Volume 46, Issue 3
Summer 2023

Star*Line 46.3 cover
Cover: Fallen Warrior
© Guilhem Bedos
artstation.com/guilhem-bedos

Wyrms & Wormholes

Hope at the Tip of Your Pen

A career in writing is difficult; we all know that and live with it daily. And today we face unprecedented challenges that are threatening to make our jobs even more difficult. I’ve been closely watching the debates surrounding ChatGPT and other tools that many seem to think will threaten our place in the humanities. As an optimist, I believe that these tools will cause problems but eventually be relocated to live with other bad ideas like Dolly the sheep. At least they will go away from the humanities if we express that we don’t want them involved, and we refuse to buy into their use.… Hopefully. They do, however, belong in the sciences, particularly in the medical field. It will be interesting to see where it goes. For now, don’t worry, as I won’t be accepting any (erroneously named) AI, your place as an artist is safe at Star*Line.

But we also face greater issues that threaten our work, such as the book bans that are happening all over the place, instigated by a loudly barking few. Their racist, homophobic and sexist agendas are obvious and vile. The fact that small groups of people are the catalyst for these attacks on freedom of thought and speech should be a sign to us that we are capable of fighting back in greater numbers. And fortunately, we wield the very weapon that they attempt to stifle, our pens, our words. Write your representatives and let them know that we won’t stand for it! Write your beautiful poetry! Write articles declaring what is important to you! I wholeheartedly believe that together we can make a difference and prevent a new dark age from emerging. The very fact that they view our words as a threat is clear evidence that our words have power and meaning.

Jean-Paul L. Garnier, Star*Line Editor


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Star*Line Staff:

Editor: Jean-Paul L. Garnier
Layout: F. J. Bergmann
Production Manager: F. J. Bergmann
Mailing: Brian U. Garrison

Star*Line Reviews
Star*Line Archives
Star*Line History
Star*Line Contributor Bios

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Table of Contents

Departments

  • Wyrms & Wormholes * Jean-Paul Garnier
  • SFPA Announcements
  • President’s Message * Colleen Anderson
  • From the Small Press * Herb Kauderer, John Reinhart, Lisa Timpf
  • Stealth SF * “Like the Wind” * Denise Dumars
  • SpecPo Publishing * Interview with Akua Lezli Hope * Jean-Paul Garnier
  • Xenopoetry * Lamentaties / Lamentations * Goran Lowie

Poetry

  • Paths Cross at An Alien Bar * Lauren McBride
  • VA Day’s Night * DJ Tyrer
  • Caged * TS S. Fulk
  • [archaeologists] * Greg Fewer
  • The Final Flight Plan * Randall Andrews
  • [abandoned starport] * Carolyn M. Hinderliter
  • Years on the Line * Roger Dutcher
  • Wanted * Deborah L. Davitt
  • Lesser Spells * Mary Soon Lee
  • The slaughtering flood * Tara Campbell
  • Does It Matter? * David C. Kopaska-Merkel
  • [not as hot] * Debbie Olson
  • Postcards from the Stars * Jasmine Harrell
  • It's only vacuum out there * Richard Magahiz
  • The Literary Persistence … * Bobby Parrott
  • After Duprat’s Animal Collaborations * Howard V. Hendrix
  • Inevitably * Lisa Timpf
  • [Time-travel jet-lag] * Alan Ira Gordon
  • Three Speculations … * Robert Frazier
  • Bouquets for post-humanity * Richard Magahiz
  • [red tape] * Greg Schwartz
  • [desperate] * Stephen C. Curro
  • Dreams Without Boundaries * Benjamin Whitney Norris
  • Cornucopia * Ian Willey
  • Standardized Education * Mahaila Smith
  • Symmetry * Darius Jones
  • Harms of Aggregation * Howard V. Hendrix
  • Shonisaurus * Gary Every
  • I am whole and empty * Marisca Pichette
  • Thanatopsis * Melanie A. Rawls
  • A GMO Too Far * Michael H. Payne
  • For the Void * Jason P. Burnham
  • [weightless …] * Gary W. Davis
  • You learn something every day * John Reinhart
  • Getting Lucky * F. J. Bergmann
  • Hi! I am your Cortical Update! * Mahaila Smith
  • Stargames * John Reinhart
  • Mushi Shi * Akua Lezli Hope
  • Ereshkigal’s Box * Colleen Anderson
  • Open House * Richard Magahiz
  • The Fight Within * Shelly Jones
  • [eat & greet] * LeRoy Gorman
  • Pure Protein * Sarah Cannavo
  • Gnawing Dread * John H. Dromey
  • Remarried * David C. Kopaska-Merkel
  • [alien chef …] * F. J. Bergmann
  • Wings faster than death * Brian Hugenbruch
  • Spar * Richard Magahiz
  • Doppelgänger * Anna Cates
  • The Mouth of the World * Ai Jiang
  • Space dust * Anne Liberton
  • Carnivorous Indigenous * Juan M. Pérez
  • The Black Heart Tree * Rick Ansell Pearson
  • Worth During the Wait * Ken Poyner
  • [streetlamp] * Lee Hudspeth
  • The Loop * L. R. Conti
  • Ghost Galaxies * David C. Kopaska-Merkel & Kendall Evans
  • A New Captain Arrives * Goran Lowie
  • [oil change] * Greg Schwartz
  • Collect Call to Adventure * DJ Tyrer
  • How I Lived * Lauren McBride
  • The Crossing * Kendall Evans & David C. Kopaska-Merkel
  • The Last of the Clockwork Elephants * Tara Knight
  • The Infinite Razor * Anthony Bernstein
  • [the doomsday clock] * Brian Rosenberger
  • [reject mother's hand] * Wendy Van Camp
  • Two Sisters * Devan Barlow
  • Reprogramming * John C. Mannone
  • The Cosmos As … * Alessio Zanelli
  • Waste * Soren James
  • [wishing] * Mariel Herbert
  • Maxikins Surfs Space * Adele Gardner
  • Tips for Shifting: Felis catus * Gerri Leen
  • Vampire Diaries * DJ Tyrer
  • [programming error] * C. William Hinderliter
  • Spring Comes Round Again * Mary Soon Lee
  • Three Hours of Oxygen * Matthew Wilson
  • [culture clash] * Ngo Binh Anh Khoa

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