)

Director: Jesca Prudencio Producer: Adam Grannick Run Time/Country: 9 min, USA

Synopsis: In a 2030s small town bitterly divided over who belongs, a young Muslim-American woman puts herself at risk when she shares her private, digitized memories with strangers, challenging the status quo in the hope that empathy will triumph over hate.

Eli (2019)

Director: Nathaniel Milton Run Time/Country: 15 min, USA Synopsis: A 15-year-old musician believes he has an extraterrestrial implant in his ear. This is a true story based on the filmmaker’s experiences within the realms of High Strangeness, Magical Thinking and Manic Delusion.

Hello, World (2019)

Director: Nathan Hong Fisher Producer: Kristy Richman Run Time/Country: 12 min, USA Synopsis: In a near future love story about a couple’s journey to hold onto one another through life and death, they make the decision to continue their existence through technology.

Memory Unit (2019)

Director: Tim Hall Run Time/Country: 15 min, USA Synopsis: Unusual events surround the hospitalization of a father with Alzheimer’s disease.

Solstice (2019)

Director/Producer: Lisandro Perez-Rey Producer: Cynthia Barrera, Laura Sweeney Run Time/Country: 15 min, USA Synopsis: During a brutal winter storm, a bartender befriends a homeless man and brings him home for a warm meal and an ancient ritual.

Vivir (2019)

Director: Lewis Rapkin Run Time/Country: 3 min, USA Synopsis: In the not-so-distant future, Earth has become infertile and the struggle to grow food off-planet takes an unsuspecting turn when a scientist makes a peculiar discovery.

Insight (2019)

Director: John K. Jones Run Time/Country: 12 min, USA Synopsis: Suspecting infidelity, an anxious wife uses simulation technology to practice safely confronting her husband in real life.

Unified Field Theiry (2019)

Director: Christina Hibner Run Time/Country: 5 min, USA Synopsis: An experimental animation that follows two cosmic entities where the main character tries her best to learn about the nature of the universe from her teacher who is a master of the universe. Experiencing moments of enlightenment that transform the way she sees the world, the student opens her eyes to things she could not imagine. Post-Film Q&A: Filmmakers will be present for a discussion after the screening.

FRIDAY, March 6, 2020:

Museum of the Moving Image (36-01 35th Ave, Astoria, NY 11106)

Sci-Fi, Horror and Supernatural Shorts Program

Time: 5:00pm - 7:00pm

Good Head (2019)

Director: Izzy Ezagui Run Time/Country: 8 min, USA Synopsis: A man awakens in a strange room to discover he’s immobilized. His fellow prisoner teases him mercilessly until he panics and short-circuits the collar keeping him conscious. The alarm sounds, drawing the wrath of their true tormentor.

Stalag III-C (2019)

Director: Jason Rogan Run Time/Country: 12 min, Belarus Synopsis: In the final days of World War II, a US paratrooper Joe Boyd leads a daring escape from a Nazi POW camp, only to face a more horrifying evil beyond the prison walls.

Tomorrow Might Be The Day (2018)

Director: Joséfa Celestin Run Time/Country: 20 min, Scotland Synopsis: A fanatic subjects his niece, whose faith wavers, to a baptism in order to restore her faith and ultimately save her from an impending doomsday flood.

The Wound (2018)

Director: Chris Levitus Run Time/Country: 7 min, USA Synopsis: A man wakes up bleeding from a hole in his chest.

Interminable - Trailer (2019)

Director: Aaron Huisenfeldt Run Time/Country: 1 min, USA Synopsis: The conglomerate Iridian is hacking minds using an optical implant device used to channel the internet straight to the brain. A rebellion, led by the daughter of Iridian's CEO, must stop the worldwide mind hack by their program called IRIS.

The Last Well (2018)

Director: Filip Filković Run Time/Country: 20 min, Croatia Synopsis: The year is 2037 and Europe is in shambles. The owner of the last well with natural clean water lives in Croatia. After one of his sales of clean drinking water ends in bloodbath, he becomes a substitute father and a husband. But when the well dries out, he makes one last "trade.”

Concession (2019)

Director: Paul Odgren Run Time/Country: 6 min, USA Synopsis: Steph's had enough, it's a school night after all, until Michael touches her forehead and conjures a series of images that are impossible to explain. He forces her to confront the question: should she trust him and believe this outrageous claim that he can see other people's thoughts? Or should she listen to her gut, call him crazy and never look back?

Obsolete Model (2019)

Director: Warren DiFranco Hsu Run Time/Country: 12 min, USA Synopsis: A sentient artificial intelligence awakens to a world in dystopian ruin and charges two androids, INJUN and ISEE to seek a model-borg named SARA.H, who can save it by altering her past.

Incandescent (2019)

Director: Alfred Thomas Catalfo Run Time/Country: 15 min, USA Synopsis: When a nomadic alien race blots out the sun, an anguished young teacher tries to hold on to her humanity in a withering world. Post-Film Q&A: Filmmakers will be present for a discussion after the screening.

SATURDAY, March 7, 2020:

Museum of the Moving Image (36-01 35th Ave, Astoria, NY 11106)

Block 1: Feature Documentary Presentation

Time: 2:00pm - 4:00pm

A Brief History of Time Travel (2018)

Director: Gisella Bustillos Run Time/Country: 68 min, USA Synopsis: There's one thing that Star Trek and Doctor Who fandoms have in common: time travel. This documentary takes you on a journey through the evolution of time travel from its origins and influence in science fiction to the exciting possibilities technology could yet uncover. Featuring Dr. Ronald Mallet (How To Build a Time Machine), Bill Nye (Bill Nye the Science Guy), Ted Chiang (writer of Story of Your Life), and Wanda Gregory (Director of Digital Technology and Culture at the University of Washington).

Post-Film Q&A: Director Gisella Bustillos, scientist Dr. Ronald Mallet, and lecturer Wanda Gregory will be present for a discussion after the screening.

Block 2: Best of Philip K. Dick Shorts Program

Time: 4:00pm - 6:00pm

Ryoko's Qubit Summer (2018)

Director: Yuichi Kondo Run Time/Country: 17 min, Japan Synopsis: KANUMA, an experimental world is created inside a quantum computer. Then one day, a few of its AI residents began to communicate with words undecipherable to man.

Beyond the Door (2018)

Director: Hekla Egilsdottir Run Time/Country: 13 min, Iceland Synopsis: A stagnant young couple named Noi and Irma are dealing with Irma’s depression. Noi buys Irma a cuckoo clock, reminiscent of the one her mother used to have when she was a child, in an attempt to cheer her. Irma’s monotonous, stay-at-home life takes a sudden turn with the introduction of her newfound friend, the cuckoo. Based on a short story by Philip K. Dick.

Nectar (2019)

Director: Anthony Zwartouw Run Time/Country: 20 min, Canada Synopsis: A man lives out his days in a drug-induced state, prisoner to a parasitical guard on a disturbing desert island of his own making, when he is awoken by the deep traumas of his past that he can no longer suppress.

After Ray (2019) — U.S. PREMIERE

Director: Natasha Halevi Producer: Sean Gunn Run Time/Country: 12 min, USA Synopsis: In the aftermath of the singularity, Cole, the first “modified” human, struggles with memory loss, indicating an unstable future for humans and potential end to humanity.

Wide Awake in Bridgewater (2018)

Director/Producer: Erik Lee Producer: Mark Lynch Run Time/Country: 15 min, USA Synopsis: In 1968, 18-year-old Michael Gates and Monica Dupré are enjoying an afternoon in the countryside when she disappears. Fifty-one years later, elderly Michael starts receiving phone messages from her, and he discovers what happened on that fateful day.

QTR (2019)

Director: Pat Bird Run Time/Country: 1 min, USA Synopsis: A classic mental exercise from Robert Anton Wilson's "Prometheus Rising".

Circadia (2019)

Director: Jacob Murray Run Time/Country: 5 min, USA Synopsis: Your attention is no longer yours. For the next four minutes, it belongs to her. She calls for liberation. She calls for you to snap out of the spell. Can you hear her? Will you demand silence?

Hashtag (2019)

Director: Ben Alpi Writer: Kevin Rubio Producer: Jyotika Virmani Run Time/Country: 15 min, USA Synopsis: In a looming future where social media celebrities dominate our culture, X is the world’s supreme online icon — but how far will she go to hold on to her popularity?

Post-Film Q&A: Filmmakers, including Sean Gunn (After Ray) and Jacob Murray (Circadia), will be present for a discussion after the screening.

SUNDAY, March 8, 2020:

Museum of the Moving Image (36-01 35th Ave, Astoria, NY 11106)

Block 1: International Sci-Fi Shorts Program

Time: 2:00pm - 4:00pm

Outer West - Trailer (2019)

Director: Jake Leister Run Time/Country: 2 min, USA Synopsis: West Coast pace prompts a travel nurse to accept a job in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Looking for the capital city's postcard artistry and ease, he is instead greeted by another, entirely unexpected world...Outer West.

SIL and the Devil Seeds of Arodor (2019)

Director: Keith Barnfather Writer: Philip Martin Run Time/Country: 15 min, UK Synopsis: A web series based on concepts from the BBC series Doctor Who. SIL is worried, very worried, which doesn’t keep his reptilian skin in the best condition. Confined in a cold detention cell on the moon, awaiting a deportation hearing for trial on drugs offences on Earth, he faces a death sentence if the application is successful and he is found guilty.

Eva - A Crispr Story (2018) — NYC PREMIERE

Director: Puneet Bharill Run Time/Country: 22 min, Germany Synopsis: Researchers have achieved a clinical milestone using CRISPR technology to transplant a genetically modified pig liver into a human embryo but face unforeseen consequences.

Those Beautiful Moments (2019)

Director: Vasily Chuprina Run Time/Country: 14 min, Russia Synopsis: The story of a scientist on the search for eternal beauty and life.

Nameless (2019)

Director: Luca Nistler Run Time/Country: 2 min, Italy Synopsis: A child-robot talks about her dream to her mother.

Memory Man (2019)

Director: Christopher Armstrong Run Time/Country: 12 min, UK Synopsis: In a future where psychic abilities are outlawed, the Memory Man makes a living dealing with uncomfortable memories for other people. Upon the arrival of a hostile new client, he is forced to confront unfinished business of his own.

Jump (2018)

Director: Josh Mawer Run Time/Country: 12 min, Australia Synopsis: George is all elbows when it comes to talking to Amy. But his time-traveling dating coach knows that persistence makes perfect...probably.

Love Bite (2019)

Director: Charles de Lauzirika Run Time/Country: 15 min, USA Synopsis: Taking refuge in an abandoned cargo truck during the Zombie Apocalypse, a dysfunctional couple and their dog find their lives on the line when they make a deadly bet over how the undead virus spreads. Is a simple love bite now a death sentence? And how far will someone go to be proven right? Directed by the producer of Blade Runner: The Final Cut (2007).

Heliocentric (2019)

Director: Mike McGraw Run Time/Country: 4 min, USA Synopsis: Boxer, Verve, Campbell and Herman teach Naomi Money that the Sun revolves around the Earth, foiling her quasi-evil plan, and schooling her about Ptolemy, Galileo and Copernicus in the process.

Post-Film Q&A: Filmmakers, including Keith Barnfather (SIL and the Devil Seeds of Arodor) and Puneet Bharill (Eva - A Crispr Story), will be present for a discussion after the screening.

Block 2: Feature Presentation

Time: 4:00pm - 6:00pm

Anya (2019)

Director: Jacob Akira Okada, Carylanna Taylor Run Time/Country: 80 min, USA Synopsis: A contemporary sci-fi love story about newlyweds whose seemingly simple decision to have a baby catapults them to the center of an explosive genetics mystery with far-reaching consequences for their child and the future of humanity. Post-Film Q&A: Directors Jacob Akira Okada and Carylanna Taylor will be present to introduce the film and for a discussion after the screening alongside NYU developmental biologist Yelena Bernadskaya.

Block 3: Feature Presentation

Time: 6:00pm - 8:00pm

Majic (2019)

Director/Writer: Erin Berry Writer: David Pluscauskas Run Time/Country: 82 min, USA Synopsis: In Washington, DC on the eve of the 2008 presidential election, Bernwood, an anti-conspiracy video blogger meets with an old man claiming to have worked for the legendary Majestic-12 (aka “Majic”), a secret U.S. spy agency created after the UFO incident at Roswell, New Mexico in 1947. So begins her trip down the rabbit hole looking for answers as reality as she knows it, or knew it, begins to unravel. Starring Paula Brancati (Slasher), Richard Fitzpatrick (Good Will Hunting), Michael Seater (Life With Derek) and Paulino Nunes (The Expanse). Post-Film Q&A: Director Erin Berry, co-writer David Pluscauskas and actor Richard Fitzpatrick will be present for a discussion after the screening.

SATURDAY, MARCH 7 and SUNDAY, March 8, 2020:

Museum of the Moving Image (36-01 35th Ave, Astoria, NY 11106)

Virtual Reality Series

Time: All Day

Living with Spinal Cord Injury (2019)

Director: Davey Jose Run Time/Country: 2 min, UK Synopsis: A science fiction inspired VR 360 short-film based around an 18 oil canvas series. Curated from the perspective of the future where spinal injuries can be fixed by “the cure.” The artwork shows a future audience what it felt like to live with a disruptive injury.

The Inner World of Miss Q (2019)

Director: David Wesemann Writer: Tobias Bieseke Run Time/Country: 8 min, Germany Synopsis: In this virtual reality there are two worlds, the inner world of the protagonist and a trial where a judge and a lawyer try to find out who is the owner of Miss Q’s ghost and body. Adapted from a story by Stanislaw Lem.

SUNDAY, March 8, 2020:

Museum of the Moving Image (36-01 35th Ave, Astoria, NY 11106)

Screenplay Competition

Time: 8:00pm (Winners announced during Awards Ceremony)

After Hebden

Writer: David Kirkham Category: Best Sci-Fi Screenplay/Best Sci-Fi Prototyping Screenplay Synopsis: In the 21st century, humankind was had to choose between Paradise or Oblivion. We chose the latter. Only a teenage girl named Hebden can save us now.

Rain

Writer: Andronica Marquis Category: Best Sci-Fi Screenplay Synopsis: A young Earth City girl, Rain, a Red by birth, marked, starving and desperate, seizes an opportunity to escape to Meccanda, a planet rumored to hold a cure, that she might save her young brother, Walker, the last of her family, who struggles against the symptoms of The Touched. The price of starship passage? Her virginity to the shipʼs captain.

Egghead

Writer: Andrew Pelosi Category: Best Sci-Fi Prototyping Screenplay Synopsis: A desperate halfwit attempts to cheat on an exam in a future where IQ testing determines who lives and who gets turned into chalk.

Dawn

Writer: Alexandra Ruggieri Category: Best Supernatural Screenplay Synopsis: Dawn is pregnant but something magical happens one night when she witnesses an abduction.

House in Haunted Woods

Writer: Drew Henriksen Category: Best Supernatural Screenplay Synopsis: A young couple buys an abandoned house as an investment with plans to live by their agoraphobic uncle. After the purchase, the house seems to improve on its own. As people begin to disappear in the woods surrounding it, the ghosts make their presence known.

Awards Ceremony

Time: 8:00pm - 9:00pm

Official selection filmmakers, screenwriters, and special guests will be in attendance when awards are presented to the category winners of The 2020 Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival.

Festival Passes

Passes to screenings can be purchased at https://www.thephilipkdickfilmfestival.com.

[spookyspaghettisundae]

After All These Years

Snow gently fell outside the diner’s window. Danielle sipped from her cup of steaming hot coffee and watched the spectacle of Sheriff Blake arguing with Old Gambino, whose snowplow had broken down and now blocked the narrow road. Gambino’s arms flailed as he flapped his mouth and Blake visibly recoiled from him. The window and distance almost turned it into a silent film and gave it a comical look.

Michelle, who sat in the same booth, leaned over the table and clicked her tongue to draw Danielle’s attention.

“You know this is crazy, right?”

Danielle peeled her eyes away from the roadside conflict and let the exhaustion from the fifteen-hour drive weigh down her eyelids. Soaking up the warmth inside the diner that slowly dispelled the tingling cold from outside, with the sounds of Eva tinkering and toiling away in the kitchen, and that pleasant smell of the black coffee rising into her nostrils, it was easy for Danielle to imagine that her twin sister Michelle didn’t exist.

Still feeling the weariness of rolling up the roads from the city all the way to the sleepy town of Evergreen, she opened her eyes again and gave Michelle a tired smile.

“You know as well as I do that I had to come here. It was a letter from Harry. Our best friend,” she reminded her sister.

“Who has been dead for over ten years,” Michelle countered.

Danielle shrugged and sighed, taking another sip from her cup. Michelle hadn’t touched the cup in front of her on her side of the table.

“Like we haven’t seen our share of hoaxes. You’d think that the supposed UFO lights over the old reservoir, or the kids gone missing in the Misty Pines, or Butcher Benson’s grisly murder would have made us just throw that out. Just disbelieve such a thing flat out,” Michelle continued.

Danielle put her cup back down and poured some sugar into it. Michelle just glared at her in the moment of awkward silence, filled by the clink and clank of Danielle’s teaspoon mixing the sugar into the cup.

“I could really go for some of Eva’s pie,” Danielle said.

“No, you’re not gonna just drop that and—no. Even with what you and I know about all the, y'know, all the—occult stuff? You don’t believe that Harry’s ghost just up and possessed a pen, wrote a letter, got proper fucking postage, and sent it to you in the mail. Come on.”

Michelle crossed her arms.

Danielle peered over the edge of her cup at her and said, “Allie got a letter too.”

“Yeah, all the more reason to think it’s bullshit.”

“I thought so too, but she said it was his handwriting. And she had some guy she knows test it. Some expert. It was written recently. How do you explain that?”

Michelle’s lips formed a thin white line and her silence expressed a deep-rooted frustration. Invisible fumes rose from her head with her inability to rattle out a rational explanation for that.

“I don’t know, maybe Harry’s ghost possessed someone and, had them send the letter he wrote while riding the body?”

Danielle shook her head.

“No. I mean, maybe? That’s so far-fetched. Though it would explain a few things.”

Danielle craved a cigarette. The bad old habit crept up in the back of her mind, tickling her lizard-brain. She fought it by looking over to the pies on display. Eva was still busy in the kitchen, whipping up some breakfast for the truck driver sitting in the booth at the other end of the diner.

“So how about a little séance? We go to the cemetery, visit Harry’s grave, and—”

“Allie and Ryan came to Evergreen, too,” Danielle interrupted her.

A shadow passed over Michelle's face and she said, "Not Ryan. Rhiannon."

Danielle shrugged and continued on, "We all got a letter from him each. Looks to me like Harry wanted to get the whole gang back together again."

“And possessed someone to write a letter to the three of you. Yeah, this still makes no sense to me.”

“Allie also said she was attacked by a naked man wearing a horse’s head and carrying a street sign.”

Michelle just stared at Danielle upon hearing her say that. Stared right through her. Like her gaze consisted of two Superman-like eye-laser beams, and they were burning holes through the wall behind her.

Danielle leaned over the table, closer, and lowered her voice to a hiss to add, “Rhiannon said that Sheriff Blake told her to leave town when he got here.”

Michelle clicked her tongue again and shook her head, “So what? Blake always hated us. Doesn’t mean there’s any conspiracy going on in this crappy hick town.”

She leaned back in her seat and spread her arms across the length of it to lounge there with that same level of laziness that she always used to display.

“Okay. Sure, fair enough. It’s just weird, though. Also, look—even if this is just some prank—”

“You bet this is a prank. Listen, I think one of those jock assholes did a good job at faking Harry’s handwriting, and they’re gonna punk us if we show up at the reunion party.”

“Or, we could show up and then show them up with a prank of our own,” Danielle said with a feeble smirk.

“Oh, right,” Michelle said with a derisive giggle. “Like that’ll work out how you expect it to. Like that ever worked out.”

The smirk faded from Danielle’s face as those words cut through her confidence like a hot knife through butter.

“I have not forgotten that time when Bradley—that jerk—pantsed you in front of the team when you tried to mess with him,” Michelle said. “The cheerleaders sure had a—”

“Yeah, right. Okay, enough,” Danielle said to stop her.

Then her stomach growled.

Michelle grinned at her, “Isn’t that inconvenient? If only we could all be ghosts, without the need to eat and sleep, and all that.”

With a sigh, Danielle said, “Shut up.”

Michelle’s grin widened, stretching from ear to ear like the Cheshire cat. Danielle broke eye contact and took a bigger and greedier gulp from her coffee cup to squelch herself from replying with any profanities. The dark brown substance cooled with each passing second.

Eva had returned from the kitchen and served the truck driver a plate of eggs and bacon. The man over there replied in gravelly grumpy growls to Eva’s cheery tone, though it was far away enough for the jazzy background music playing from the speakers to drown out the precise words.

Taking a break from staring at her twin sister, Danielle looked back out the window and saw Blake helping Gambino push Mills’ tow truck. She had to stifle a giggle when the wheels spun without traction or moving the truck, and instead just shot a pile of muddy slush onto Blake’s jacket, prompting him to step away and glare at Old Gambino, then shout something at Mills.

When she looked back up at Michelle, her sister had tilted her head and just stared at her in that typical fashion whenever she expected her to admit she was right.

Danielle just shook her head and chose to continue ignoring her, so she waved Eva over.

The elderly waitress and now owner of the diner approached with a big beaming smile plastered across her face.

“What can I get'cha, darlin’?”

“I could really go for a slice of that apple pie,” Danielle said with a tired smile.

“Not for nothin’, but you do look like you could use some meat on those bones o’ yours,” Eva said with a mischievous wink. “Bet the boys in the city never leave you alone, huh?”

She turned to follow up on Danielle’s request. Danielle somehow wanted to feel mad about Eva’s comments—but couldn’t. This place hadn’t changed one bit in all these years.

Out of the blue, Michelle asked, “Allie said she slept in Room 214 of the Lakeview Inn, right?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Danielle said with a shrug and feeling more tired than before.

Maybe it was the mention of a place with warm beds—conveniently ignoring that Room 214 was “the suicide room.” Maybe it was just the stress and slow, grueling exhaustion from the long drive catching up on her, coupled with a chronic lack of sleep. Maybe it was having Michelle around all the time.

“Which is where the horse-headed freak attacked her.”

Danielle didn’t even merit that non-question with a word, she just nodded and mumbled a sound of confirmation through tight lips.

“She said that she woke up from a nightmare with a real injury that the freak had caused,” Michelle continued drilling.

Danielle didn’t feel like talking anymore, but she always appreciated the futility of saying so to her sister. Michelle always did whatever the hell she wanted and Danielle never felt like stopping her.

Not since the incident.

“Anyway, there’s no fucking way we’re staying in the Lakeview hotel,” Michelle said. “Wembley offed himself in that creepy-ass old Shining place. And Allie said she was attacked there. So. Just, no. No fucking way.”

Danielle set her jaw and decided she had to push back. Even if just a little bit.

Harry’s letter wasn’t a hoax. Allie wasn’t imagining things.

Something was wrong in their hometown. Always had been. And she had to get to the bottom of it.

“But what if there are ghosts? What if Evergreen is haunted? Shouldn’t we—of all people—be the ones to do something about it? To investigate?”

Michelle rolled her eyes and groaned.

“Okay. Fine, Nancy Drew. You win. We sleuth around, prove there are no ghosts, and get the fuck out of dodge again, before we get snowed in in this God-forsaken town.”

“I’m actually kinda worried about that,” Danielle said, shooting a glance outside to the beached snowplow and the combined efforts of Blake, Gambino, and Mills failing to move it from the ditch it was stuck in.

“Worried about what, sweetie?” asked Eva.

She had returned to the table with the pie Danielle had ordered. She put the plate down in front of her and gave her a smile, but it didn’t quite reach the woman’s eyes. The bright fluorescent lights reflecting in her irises flickered with worry.

“Oh, it’s nothing serious,” Danielle said. But her voice cracked and trembled with a hint of concern. “I do have to get back to work in a few days, and the snowfall is getting worse by the hour.”

“Yeah. But don’t you lose any sleep over it. Old Gambino will have it cleared out, just you wait. You can go to that high school reunion o’ yours and leave on time, no problem-o.”

Danielle forced herself to smile a sad smile at that, as she had zero interest in going to the high school reunion.

“You’re right, Eva,” Danielle said. She had to squeeze out the rest alongside a sigh, “You’re always right.”

Eva shuffled two steps closer and bit her lip before leaning in and whispering, “Maybe try to stop the, uh—you know what I mean? Them bullies might still hassle you over it. Y'know, some boys just never grow up.”

Eva’s pained smile poorly masked pity and it made Danielle more uncomfortable with each passing second. She forced herself to nod and peeled her gaze away from the waitress, then trained her eyes on the three men outside struggling to rescue the snowplow.

“Uh, do you want me to get you another cup o’ coffee? This one’s probably all cold now,” Eva asked.

From the corner of her eye, Danielle saw her point at the one on Michelle’s side of the table. Michelle’s gaze wandered back and forth between the two like someone watching a tennis match.

“Nah, it’s all good,” Danielle said. “I kinda like cold coffee.”

Eva took a deep breath and said, “Alright, knock yourself out. You need anything else, honey, just holler.”

Then the waitress left.

Danielle grabbed the cold coffee from Michelle’s side of the table. Michelle did nothing to stop her in any way, just giggled. Danielle poured sugar into the cup and stirred once more. The two of them remained silent while Eva visited the truck driver again, who had waved to her from across the diner.

Danielle asked Michelle with a frown, “Couldn’t you have, y'know—warned me? That I’m talking out loud again?”

She took a sip and winced. While the smell still enticed her, no amount of sugar could mask how strong the coffee was—and Danielle remembered that she didn’t even like coffee that much.

Michelle sprung forward and leaned over the table again, grinning, “And spoil this? I fuckin’ love watching you squirm whenever you gotta come up with excuses for this.”

Danielle shook her head and put the coffee down. Grabbing a fork, she sampled some of the apple pie. Her eyes went wide with the explosion of a delightful taste unfolding in her mouth. It obliterated any frustration she felt welling up, pushed back all the complaints she wanted to level at Michelle.

She just chewed and savored the sweet flavor and the silky feel of the pie on her tongue.

Observing Danielle’s face, Michelle’s lips curled into a warm smile. It was untypically warm and gave her a glow—a somewhat surreal appearance. She was fuzzy around the edges and almost translucent as daylight outside the diner grew brighter, and the sun rose.

“I love you, sis’,” said Michelle. “This is gonna be great. We were destined for this. I miss Harry, too. Who knows, maybe he is a ghost, too? Maybe we’ll get to talk to him.”

Danielle swallowed the delicious bite and returned the smile. Genuinely happy that Michelle was still with her. After all these years.

After Michelle had died in the car accident all those years ago.

—Submitted by Wratts

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

BnHA 84 - 86 | Uchitama 9 - 12 (FINAL) | Eizouken 10 - 12 (FINAL) | Magia Record 8 - 13 (FINAL) | ID: INVADED 12 - 13 (FINAL) | ACCA OVA

BnHA 84

Ey? So Gentle is basically Luffy, only he can do stuff with air too.

“Tokoyami, it’s in lesson 3.”

Eizouken 10

LOL, you can see a name similar to “Rachel Enyoung Choi” in one of the credit lists. Update: Euyoung Choi is credited on one of the other folders.

“Kanamoney” is catching on, I see.

“Well, dough.” - Sarasoju, where soju is some alcoholic Korean beverage.

The back of the clock reminds me of that Skipper and Skeeto game I used to play.

Did Kanamori get a fringe cut…?

You can see the symbol for Eizouken on the (imaginary…?) warehouse.

Uchitama 9

The video got encoded funny again…

I‘ve heard of AIBOs before. They’re robotic dogs, although with newfangled drones, Google Nests and stuff, they went out of fashion years ago.

Aibou (with kanji) means “partner”, come to think of it...

While everyone else is talking in the foreground, I’m staring at Beh in the background…

Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve seen Kuro and Nora interact all that much.

Natsuki Hanae as Leo, huh?

Uchitama 10

Second-last episode!

Neko (cat) -> Koma -> ari (ant)…isu (chair) -> suika (watermelon) -> tamago (egg, or sometimes it sounds like tabako/tabacco to me) -> ??? -> koi (carp) -> ???? “Kooten” seems to be a nonsense word.

The video got encoded funny again…

…and that’s twice now…

LOL, this is based on Millionaire.

…thrice…

The original quote is (something like), “It is said that heaven does not create one man above or below another man.” (Yukichi Fukuzawa)

The answer was C, obviously.

…4 times.

Bull does his best Thinker impression.

Oh my gosh, they’re bringing that joke back…? (LOL) Update: The portal joke.

“chunk of meat” – Uh…what?

Holy s***! It’s Bull’s dad! Bull time travelled!

Magia Record 8

I like how the anime introduced Gomakashi, then had the proper OP.

Chuo Ward (Chuoku)? In Hypnosis Mic, that’s a sign Ayappe is definitely a girl…but this ain’t HypMic, so no worries!

The greeting is “Kamihama” because it sounds kind of like konbanwa and the host is Mr Hammer because that sounds like the back half of Kamihama, I guess.

Magia Record seems more overt about its lesbian undertones, I see.

I noticed a piano on a poster in the back. Wonder what that means…?

Just reading translations of radio transcripts like this makes me think of the HypMic radio show. I’ve been using that (and all of HypMic, to be honest) to cope in these tough (COVID-19) times, which is why I’m mentioning it a lot.

Mami!

Eizouken 11

So this is how they met, huh? I never knew Kanamori could have such little faith in people, considering how she is now.

ID:INVADED 12

What I don’t get is Hayaseura’s motive…

Uraido…”from behind”? I need kanji to figure this one out…

Whose well is this Bliss background, ayway…?

Momoki and Matsuoka pass a sign saying 大井南 (Minamioi), which is in Shinagawa.

Why does Momoki need drugs…? To subdue Asukai…?

Oh no. Inami is going to have a vendetta after her man was killed!

According to Ramuda, the optimist sees the doughnut, the pessimist sees the hole…I think’s that’s important for that moment.

…Welp, when a hole in the brain doesn’t kill you, a shot to the stomach does.

In this time of COVID-19, I think talking about people coming back to life is inappropriate…

Post-credits segment!

Uchitama 11 (FINAL)

According to Ramuda, the optimist sees the doughnut, the pessimist sees the hole…

“Tullip” (sic).

Oh, so instead of “Tama” it said “tanu___”, so the kids assumed it said “tanuki”.

Ooh, cat meeting. This should match the dog meeting from earlir in the season. Plus Nora’s face on the title card.

The video got encoded funny again…

“I’m busy right now.” – Nora, sleeping – Yup, that’s my mood. In fact, I was woken up by a call this morning…

I still think the Momo x Bull ship is stupid…

Nora can talk to crows…?

BnHA 85

…huh? What’s up with Bibimi?

Oh, in La Brava’s room there’s a graduation album. No one translated that.

Seriously, Deku’s gotten kinda creepy these days…

Tobita = essentially “to fly” + “field”. Makes sense when the Quirk is elasticity.

“It’s dangerous to go alone!” – I want to reply with “Take this!”…LOL.

This bouncing around thing was basically done by Sonic in OPM.

Update:  Turns out the kanji for elasticity is read dansei, which is th same rading for the characters for a man (but with characters meaning “male gender” instead and the last kanji being shared betwe the two). That’s why Danjuro is Gentle Criminal.    

BnHA 85

I noticed some of the decorations around the school look like heroes we’ve seen – there’s a Midnight one and a Thirteen balloon.

Why is the crowd chanting for YaoMomo…?

It’s in English, huh?

End of credits segment! Keep watching!

“Guys like you who say there are no do-overs in life…”

Hawks! This is the first time I see him outside spoilers!

ID:INVADED 13 (FINAL)

Was gonna finish this the day I got it, but I got access (limited to 1 week)…to Akira, which is a movie I’ve never seen before.

The sharks are a nice touch…(LOL…?)

Welp, John Walker has his hat back now.

Uraido…Hayaseura. Of course, how the heck did I not make the connection?!

The video got encoded funny again…

…wow, after learning a thing or two about CPR, this part actually makes sense to me now…Amazing. (Also, I learnt about comminuted fractures from Double Decker.)

COVID-19 is entering these notes too…because if you cut yourself off from society, you won’t know about pandemics…

Why do I get the feeling Kiki’s gonna kill herself…?

She…almost did it. (Wow, I should try predict things more often.)

That pool…is basically the one from Minority Report!

Wow, that just did an Eva…

Why did they choose such a lively ending song…? Anyways, that wrapped up really well (no pun intended!). See you next time!  

Magia Record 9

The tower appars to be modelled more after Tsutenkaku rather than Tokyo Tower.

For some reason, the subbers like to capitalise “Magical Girl”.

One of the speech bubbles in the back says koneko no gorogoro, or “the cat’s laziness”.

“Stand alone!” This is probably some kind of wordplay on the Solitude (Hitoribocchi no Saihate), since “alone” is hitori de.

Interestingly, the word for “delete” here is keshite (literal meaning: “to erase”).

The sign that passes Sana by while she’s on the boat says “Futaba” on it.

The blue letterboxing is an interesting effect.

“Sorpredente” = surprising.

Eizouken 12 (FINAL)

“They have their own business to run.”

I’ll miss this OP song when it’s gone…*sigh*

LOL, the contrast between Asakusa’s imagination and reality is huge and that’s what makes Eizouken so fun.

“I’m here to deliver the promised data,” Kanamori says (which I think is a more literal translation, ut works better).

It’s unfortunate Comiket 98 was cancelled…

Hey, why didn’t Anime vs. Real Life cover Eizouken?! That would’ve been so good!

I noticed one of the viewers had a “No Disc” pop-up of some sort. Also, the moving logo exists now, too (LOL).

I like how 1 of the UFOs hits the windshield.

The arrows really bring your attention to what’s the same in the split screens.

Magia Record 10

The Mifuyu in the previous episodes was either a flashback or a fantasy, right?

Mami is wearing a Wings of Magius badge…!

On the titlecard, there’s what seems to be a radio tower with a small lightning bolt above it.

BnHA 86

Hey, Tsu has a sister..?

Ah,so this is Mirko! I’ve heard of her too!

Is it just me, or does Endeavour hav CGI on him…?

Hawks reminds me of Fubuki from OPM…

Wow, even Endeavour’s trying to be funny…the world really is different now. (This humour has a terrible success rate with me, though.)

There seem to be holes in Hawks’ jackt for his wings.

So basically, Hawks is being the Iori to Endeavour’s Riku (but without too much of the homoerotic overtones that come from being close in age, since Endeavour is 46 – 7 and Hawks is 22), so to speak.

Oh! That punch is based on All Might’s! Same framing and everything!

Hajimari no doesn’t suggest a pronoun, so they must have chosen that based on the manga or the production company or something.

Magia Record 11

Shaft headtilt!

This Witch…apparently it appears early on in the OG series according to This Week in Anime. It does give off that vibe.

…wow, that fight was fast.

The video got encoded funny again…

Why are all the magical girls Naruto running???  

Hachibey = Kyubey (where kyu = 9), but for 8.

ACCA OVA

Who’s this-oh, never mind.

I don’t remember the OST being so…cool.

Jumo, where ju = tree I guss.

Nino! Who’s the blonde though? I forget…

Jumo for Jumoku…right. I forgot.

Shinro, literally “path of advancement”. I’ve grown a lot since I last watched ACCA, but I only feel I’ve gotten dumber since then…to be honest.

I like how the flashback is saturated in blue…actually, that reminds me of Given, now that I think of it.

Where’s Grossular? I liked him the best because he’s basically older!Kyosuke Kuga. Update: Spoke too soon.

Now that I’ve learnt keigo between the OG and now, I can understand more of what Mauve says.

Magia Record 12

(no notes, sorry!)

Magia Record 13 (FINAL)

Is it just me, or can I see a feather-like object floating down the screen…? (Or is that static?)

You can see one of the hooded Wings (on Touka’s left) has dark blue hair – roughly Sayaka’s shade.

Ooh, Mami and Sayaka fight! (I’ve never been one for catfights, but this is certainly a match-up I want to see!)

Mami’s fate really sucks, huh? Her head came off in the OG and now she’s a tool for the Magius…

Yachiyo does look a lot like Togo from Yuki Yuna, doesn’t she…?

Anyways, this is all for now. There’s an s2 on the horizon, but COVID-19 means it could be years down the line…see you when s2 arrives.

[mistytpednaem]

another miitopia: introducing, the new friend

i consider myself pretty decent at time management but that doesn’t necessarily mean i know how to juggle my hobbies

On one hand, the team has been separated again, but on the other hand, if you’ll recall...

A NEW ALLY! RIGHT THERE IN THE UPPER RIGHT!!

what

god bless. also i can’t believe “full of beans” is apparently a real thing that gets said in the UK

I LOVE THEM??

oh shit finally here we go

DESTROYED

and what can YOU do?

ah.

PLEASE TELL US ABOUT IT, NEW FRIEND

i still can’t believe this game had an actual plot twist, let alone one that’s up my alley

OH FUCK THERE’S OLD FRIENDS TOO

WELP

(they go down pretty easily.)

yo.

this Amy really IS kind of cute for what is objectively a mii face doing things mii faces shouldn’t do.

OH RIGHT THE PARTY’S STILL SPLIT UP

!

or is he?

i

hm

troubling.

JESUS, CAN YOU BLAME HER

AUGH

WHEN DID THIS GAME TURN INTO A CREEPYPASTA

much better.

i have a thirst that i cannot deprive never have i felt so alive!

oh FUCK they get a boss too

and it’s mostly on auto-pilot... since my mii is the only one i can directly control.......

it’s cool though the girls absolutely destroy it

ilu seth <3 <3

ANYHOW, WE ARE REUNITED ONCE MORE

nap time!

BAD TIME FOR A NAP also check out fire demon reenacting one of my favourite vintage memes

y-you... made it?

I’ve never had a conversation like this and yet it feels intensely real

it’s funny because I only got mad at her for sparing an enemy who then proceeded to hit her.

when selena’s involved, all cuddles are kitty cuddles

her transformation into a magical grl is finally complete...

hot damn that’s fucking FEROCIOUS

w h a t

I’M KIND OF CONCERNED NOW

FUCKING... SMELL IT COMING, I GUESS

what does amethyst smell like, clo

OH FUCK THAT’S SO SPECIFIC i got it right somehow though

much easier. of course marian is the small goblin

that UFO likes being around those snails about as much as I would

nimah is used to the hardships of battle

meanwhile, eva is relatable

aww. look at clo opening herself up

[biandlesbianliterature]

[image description: a graphic with a collage of the book covers listed below. The text reads “Lesbian & Bi Books: New In May!”]

Riptide Summer by Lisa Freeman (YA)

The year is 1973, and Nani is firmly established as one of the top girls in the State Beach lineup. She’s looking forward to a long, relaxing summer of days spent in the sun with her surfer boyfriend, and to secret nights with Rox, the lineup’s queen supreme. But when surf god Nigel breaks her heart, and Rox reveals a secret that tears their friendship—and the lineup—apart, Nani is left to pick up the pieces. If she can’t recruit new Honey Girls to the lineup, the friends will lose their reputation as the beach’s top babes. With the summer spiraling out of control, Nani starts to question everything she’s always believed about how to rule the beach. Maybe it’s time to leave the rules behind, starting with the most important one: Girls don’t surf. 

What the Mouth Wants: A Memoir of Food, Love and Belonging by Monica Meneghetti (Memoir)

The redefinition of family values as seen from the eyes of a polyamorous, queer Italian Canadian obsessed with food. This mouthwatering, intimate, and sensual memoir traces Monica Meneghetti's unique life journey through her relationship with food, family and love. As the youngest child of a traditional Italian-Catholic immigrant family, Monica learns the intimacy of the dinner table and the ritual of meals, along with the requirements of conformity both at the table and in life. Monica is thirteen when her mother is diagnosed with breast cancer and undergoes a mastectomy. When her mother dies three years later, Monica considers the existence of her own breasts and her emerging sexuality in the context of grief and the disintegration of her sense of family. As Monica becomes an adult, she discovers a part of her self that rebels against the rigours of her traditional upbringing. And as the layers of her sexuality are revealed she begins to understand that like herbs infusing a sauce with flavour; her differences add a delicious complexity to her life. But in coming to terms with her place in the margins of the margins, Monica must also face the challenge of coming out while living in a small town, years before same-sex marriage and amendments to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms created safer spaces for queers. Through risk, courage and heartbreak, she ultimately redefines and recreates family and identity according to her own alternative vision.

The Gift by Barbara Browning (Literary Fiction)

In the midst of Occupy, Barbara Andersen begins spamming people indiscriminately with ukulele covers of sentimental songs. A series of inappropriate intimacies ensues, including an erotically charged correspondence and then collaboration with an extraordinarily gifted and troubled musician living in Germany.

Large Animals: Stories by Jess Arndt (Short Stories)

JESS ARNDT’s striking debut collection confronts what it means to have a body. Boldly straddling the line between the imagined and the real, the masculine and the feminine, the knowable and the impossible, these twelve stories are an exhilarating and profoundly original expression of voice. In “Jeff,” Lily Tomlin confuses Jess for Jeff, instigating a dark and hilarious identity crisis. In “Together,” a couple battles a mysterious STD that slowly undoes their relationship, while outside a ferocious weed colonizes their urban garden. And in “Contrails,” a character on the precipice of a seismic change goes on a tour of past lovers, confronting their own reluctance to move on. Arndt’s subjects are canny observers even while they remain dangerously blind to their own truest impulses. Often unnamed, these narrators challenge the limits of language―collectively, their voices create a transgressive new formal space that makes room for the queer, the nonconforming, the undefined. And yet, while they crave connection, love, and understanding, they are constantly at risk of destroying themselves. Large Animals pitches toward the heart, pushing at all our most tender parts―our sex organs, our geography, our words, and the tendons and nerves of our culture.

Tremontaine (Tremontaine Season One) created by Ellen Kushner (Fantasy)

Welcome to Tremontaine, the prequel to Ellen Kushner’s beloved Riverside series that began with Swordspoint! A Duchess whose beauty is matched only by her cunning; her husband’s dangerous affair with a handsome scholar; a foreigner in a playground of swordplay and secrets; and a mathematical genius on the brink of revolution—when long-buried lies threaten to come to light, betrayal and treachery know no bounds with stakes this high. Mind your manners and enjoy the chocolate in a dance of sparkling wit and political intrigue. Originally presented serially in 13 episodes by Serial Box, this omnibus collects all installments of Tremontaine Season One into one edition.

Things to Do When You're Goth in the Country: And Other Stories by Chavisa Woods (Short Stories)

Things to Do When You're Goth in the Country paints a vivid image of the bizarre characters that live on the fringes in America’s heartland. They don't do what you expect them to do. These aren't typical stories of triumph over adversity, but something completely other. It's "Murakami meets the meth heads" says National Book Foundation award winner Samantha Hunt. "Reader, you have never before seen anything like this." The eight stories in this literary collection present a brilliantly surreal and sardonic landscape and language, and offer a periscope into the heart of the rural poor. Among the singular characters, you'll meet: a “zombie” who secretly resides in a local cemetery; a queer teen goth who is facing ostracism from her small town evangelical church; a woman who leaves New York City once a year to visit her little brothers in the backwoods Midwest, only to discover they’ve been having trouble with some meth dealers and UFOs that trouble the area. In the backdrop of all the stories are the endless American wars and occupations, overshadowed, for these characters, by the many early deaths of their friends and family, that occur regularly for a whole host of reasons.

Pride & Joy: LGBTQ Artists, Icons and Everyday Heroes by Kathleen Archambeau

Stories of success, happiness and hope from the LGBT community Stories that comprise the best of LGBT history ─ Pride and Joy: LGBTQ Artists, Icons and Everyday Heroes tells the stories of queer citizens of the world living OUT and proud happy, fulfilling, successful lives. Diverse and global. Famous and unsung. There is a story here for everyone in the LGBT community who has ever questioned their sexual orientation or gender identity, or discovered it.

Award-winning writer and longtime LGBTQ activist Kathleen Archambeau tells the untold stories from diverse LGBT community voices around the corner or around the world. Not like the depressing, sinister, shadowy stories of the past, this book highlights queer people living open, happy, fulfilling and successful lives.

The Seafarer’s Kiss by Julie Ember (Fantasy YA)

Having long wondered what lives beyond the ice shelf, nineteen-year-old mermaid Ersel learns of the life she wants when she rescues and befriends Ragna, a shield-maiden stranded on the merfolk's fortress. But when Ersel's childhood friend and suitor catches them together, he gives Ersel a choice: Say goodbye to Ragna or face justice at the hands of the glacier's brutal king.

Determined to forge a different fate, Ersel seeks help from the divine Loki. But such deals are never straightforward, and the outcome sees her exiled from the only home and protection she's known. To save herself from perishing in the barren, underwater wasteland and be reunited with the human she's come to love, Ersel must try to outsmart the God of Lies.

[Warning for Seafarer’s Kiss: the villain (the God of Lies) is nonbinary and is the only nonbinary representation in the book.]

How To Make a Wish by Ashley Herring Blake (YA)

    Grace, tough and wise, has nearly given up on wishes, thanks to a childhood spent with her unpredictable, larger-than-life mother. But this summer, Grace meets Eva, a girl who believes in dreams, despite her own difficult circumstances.      One fateful evening, Eva climbs through a window in Grace’s room, setting off a chain of stolen nights on the beach. When Eva tells Grace that she likes girls, Grace’s world opens up and she begins to believe in happiness again.      How to Make a Wish is an emotionally charged portrait of a mother and daughter’s relationship and a heartfelt story about two girls who find each other at the exact right time.

Nico & Tucker by Rachel Gold (Fiction, NA)

The decision can’t be put off any longer. A medical crisis turns Nico’s body into a battleground, crushing Nico under conflicting family pressures. Having lived genderqueer for years, Nico is used to getting strong reactions (and uninvited opinions!) from everyone, but it is Tucker’s reaction that hurts the most. Jess Tucker didn’t mean to hurt Nico, but she panicked. And after the worst year of her life, she’s hanging on by a thread. Forget recovery time and therapy, she needs to put the past behind her and be normal again. But when her relationship with Nico becomes more than she can handle, she cuts and runs. In this riveting sequel to Just Girls, comes a love story about bodies, healing, and knowing who you really are.

Witches, Princesses, and Women at Arms: Erotic Lesbian Fairy Tales edited by Sacchi Green (Erotica)

In this sexy anthology of fantastical short stories, women are no longer just damsels in distress. Instead, strong, passionate females race to the rescue of their female lovers in this new collection of erotic fantasy.

The stories within Witches, Princesses, and Women at Arms are masterfully crafted to lead your mind down unexpected paths to your favorite fantasy adventure, from the classic fairy-tales of Little Red Riding Hood to Rapunzel to the modern marvel of Game of Thrones. They will wash over you in an epic sea of words meant to entice and embolden your inner princess, heroine, or both.

Enter a time where you may be abducted by bandits or seduced by witches one second and find your heart spellbound by a dryad the next. But be warned, gentle traveler! With this new, provocative collection edited by Sacchi Green, the stories may begin with “Once upon a time”, but they will leave you coming back, time and time again.

Rough Patch by Nicole Markotic (YA)

When fifteen-year-old Keira starts high school, she almost wishes she could write "Hi, my name is Keira, and I'm bisexual!" on her nametag. Needless to say, she's actually terrified to announce—let alone fully explore—her sexuality. Quirky but shy, loyal yet a bit zany, Keira navigates her growing interest in kissing both girls and boys while not alienating her BFF, boy-crazy Sita. As the two acclimate to their new high school, they manage to find lunch tablemates and make lists of the school's cutest boys. But Keira is caught "in between"—unable to fully participate, yet too scared to come clean.

She's also feeling the pressure of family: parents who married too young and have differing parenting styles; a younger sister in a wheelchair from whom adults expect either too little or too much; and her popular older brother who takes pleasure in taunting Keira. She finds solace in preparing for the regional finals of figure skating, a hobby she knows is geeky and "het girl" yet instills her with confidence. But when she meets a girl named Jayne who seems perfect for her, she isn't so confident she can pull off her charade any longer.

Rough Patch is an honest, heart-wrenching novel about finding your place in the world, and about how to pick yourself up after taking a spill.

Notes of a Crocodile by Qiu Miaojin (Fiction)

Set in the post-martial-law era of late-1980s Taipei, Notes of a Crocodile is a coming-of-age story of queer misfits discovering love, friendship, and artistic affinity while hardly studying at Taiwan’s most prestigious university. Told through the eyes of an anonymous lesbian narrator nicknamed Lazi, this cult classic is a postmodern pastiche of diaries, vignettes, mash notes, aphorisms, exegesis, and satire by an incisive prose stylist and major countercultural figure. Afflicted by her fatalistic attraction to Shui Ling, an older woman, Lazi turns for support to a circle of friends that includes a rich kid turned criminal and his troubled, self-destructive gay lover, as well as a bored, mischievous overachiever and her alluring slacker artist girlfriend. Illustrating a process of liberation from the strictures of gender through radical self-inquiry, Notes of a Crocodile is a poignant masterpiece of social defiance by a singular voice in contemporary Chinese literature.

Birdy Flynn by Helen Donohoe (YA)

Birdy Flynn carries secrets. There is the secret of Birdy’s dead grandmother’s cat. How the boys tortured it and Birdy had to drown it in the river to stop it from suffer-ing. There’s the secret of Mrs. Cope, the teacher who touched Birdy. The secret of the gypsy girl at school who Birdy likes. But she can’t tell anyone about any of these secrets. Because Birdy’s other secret is that while she fights as good as the boys, she is a girl, and she doesn’t always feel like a girl is supposed to. So Birdy holds on to her secrets and tries to become what others want, even it if means losing herself. BIRDY FLYNN is a beautifully nuanced and deeply felt portrayal of a girl growing up amid an imperfect family, and an imperfect world, to become the person she was meant to be.

Not One Day by Anne Garréta (Fiction)

Not One Day begins with a maxim: “Not one day without a woman.” What follows is an intimate, erotic, and sometimes bitter recounting of loves and lovers past, breathtakingly written, exploring the interplay between memory, fantasy, and desire.

“For life is too short to submit to reading poorly written books and sleeping with women one does not love.”

Anne Garréta, author of the groundbreaking novel Sphinx (Deep Vellum, 2015), is a member of the renowned Oulipo literary group. Not One Day won the Prix Médicis in 2002, recognizing Garréta as an author “whose fame does not yet match their talent.”

Knit One, Girl Two by Shira Glassman (Romance) (only $1.99!)

Small-batch independent yarn dyer Clara Ziegler is eager to brainstorm new color combinations--if only she could come up with ideas she likes as much as last time! When she sees Danielle Solomon's paintings of Florida wildlife by chance at a neighborhood gallery, she finds her source of inspiration. Outspoken, passionate, and complicated, Danielle herself soon proves even more captivating than her artwork... Fluffy Jewish f/f contemporary set in the author's childhood home of South Florida.

Queer Women Books Out This Month!

See more lesbian and bi women new releases at Women in Words, or more queer new releases at Lambda Literary.

If you liked this post, consider supporting FYLL and the Lesbrary on Patreon at $2 or more a month to be entered to win a lesbian/queer women book every month, as well as getting exclusive Lesbian Literature 101 updates! 

Or buy us a coffee on ko-fi as a one-time donation!

[cksmart-world]

The completely unnecessary news analysis

by Christopher Smart

September 1, 2020

MRS. FALWELL AND FORBIDDEN FRUIT

Schadenfreude — “getting satisfaction or pleasure from someone else's misery or misfortune.”  []Our spiritual advisers here at Smart Bomb have counseled Wilson and the band not to laugh and joke — if they can help it — about a self-righteous Christian leader who fell from grace simply because he relished his wife's thing with the pool boy. Come on, everyone deserves a mulligan (not a sexual act) now and again. Yes, we're talking about Jerry Falwell Jr., former president of Liberty University — where students are taught to be chaste and God-fearing and to not covet thy neighbor's pool boy. Let's face it, it can get lonely all alone by the pool when your husband is out leading Evangelicals to the Messiah Donald Trump and you're on your third G&T. Things can get complicated, though, especially when your husband wants to watch. Hey, different strokes for different folks (no pun intended). The pastor, reportedly, just loves it when his Becki screams, “harder, pool boy, harder.” The whole thing is a little embarrassing. But Jerry has asked for forgiveness and, the preacher notes, the scriptures say it's all his wife's fault: “She offered the forbidden fruit of the tree.” No, really. Look it up.

MIKE LEE: GOOGLE IS A LEFT-WING TOOL

The U.S. Mail is in crisis. There is rioting in the streets. And more than 180,000-and-counting are dead from Covid-19. So what is Utah Sen. Mike Lee worried about? GOOGLE. Recently Lee barked and howled that Google was not only too liberal, it was anti-conservative. For example, when Lee said he typed in “Pro-Choice,��� the first response on Google was not “baby killers.” And that is just the beginning. When Lee typed in “Donald Trump,” Google did not list, “the greatest president since Lincoln.” All it said was: “45th president of the United States.” A sure sign it's been coopted. And when Lee put in “Hillary Clinton,” Google's first response was not “Crooked Hillary” or even “Lock her up.” It said: “former secretary of state and first lady First to President Bill Clinton.” The search engine is trying to undermine democracy, Lee growled. The Utah senator noted that when he put in “Electoral College,” Google answered: “The biggest fuckup the Founders made — by far.” And that's not the least of it, Lee said. When he typed in “Tucker Carlson,” the first response on Google's was: “Wealthy fear-monger on Fox and major shithead.” The next thing you know, Lee whined, Google will say Nancy Pelosi is the first woman Speaker of the House and prays Republicans have not lost their souls forever.

SAY GOODBYE TO THE AMERICA YOU KNOW

Unless President Trump is reelected there will be rioting in cities. Unless President Trump gets reelected vigilantes will roam the streets with AR-15s shooting people. Unless Trump is reelected you can say goodbye to the America you know and the mail will be delivered on time. Unless Trump is reelected you can say goodbye to the country you know and Greenland won't be our newest protectorate (think of the recreational opportunities). If Trump isn't reelected who will tell Angela Merkel to go screw herself? If Trump isn't reelected lots of people will die from windmill cancer. If President Trump isn't reelected who will pardon Paul Manafort and Rudy Giuliani? Who will call Greta Thunberg and Michelle Obama losers? If Trump is not reelected who will keep the children in cages on the southern border? And if Trump is not reelected Ivanka and Jared will have to move back to New York and Melania will execute her pre-nup. A dark day indeed.

Post script — Ever feel like pulling your hair out? During times like these no one will give you the side-eye for taking an extra Zanex with your Moscow Mule. Things are so bizarre that Mel Brooks' classic flick “High Anxiety,” looks like a rom-com with Jennifer Anniston and Adam Sandler. Things got so wound up for a man in Ogden that when his son refused to go on a religious mission for the Mormon Church, he strangled him. (We are not making this up.) Things are so weird that KFC has dropped its “Finger Lickin' Good” slogan for fear people will think they could contract coronavirus from a Big Box Meal. And if you think that's strange, listen to this: The Pentagon has launched a task force to investigate UFO sightings over Portland and Kenosha. It seems everyone is going bonkers. D.C. Police got a frantic 9-1-1 call from a woman who said she spotted Eva Braun at the White House. It turned out to be Melania, who wore a Third Reich-inspired outfit, to give her RNC convention speech in the Rose Garden. It's all a bit overwhelming but we must keep it together. Buddha teaches to let go of negative thoughts — but he never met Donald Trump.

OK, Wilson, if you and the guys could stop joking about Jerry Falwell's wife and the pool boy for a minute, maybe you would be so kind as to leave us with something that might provide some much needed escape:

Woke up this morning with light in my eyes And then realized it was still dark outside It was a light coming down from the sky I don't know who or why

Must be those strangers that come every night Those saucer shaped lights put people uptight Leave blue green footprints that glow in the dark I hope they get home all right

Hey, Mr. Spaceman Won't you please take me along I won't do anything wrong Hey, Mr. Spaceman Won't you please take me along for a ride

(Hey Mr. Spaceman — Jim McGuinn, The Byrds)

PPS — During this difficult time for newspapers please make a donation to our very important local alternative news source Salt Lake City Weekly at PressBackers.com, a nonprofit dedicated to help fund local journalism. Thank you.

[hermanwatts]

Science Fiction New Releases: 27 July, 2019

Alien abductions, miscalculated jumps to hyperspace, and the forge of the Terran Armor Corps feature in this week’s science fiction new releases.

Beast Mode (A Cauldron of Stars #3) – Felix R. Savage

A new breed of immortal villains threatens the Cluster…

…and only one man can stop them.

Racing against spooks and space pirates, freighter captain Mike Starrunner embarks on a do-or-die mission to prevent interstellar war.

After the failure of the Fleet’s containment operations, the disruptive gene-mod known as the Transcendence is about to fall into the hands of criminals who’ll use it to conquer the Cluster. Mike and his crew are the only ones with a chance of catching them in time. Out on their own without backup, they chase the Travelers to a dead planet where a shocking discovery awaits.

When they’re betrayed and left for dead, Mike and the crew have only one option left. They must strike at the Travelers’ stronghold. Can they overcome the impossible odds and save the Cluster, or will their failure doom human civilization?

Borrowed Time: The Force Majeure (Temporal Protection Corps #2) – E. W. Barnes

In a moment the Temporal Protection Corps changed. Martial law. Curfews. Security officers everywhere. And brutal detention for those who step out of line.

Agent-in-training Sharon Gorse and her friends are alone in this alien world, the only ones who know the timeline has been altered.

Their one chance to put things right is to commit a crime – to go back in time and change the past, violating temporal ethics and breaking world law.

Every shift into history increases their risk of capture, and they don’t know who to trust – even each other. Failure means more than living in a terrifying timeline; it means termination from the TPC and permanent erasure of their memories.

Can they succeed in restoring the future before Temporal Protection Corps agents track them down in the past? Or will betrayal from within destroy them first?

Crossfire (Star Kingdom #4) – Lindsay Buroker

For the first time in his life, roboticist Casmir Dabrowski is headed to another star system as an advisor for the Kingdom space fleet. He’s being given a chance to prove himself to King Jager by helping find the ancient artifact he inadvertently lost. It’s best not to think about what might happen if he fails…

But with technologically advanced astroshamans after the artifact, not to mention the deadly mercenary captain Tenebris Rache, it’s not long before the mission collides with disaster.

Soon, Casmir and his friends are caught between warring factions, and he must choose between what the king would want and what he knows is right.

Into the Unknown – Jasper T. Scott

Their cruise ship jumped to the wrong star system.

Criminal attorney, Liam Price, can’t believe his luck. He scored a deal for a suite aboard the Starlit Dream to the exotic world of Aquaria in the Kepler star system. He surprises his wife, Aria, with the trip for her 40th birthday, and the Price family gets ready for the trip of a lifetime.

Soon after the voyage starts, they learn that they’ve somehow jumped to the wrong star system. Liam consults the ship’s computer to determine their location, but he can’t access the navigational data. The captain claims that there’s nothing to worry about, but Liam wonders: if there’s nothing to worry about, why restrict access to the ship’s nav data? He fears that pirates may have detoured them to rob and ransom the wealthy passengers.

Before they can learn more, the ship plunges into darkness, and suddenly the cruise of a lifetime turns into a trip to hell. As the crisis unfolds, Liam and his family are thrust into the middle of a deadly conspiracy and a desperate struggle for survival.

Isolation (Forgotten Vengeance #2) – M. R. Forbes

The enemy is coming. The enemy is already here. For years they’ve prepared. Plotted. Planned. For years they’ve waited to strike. From above…

… and below.

Earth is under siege. The enemy covers the landscape.

Proxima is unharmed. But that’s about to change.

No armies can stop this menace. No defenses can slow the advance. We are scattered and isolated. We are ignorant and weak.

No help is coming. No help remains.

…or does it?

Lights Over Cloud Lake – Nathan Hystad

Cloud Lake is a hotspot for UFO sightings.

Jessica Carver may have encountered one the night she disappeared.

This is her story.

Reporter Eva Heart is sent to Cloud Lake to write an exposé on flying saucer sightings, a subject she is extremely familiar with.

Nearly twenty years ago, Eva, then known as Jessica Carver, went missing, only to appear a week later, confused and frightened. A man went to jail for the crime.

Now Eva must face demons from her past as she meets both old and new friends along the way. Will her real identity be exposed? Can history truly repeat itself?

Till Valhalla (An Ember War Prequel) – Richard Fox

War is a crucible. Valhalla awaits the worthy.

On the battlefield of the future, armored mechs can turn the tide of any battle. With a nation under threat, a single small force of Armor joins the fight to hold the line against a merciless horde bent on total domination.

Chief Amos Roy—a young soldier haunted by the loss of his brother to the enemy—is thrust into the fight before he’s ready. War is a harsh teacher, and his fellow Armor are just as wary of him as they are the foe.

When the enemy unleashes a mobile battle station with the power to annihilate cities, Roy must prove himself to veteran Armor that he’s worthy to fight beside them. Can battle forge a team that will stop the enemy’s super weapon?

For here the Armor will find the Iron in their hearts and the spirit to win any war. Even if nothing but embers of defiance remains.

Virtue of Chaos (Syndicate Legacy #2) – L. O. Addison 

Their mission is over, but the war has just begun.

Kaylin did the impossible—she stole the Virtue of War from the Ascendency, stopping them from using the ancient weapon to rip apart the galaxy. It might have been the greatest heist of her thieving career, except for the whole being captured thing.

Now a prisoner of the Ascendency, Kaylin finds herself whisked away from Earth and taken to the alien planet Skarlin, where the universe’s top scientists are working to replicate the deadly technology used in the Virtues. If they’re successful, the Ascendency will become unstoppable.

That leaves Kaylin with only one option—break free from her captors and sabotage their labs, destroying the Virtues once and for all.

It seems like an impossible task. But luckily, those are her speciality.

Science Fiction New Releases: 27 July, 2019 published first on https://sixchexus.weebly.com/

[wwwnewunificationchurchcom]

On October 9th, 2016, WikiLeaks disclosed thousands of e-mails from the personal account of Hillary Clinton campaign director John Podesta, also a former counselor to President Barack Obama. Among those files were two e-mails signed by former NASA astronaut Edgar D. Mitchellfrom the e-mail address terribillionairs@aol.com.

The first message dated 18 January 2015, read:

Subject: email for John Podesta (c/o Eryn) from Edgar Mitchel re meeting ASAP

Dear John,

As 2015 unfolds, I understand you are leaving the Administration in February.

It is urgent that we agree on a date and time to meet to discuss Disclosure and Zero Point Energy, at your earliest available after your departure.

My Catholic colleague Terri Mansfield will be there too, to bring us up to date on the Vatican’s awareness of ETI [extraterrestrial intelligence].

Another colleague is working on a new Space Treaty, citing involvement with Russia and China. However with Russia’s extreme interference in Ukraine, I believe we must pursue another route for peace in space and ZPE on Earth.

I met with President Obama’s Honolulu childhood friend, US Ambassador Pamela Hamamoto on July 4 at the US Mission in Geneva, when I was able to tell her briefly about zero point energy.

I believe we can enlist her as a confidante and resource in our presentation for President Obama.

I appreciate Eryn’s assistance in working with Terri to set up our meeting.

Best regards, Edgar D. Mitchell, ScD Chief Science Officer & Founder, Quantrek Apollo 14 astronaut 6th man to walk on the Moon

The second message dated 18 August 2015, included a brief introduction and a series of links to articles that primarily discussed the militarization of space. It bore the same signature as the first e-mail:

Subject: email for John Podesta c/o Eryn re Space Treaty (attached)

Dear John,

Because the War in Space race is heating up, I felt you should be aware of several factors as you and I schedule our Skype talk.

Remember, our nonviolent ETI from the contiguous universe are helping us bring zero point energy to Earth. They will not tolerate any forms of military violence on Earth or in space.

The following information in italics was shared with me by my colleague Carol Rosin, who worked closely for several years with Wernher von Braun before his death.

Carol and I have worked on the Treaty on the Prevention of the Placement of Weapons in Outer Space, attached for your convenience.

Best regards, Edgar

Edgar D. Mitchell, ScD Chief Science Officer & Founder, Quantrek Apollo 14 astronaut 6th man to walk on the Moon

Before diving into the content of these two e-mails, we should identify the players involved.

Dr. Edgar Mitchell (who passed away in 2016) was a NASA astronaut who traveled to (and walked on) the moon as part of the Apollo 14 mission in 1971. A Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, he once completed a record-breaking nine-hour, 24-minute EVA on the surface of the moon. In addition to his distinguished scientific career with NASA, he was a strong believer in metaphysical phenomena. He claimed, for example, that a Toronto-based healer named “Adam Dreamhealer” had cured him of kidney cancer remotely while the two men were separated by thousands of miles. He also was a strong believer in the existence of intelligent extraterrestrial life and claimed Earth had frequently been visited by aliens. Among the many times he made these assertions was in a 2009 interview with the Guardian:

“We are being visited,” [Mitchell] said. “It is now time to put away this embargo of truth about the alien presence. I call upon our government to open up … and become a part of this planetary community that is now trying to take our proper role as a spacefaring civilisation.”

Though Mitchell signed the messages, the e-mail address from which they originated belongedto Terri Mansfield (Mitchell’s “Catholic colleague”), who runs a nonprofit that focuses on metaphysical concepts including consciousness, god, extraterrestrial intelligence, and the development of technology that could harness zero point energy (a pseudoscientific concept discussed below).

Carol Rosin, whom Mitchell mentions as having helped to collect the links listed in the second e-mail, states on her web site that she is the founder of the Institute for Security and Cooperation in Outer Space. On the same site, she describes her role as “advis[ing] decision makers and others about applications of technology and information services for human needs, environment, new energy, and peace and security, health and prosperity for all on earth and in space.”

Mansfield and Rosin’s connection to Mitchell does not necessarily imply influence or authorship of these emails, as the content is consistent with causes he championed. In fact, Rebecca Hardcastle Wright, a former employee of Mitchell’s, wrote a post attesting to their authenticity, confirming that a Skype meeting with Podesta had been requested by Mitchell but never ended up taking place.

As far as the content of the e-mails, there are two (very) loosely connected threads at play. The more straightforward thread (and what ultimately seems to be the primary premise for a Skype meeting, based on the subject lines) is the discussion of adding the United States as a signatory to an amended version of the “Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space,” an international agreement dating back to the 1960’s that prevents governments, essentially, from putting nukes or weapons of mass destruction in orbit or from putting military bases on the moon or on other objects in space.

Mitchell and Rosin were arguing for the United States to sign onto an even more restrictive treatyoriginally proposed by China and Russia in 2008, which would ban weapons in space outright. The list of links provided by Rosin (primarily news articles and blog posts) all related to international space collaboration and various warnings about countries currently involved in, or planning to be involved in, putting weapons in space.

It’s the material in the first e-mail that is a bit more convoluted. That missive opens with an “urgent” request to discuss “zero point energy” and “disclosure.” Disclosure refers to the release of any and all information the U.S. government might have on UFOs. This is, in fact, a topic for which John Podesta openly advocated well before any WikiLeaks referenced the subject, as the Washington Post reported in April of 2016:

“In 2002,” [Leslie] Kean and co-author [of UFOs: Generals, Pilots and Government Officials Go on the Record] Ralph Blumenthal wrote, “Podesta began publicly supporting what became a landmark Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed by the Coalition for Freedom of Information, an independent advocacy group. NASA had been stonewalling and refusing to release its records concerning a significant 1965 UFO incident in Kecksburg, PA.” Documents were released, but they “did not include one iota of information relating to the Kecksburg case, despite an earnest and thorough effort by NASA staff.”

It’s apparently those documents to which Podesta was referring when, after a brief stint working in the Obama White House, he tweeted that failing to secure the release of UFO files was his “biggest failure of 2014.”

Zero point energy is a concept in quantum physics that refers to the amount of energy a given quantum system has at its lowest quantum state or ground state. The fact that systems at this “zero point” actually still possess some energy has lead to myriad science fiction or pseudoscientific claims of being able to tap into that energy to achieve things currently known to be physically impossible.

Mitchell ran a company, listed in his email signature, called Quantrek, which sought, among other things, to harness this zero point energy, according to Terri Mansfield (the woman from whom the e-mails to Podesta originated):

[Mitchell] and his science team researched the application of the quantum hologram as well as zero point energy, the most powerful, cleanest, cheapest, safest, most ubiquitous form of energy for the planet. ZPE will power cars, trains, planes, sea-going vessels, space ships, as well as our homes and buildings.

The connection between the zero point energy topic and the space treaty, while not completely articulated in the e-mails, appears to be based on Mansfield’s (and presumably Mitchell’s) belief that as a species humans need to show our obedience to God and embrace extraterrestrial beings by abandoning free will and embracing peace, at which point the aliens will allow us to understand and implement zero point energy. Mansfield explains that connection on her web site:

The ETI (Extraterrestrial Intelligence) with whom Suzanne and Terri work are peaceful, nonviolent and obedient to God.

They are NOT from our universe but from a CONTIGUOUS universe.

They are the highest form of intelligence working directly with God.

Their purpose is to assist us humans who are eager to bring powerful, safe, clean, cheap, sustainable, ubiquitous, infinite ZERO POINT ENERGY application as THE energy source to our viable Earth. This ZPE energy is centered on the Tau neutrino.

When ETI want to make themselves known, they do so with specific colors, sound, touch, scent, taste and manipulation of matter. Examples abound. They frequently turn on lights in our homes when they want our attention. ETI want only what is best for humanity to evolve spiritually, demand obedience given by free will choice, respond with compassion and / or justice, when required.

The implication appears to be that extraterrestrials are willing to help us with our zero point energy problems so long as we can demonstrate our peaceful nature. This is presumably what Mitchell is referring to in the second e-mail when he wrote:

Remember, our nonviolent ETI from the contiguous universe are helping us bring zero point energy to Earth. They will not tolerate any forms of military violence on Earth or in space.

Though we cannot say for certain, it appears likely that the reference to God and the Vatican stems from Mansfield’s belief system revolving around “obedience to God” and her Catholicism.

Ultimately, though, what has emerged from these messages is a picture of a decorated astronaut with a history of eccentric views attempting, unsuccessfully, to set up a meeting with a high ranking and potentially sympathetic government official with either the help of (or influence from) both a metaphysicist and an advocate for a demilitarized space. In Mitchell’s and Mansfield’s view, there is a straight line connection between signing a stronger space treaty and receiving information from aliens about how to create a form of energy that will save our civilization. What does not emerge, however, is any evidence supporting the quasi-scientific claims made by Mitchell or Mansfield, or that the United States Government is privy to any information regarding those claims.

lll

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email for John Podesta c/o Eryn re Space Treaty (attached)

From:terribillionairs@aol.comTo: john.podesta@gmail.com CC: esepp@equitablegrowth.org, eryn.sepp@gmail.comDate: 2015-08-18 10:30 Subject: email for John Podesta c/o Eryn re Space Treaty (attached)

Dear John,

Because the War in Space race is heating up, I felt you should be aware of several factors as you and I schedule our Skype talk. Remember, our nonviolent ETI from the contiguous universe are helping us bring zero point energy to Earth.They will not tolerate any forms of military violence on Earth or in space.The following information in italics was shared with me by my colleague Carol Rosin, who worked closely for several years with Wernher von Braun before his death.Carol and I have worked on the Treaty on the Prevention of the Placement of Weapons in Outer Space, attached for your convenience.NEW GREAT NEWS: Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Ahsan Iqbal proposed cooperation in space technology between Pakistan and China as part of the historic declaration, saying it will take the Pak-China relations to new heights.

http://tribune.com.pk/story/937041/cooperation-20-mous-worth-2-billion-signed/

A consortium of 35 Chinese companies was also formed that will invest in Pakistan: Pakistan and China on Wednesday signed 20 memoranda of understanding (MoU) worth $2 billion…emphasis on sustainability ________________________________________________________________The Cosmic Consequences of Space Weapons: Why they Must be Banned to Preserve our Future FULL ARTICLE:

http://consciousreporter.com/global-agendas/treaty-ban-weapons-space-urgently-needed/

________________________________________________________________WAR IN SPACE… War in space isn’t considered fantasy anymore

http://www.aol.com/article/2015/08/12/war-in-space-isnt-considered-fantasy-anymore/21221875/

___________________________________________________________________PREPARING FOR WAR IN SPACE (articles below):

http://www.outerplaces.com/science/item/9578-anti-satellite-missiles-and-international-tensions-see-us-china-and-russia-preparing-for-war-in-spaceAnti-

Satellite Missiles and International Tensions See US, China and Russia Preparing for War in Space ____________________________________________________________

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/war-in-space-may-be-closer-than-ever/

??ftcamp=crm/email//nbe/FirstFTEurope/product War in Space May Be Closer Than Ever China, Russia and the U.S. are developing and testing controversial new capabilities to wage war in space despite their denial of such work By Lee Billings |August 10, 2015_____________________________________________________________

http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/597809/Anti-satellite-weapons-space-war-Earth-Russia-China-United-States

World War Three in SPACE? Fears over rise in anti-satellite weapons created by Russia A HUGE rise in anti-satellite weapons being developed by world powers has sparked fears the West could soon be embroiled in a fully-fledged war with Russia and China in outer space.____________________________________________________________War in space isn’t considered fantasy anymore

http://www.aol.com/article/2015/08/12/war-in-space-isnt-considered-fantasy-anymore/21221875/

We’re arguably closer than ever to war in space. Most satellites orbiting Earth belong to the U.S., China and Russia. And recent tests of anti-satellite weapons don’t exactly ease the scare factor.It sounds like science fiction, but the potential for real-life star wars is real enough.It’s just not new.Fears of battles in space go back to the Cold War and several initiatives, like President Reagan’s “Star Wars” missile-defense system. 

Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work spoke to Congress in June about the threat.He said during a speech the technology the U.S. developed during the Cold War allows it “to project more power, more precisely, more swiftly, at less cost.”Take a moment to think about everything satellites do. GPS, surveillance and communications all depend on them.And the Scientific American notes you can disable satellites without missiles. 

Simply spray-painting lenses or breaking antennas is enough. President Obama requested $5 billion for space defense in the 2016 fiscal budget.

And a former Air Force officer told the Scientific American most of the United States’ capabilities in space have been declassified to send a clear message: There are no rules for war in space.

Best regards, Edgar Edgar D. Mitchell,ScD Apollo 14 astronaut 6th man to walk on the Moon Zero Point Energy Consultant