“Toute ma vie, j’ai continué d’associer la musique avec l’émancipation des femmes.”

—Angélique Kidjo

Issue 2017.42

Flash fiction

• ‘Lady of the Court of Black Wings’, Richard R. Blake - art by Laura-Anca Adascalitei

Short stories

• ‘Building the Arcology’, Laura Gullveig - art by Rachel Linn
• ‘Taiya’, Vanessa Fogg - art by Eric Asaris
• ‘Tidal Waves’, Melanie Rees - art by Martin Hanford
• ‘There Are No Echoes’, Davian Aw - art by Fluffgar

Poetry

• ‘How Will They Judge Us’, Lisa Timpf - art by Cécile Matthey
• ‘Witch Moon’, Colleen Anderson - art by Cécile Matthey

Download e-book version: PDF | EPUB | Mobi

I know many of our readers expected the forty-second issue of The Future Fire finally to offer the answer to life universe and everything. We’re sorry to report that due to circumstances beyond our control, this will not be the case.

Instead, this issue brings more questions than it offers answers. The stories confound easy categorization more than they satisfy our need for finality, for comfort, for unequivocal positions and solutions to the world’s problems. Beauty and terror play their essential purpose of shocking and aweing you into wakefulness, into the recognition that the world needs us to fight for it, not of lulling us into a sense of security and constant moral progress. So when I say that this issue contains ghost stories, zombie apocalypse, time travel, a futuristic eco-city, and cynical or empowering poetry, I’m lying if that leads you to expect safe versions of your favorite tropes and themes. Every one of these stories will twist and mislead in its interpretation of the subject matter, and they’re delicious as a result.

So strap in and be thrilled (or teased, entertained, sickened, fortified) by stories from Davian, Laura, Melanie, Richard and Vanessa, and poems by Colleen and Lisa, all beautifully illustrated by our artists’ team which this month includes Cécile, Eric, Laura-Anca, Martin, Miranda and Rachel. We thank them all for these great contributions.

Answers to the above questions next issue!

Djibril al-Ayad, September 2017

Comment on the stories in this issue on the TFF Press blog.