John Adams - Other Worlds Than These

—The Time Machine

Zelazny, Roger

—The Chronicles of Amber (series)

Many thanks to the following:

Jeremy Lassen and Jason Williams at Night Shade Books, for letting me edit all these anthologies and for doing such a kick-ass job publishing them. Also, to Ross Lockhart and the rest of the team at Night Shade for all they do behind-the-scenes.

Marty Halpern, for his copyediting prowess.

Cody Tilson: Thank you for another fantastic cover.

My agent, Joe Monti, for finding a good home for this project, and for the incredible amount of support he’s provided since taking me on as a client—he’s gone above and beyond the call of duty. To any writers reading this: you’d be lucky to have Joe in your corner.

Robyn Lupo, Patrick Stephens, and Kevin McNeil for providing feedback on the stories during the editorial process. And also to David Carani and again to Robyn for some other anthologizing assistance.

Gordon Van Gelder, my friend and mentor. Without him, this anthology would definitely not exist.

Thanks to Seanan McGuire, for the catch.

My amazing wife, Christie, and my mom, Marianne, for all their love and support, and their endless enthusiasm for all my new projects.

My dear friends Robert Bland, Desirina Boskovich, Christopher M. Cevasco, Douglas E. Cohen, Jordan Hamessley, Andrea Kail, David Barr Kirtley, and Matt London.

The readers and reviewers who loved my other anthologies, making it possible for me to do more.

And last, but certainly not least: a big thanks to all of the authors who appear in this anthology.

“Ana’s Tag” by William Alexander. © 2008 by William Alexander. Originally published in Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet . Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Moon Six” by Stephen Baxter. © 1997 by Stephen Baxter. Originally published in Science Fiction Age . Reprinted by permission by the author.

“Twenty-Two Centimeters” by Gregory Benford. © 2004 by Gregory Benford. Originally published in Oceans of the Mind . Reprinted by permission by the author.

“Nothing Personal” by Pat Cadigan. © 2007 by Pat Cadigan. Originally published in Alien Crimes. Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Angles” by Orson Scott Card. © 2000 by Orson Scott Card. Originally published in Destination 3001 . Reprinted by permission of the author.

“The Thirteen Texts of Arthyria” by John R. Fultz. © 2010 by John R. Fultz. Originally published in The Way of the Wizard . Reprinted by permission of the author.

Foreword by Lev Grossman. © 2012 Lev Grossman.

“Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut” by Stephen King. © 1984 by Stephen King. Originally published in Redbook . Reprinted by permission of the author.

“The Ontological Factor” by David Barr Kirtley. © 2011 by David Barr Kirtley. Originally published in Cicada . Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Porridge on Islac” by Ursula K. Le Guin. © 2003 by Ursula K. Le Guin. Originally published in Changing Planes . Reprinted by permission of the author and the author’s agents, The Virginia Kidd Agency, Inc.

“Flower, Mercy, Needle, Chain” by Yoon Ha Lee. © 2010 by Yoon Ha Lee. Originally published in Lightspeed Magazine . Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Magic for Beginners” by Kelly Link. © 2005 by Kelly Link. Originally published in Magic for Beginners. Used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.

“The Lonely Songs of Laren Dorr” by George R. R. Martin. © 1976 by George R. R. Martin. Originally published in Fantastic Stories . Reprinted by permission of the author.

“A Brief Guide to Other Histories” by Paul McAuley. © 2008 by Paul McAuley. Originally published in Postscripts . Reprinted by permission of the author.

“The Cristóbal Effect” by Simon McCaffery. © 2012 by Simon McCaffery. Originally published in Lightspeed Magazine. Reprinted by permission of the author.

“[a ghost samba]” by Ian McDonald. © 2008 by Ian McDonald. Originally published in Postscripts . Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Crystal Halloway and the Forgotten Passage” by Seanan McGuire. © 2011 by Seanan McGuire. Originally published in Fantasy Magazine . Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Ten Sigmas” by Paul Melko. © 2004 by Paul Melko. Originally published in Talebones . Reprinted by permission of the author.

“The Rose Wall” by Joyce Carol Oates. © 1981 by the Ontario Review, Inc. Originally published by The Twilight Zone Magazine . Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Impossible Dreams” by Tim Pratt. © 2006 by Tim Pratt. Originally published in Asimov’s Science Fiction . Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Like Minds” by Robert Reed. © 2003 by Robert Reed. Originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction . Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Signal to Noise” by Alastair Reynolds. © 2009 by Alastair Reynolds. Originally published in Zima Blue . Reprinted by permission of the author and the Orion Publishing Group Ltd.

“Dear Annabehls” by Mercurio D. Rivera. © 2009 by Mercurio D. Rivera. Originally published in Electric Velocipede . Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Trips” by Robert Silverberg. © 1974 by Agberg, Ltd. Originally published in Final Stage . Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Ruminations in an Alien Tongue” by Vandana Singh. © 2012 by Vandana Singh. Originally published in Lightspeed Magazine . Reprinted by permission of the author.

“An Empty House with Many Doors” by Michael Swanwick. © 2011 by Michael Swanwick. Originally published in Asimov’s Science Fiction . Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Beyond Porch and Portal” by E. Catherine Tobler. © 2009 by E. Catherine Tobler. Originally published in Poe: 19 New Tales Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe . Reprinted by permission of the author.

“The City of Blind Delight” by Catherynne M. Valente. © 2008 by Catherynne M. Valente. Originally published in Clockwork Phoenix . Reprinted by permission of the author.

“The Goat Variations” by Jeff VanderMeer. © 2009 by Jeff VanderMeer. Originally published in Other Earths . Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Of Swords and Horses” by Carrie Vaughn. © 2006 by Carrie Vaughn. Originally published in Realms of Fantasy . Reprinted by permission of the author.

“The Magician and the Maid and Other Stories” by Christie Yant. © 2010 by Christie Yant. Originally published in The Way of the Wizard. Reprinted by permission of the author.

John Joseph Adams is the bestselling editor of many anthologies, such as Armored , Under the Moons of Mars: New Adventures on Barsoom, Brave New Worlds, Wastelands, The Living Dead, The Living Dead 2, By Blood We Live, Federations , The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and The Way of the Wizard. Forthcoming work includes Epic (Tachyon, November 2012), The Mad Scientist’s Guide to World Domination (Tor Books, 2013), Dead Man’s Hand (Titan Books, 2013), and Robot Uprisings (co-edited with Daniel H. Wilson, 2013).