First: Meeting those who think
Contacting Others has a long, thrilling history within science fiction, which of late tends to over-examine potential peril—speculative entertainment's version of "If it bleeds; it leads." In lieu of invasion and danger, First Stories reveals moments of discovery, of happenstance, of communication, of understanding and misunderstanding, of accidental tragedy, of revelation, using fresh, heart-boggling, pathmarking ideas and perspectives. The compilation includes fourteen original stories with novel intelligence engagement as their backbone; persons of color, most often Black, inhabit and narrate these histories.
Thus, some of these stories offer deeply personal speculation, some fantastical, some credible and incredible, some wishful. The accounts relay human stories, nonhuman stories, people of color stories, human nature stories, weighty stories, stories of momentous connections full of heart and empathy, all emerging from scientifically sound notions.
First Stories contains four novellas, "Human", "Eleftheria", "Joshua: Hand of Earth", and "Kevan", and three short stories told from nonhuman points of view: "TIFU", "Amizon", and "The One That Is Me".
In "Joshua: Hand of Earth", a mentor abducts an autistic teen to fight for the Milky Way's freedom.
In "Ambassador", an alien baby animates after coming into contact with a Black linguist. Apparently, the galaxy is Black.
In "Kevan", a billionaire reveals technology to communicate with dolphins to a journalist.
Upon completion, this undertaking will be a distinctive, thought-provoking, optimistic, empathic collection, that speaks from diverse perspectives. I believe it will be a valuable contribution to representation and speculative science fiction.
The First Stories' reader enjoys works slightly above the average reading level for prose, she loves speculative fiction, finds wonder in the broadly popular first contact sub-category, and seeks out or appreciates inclusive narratives. Readers like her constitute a broad market for the compilation.
Opening Excerpts
First: Meeting Those Who Think is a draft collection of fourteen-ish stories in various stages of editing and submissions. Please find below the opens of titles in later stages of the process. Please contact Madison in regards to any story in full form.
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"You, Decimas the first."
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"Amizon"
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"Ambassador"
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