In "The Quills of Henry Thomas," W. C. and Aja Bamberger give us a glimpse of a future in which music is composed through DNA computing. "The Gizzard Wizard" is Rory Barnes's delightful sequel to his young adult SF novel, Space Junk. John Gregory Betancourt's engaging "The Darkfishers" envisions a shanghaied Earth colony stranded on the back of a huge crustacean on an ocean planet. Sydney J. Bounds, in "Guinea Pigs," portrays a future dominated by cutthroat corporations.

"Outside Looking In," by Mark E. Burgess, takes the "world in a bottle" theme--and turns it upside down. Victor Cilinca's "Siegfried" demonstrates the folly of taking those "primitive" aliens too lightly. Michael R. Collings's "The Calling of Iam'Kendron" is a stirring prequel to his epic science-fantasy novel, Wordsmith. In Arthur Jean Cox's "Evergreen," we find that long life is not always what it's cracked up to be.

Award-winning author Jack Dann depicts, in "Mohammed’s Angel," an all-too-plausible future in which cultures, sensibilities, and terrorist acts are inextricably mixed. "Ultra Evolution," by John Russell Fearn, is a cautionary tale about the advancement of man—not always a good thing! Sheila Finch's "Miles to Go" is the moving story of a wheelchair marathoner faced with a crucial decision. Mel Gilden relates mankind's first encounter with aliens in "The Little Finger of the Left Hand." Last, and certainly not least, Ardath Mayhar's poignant "The Next Generation" shows the human race forced to make a crucial decision about its survival.