The Fifth Di... March 2018
()
About this ebook
The March issue of The Fifth Di... takes a walk on the dark side with Lachlan Walter, Robert N Stephenson, Rik Hunik, and Gustavo Bondoni bringing you stories of the darker side of humanity.
You’ll be taken to a bleak future where the poor are taken advantage of, a future where a branch of humanity comes back to Earth, but the encounter doesn’t go anything like people might have expected, a future where immortality brings a terrible consequence, and an effort to explore the universe that is brutally sabotaged.
If you like fiction that warns you about the dangers of the future, this is the issue for you.
J Alan Erwine
J Erwine was born Oct. 15, 1969 in Akron, Ohio. Early in his life he was exposed to science, and specifically astronomy. From there on, J’s passion turned to science fiction, a passion that’s never died.Due to family issues, J eventually found himself in Denver, Colorado, where he still lives (well, right outside now.)From the time he could put subject and predicate together on paper, J has been writing stories. None of those early stories exist anymore (thankfully), but that passion for writing has never waned.After several years of rejection, the story Trek for Life was eventually sold to ProMart Writing Lab editor James Baker. It wasn’t Asimov’s, but it was a start. Since that time J has sold more than forty short stories to various small press publishers. In addition ProMart also published a short story collection of J’s entitled Lowering One’s Self Before Fate, and other stories, which is still available. ProMart also published a novel from J entitled The Opium of the People, which sold a few copies before going out of print.The relevance of the novel after the events of September 11th caused J to self-publish the novel, as he felt the story had a lot to say in the new reality we now find ourselves living in. Now, this same book has been re-released by Nomadic Delirium Press.Eventually J would become an editor with ProMart. Then, after the untimely death of ProMart editor James Baker, J would move on to ProMart’s successor Sam’s Dot Publishing. J also spends most of his time working as a freelance writer and editor.J’s novel was voted a top ten finisher in the 2003 annual Preditors & Editors contest, and his short story The Galton Principle won a ProMart contest for best story over 5,000 words. In addition, a number of his stories have been voted “best of” in various issue of The Martian Wave and The Fifth DI... and have been included in Wondrous Web Worlds Vols. 2, 3, 4, and 6.In 2009, the Ephemeris Role Playing Game was released. J is the co-creator of this game, and has written numerous supplements for the game.J has now sold three novels and four short story collections, all of which are still available from various sources, including Smashwords.J currently lives with his amazing wife, three wonderful children, three cats, and a very quiet turtle.
Read more from J Alan Erwine
The Ephemeris Omnibus 2013 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEphemeris: A Science Fiction RPG Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5J Alan Erwine's Tales of the Earth and Moon Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Rocks on the Other Side Book of Beasts Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Derelict Ship of the Ancients: An Ephemeris RPG adventure Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Ephemeris Encyclopedia Galactica Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Ephemeris Encyclopedia Galactica: Near Space Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Battle for Turtle Island: Buffalo Wars Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSeedlings on the Solar Winds and other stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLowering One's Self Before Fate, and other stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Ephemeris Encyclopedia Galactica: Colonized Space Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Martian Wave: 2017 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Divided States of America: Stories 5-8 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRocco's Weapon Shop Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMarionettes on the Moon, and other stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEphemeris RPG Rule Changes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Ephemeris Encyclopedia Galactica: Unexplored Space Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Martian Wave: 2013 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Problem in Translation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Ephemeris Character Class Compendium Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Fifth Di... December 2014 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNecessity's Call: An Ephemeris RPG adventure Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJ Alan Erwine's Tales of Twisted Realities Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Solar Federation: The First Four Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Fifth Di... March 2019 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFuture Syndicate II Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Fifth Di... June 2018 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Ephemeris Encyclopedia Galactica: Deep Space Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMundanities Issue 1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Fifth Di... December 2017 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to The Fifth Di... March 2018
Related ebooks
A Shadow on the Wall Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSmith's Monthly #26: Smith's Monthly, #26 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSmith's Monthly #26 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsI Might As Well Because I Have No Choice Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSour Creek Valley: A Western Story Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDishonor: In Search of Honor, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAn Unexpected Boss: The Place, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMan in Number Nine: Hot Chocolate Time: Poems Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Rival Robbers (Inside Story 9) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPiped Croakies: ENCHANTING INQUIRIES, #12 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMarked By the Wolf: Part 2 (Werewolf Shifter Romance): Marked By the Wolf, #2 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Marked By the Wolf #2: Werewolf Shifter Romance Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGlock: The Bad Disciples MC, #4 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dead Men Talk Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSexy Tales of Paleontology Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Girl on the Fridge: Stories Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Iced at Midnight Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMill House: shifters and partners, #25 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGirl on a Boat Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Beauty Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Book of Death: Ironshield's Shadow, #4 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMunmun: Get Rich, Get Big Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lee Hacklyn 1970s Private Investigator in Anti-Social Studies: Lee Hacklyn, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrom Ashe Vol. 5: From Ashe, #5 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJack: Stone Security Volume One, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Girl at the Front Desk Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLee Hacklyn Private Investigator in Every Witch Way But Loose: Lee Hacklyn, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsElevators in My Mind Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings5 Daggers Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Black Knight Chronicles Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Science Fiction For You
I Am Legend Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I Who Have Never Known Men Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Flowers for Algernon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Silo Series Collection: Wool, Shift, Dust, and Silo Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wool: Book One of the Silo Series Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Stories of Ray Bradbury Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Demon Copperhead: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This Is How You Lose the Time War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Institute: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Psalm for the Wild-Built: A Monk and Robot Book Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Leave the World Behind: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Annihilation: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dust: Book Three of the Silo Series Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Troop Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Alchemist: A Graphic Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sarah J. Maas: Series Reading Order - with Summaries & Checklist Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cryptonomicon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England: Secret Projects, #2 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Frankenstein: Original 1818 Uncensored Version Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shift: Book Two of the Silo Series Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Camp Zero: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Firestarter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bradbury Stories: 100 of His Most Celebrated Tales Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rendezvous with Rama Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Contact Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dandelion Wine Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Fifth Di... March 2018
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
The Fifth Di... March 2018 - J Alan Erwine
THE FIFTH DI…
March 2018
Edited by J Alan Erwine
Published by Nomadic Delirium Press at Smashwords
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Copyright 2018 by Nomadic Delirium Press
All stories are copyrighted in the names of their respective authors
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any informational storage and retrieval system, without the written consent of the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passes in connection with a review written for inclusion in a magazine, newspaper, broadcast, etc.
Nomadic Delirium Press
Aurora, Colorado
Table of Contents
She Has No Toys by Lachlan Walter
A Blood Pact by Robert N Stephenson
What Do You Do With an Empty Baby? by Rik Hunik
Spinning Candle by Gustavo Bondoni
She Has No Toys
by Lachlan Walter
It was just another night here in the camp – fires were burning in rubbish bins, the flames holding back some of the darkness and adding more heat to the already hot air; people sat in the streets and crowded the footpaths, killing time and waiting for the dry day to drain away; the lucky ones who had been allocated actual houses huddled inside behind locked doors. Do-gooders wandered through the throngs, doling out food and water and patronising advice; gangs roved and threatened; guards blackmailed and coerced; gunshots and screams occasionally rang out.
Like I said, it was just another night here in the camp.
Your old man and I were sitting right here where we’re sitting now, at the same wonky table, in the same rickety chairs. You were swaddled despite the heat, wrapped in a torn sheet and lying in a cardboard box. You were bloody quiet, just like you are now. It’s funny how some things don’t change.
We’d been talking shit for a while, something that we did most nights. We talked about life before the camp, about who we’d been and what we’d done. We never talked about your mum, though. She disappeared before I met your old man, and I didn’t want to pry.
After a while, he’d starting talking about you, airing his worries about the life you’d have to live.
I was used to this change of direction; hell, I worried about you as well. As it always did, this worry-talk eventually shifted to his work out in the graveyard, and his hope that someday he’d find enough scrap to get you out of this shithole.
You sure you don’t want to come along?
your old man asked me at some point, something that he ended up asking every time. One more trip and, with a bit of luck, I’ll find enough to bribe a guard and get transferred. It’d be an easier job with the two of us, and if it all works out I can tell them that you’re her big brother.
He gestured at you, a tiny nod of his head. You smiled blankly and gurgled and then let out a little laugh.
Nah, it’s alright,
I said. I’ve got better things to…
A gunshot, somewhere close, drowned me out. Your old man and I flinched, but you didn’t make a sound. Another gunshot rang out, and then another. Your old man and I flinched again; this time, you screwed up your face and started crying. Your old man got to his feet and scooped you up and gave you a cuddle. You eventually calmed down, and so he put you back in your box and tucked you in tight. You reached out, your tiny hands clutching at the air, and he passed you that crude figurine he’d carved from a lump of wood.
I reckon that’s what changed my mind – you deserved a better life than what the camp could offer, but if you couldn’t have that you at least deserved an actual toy.
Alright, I’m in.
We sat there for a moment, staring at each other without saying a word.
Well, I guess we’d better haul arse,
your old man finally said. It’s a fair way to the depot, and even further to the graveyard.
What about her?
I asked, gesturing at you.
You were chewing on the wooden figurine and drooling and cooing contentedly, and I smiled wide.
She’ll be right – I’ve got an arrangement with the old bird next door, she babysits in exchange for a bit of salvage.
Fair enough.
*
Your old man kissed you on the forehead and then hollered at the woman next door, and then we took off, winding through the junkyard maze of the camp, through the sprawl of crumbling buildings, patched tents and corrugated-iron shacks. We didn’t stop to talk to anyone. You know what it’s like – you don’t know who’s a banger or a snitch or a crazy, and anyone could be desperate enough to knock you down for the shirt on your back or the shoes on your feet.
We walked for an hour or so, sometimes making small talk and sometimes trudging along in silence. He mostly talked about you, airing more of his worries and then telling me about your latest ‘first’- that day you’d taken your