IASFM

[GRWelsh]

Since I don't have Netflix anymore and don't really watch TV, I have been spending more time reading. I've been evaluating my personal library to rank what I want to read next. Part of my collection is magazines, including an old favorite I started reading in the 80's: ISAAC ASIMOV'S SCIENCE FICTION MAGAZINE (IASFM for short). A friend of mine whom I met in 9th grade often had them on his desk, and our common interest in science fiction was one of the reasons we became friends in the first place. I would often borrow his issues and read them during the day. Eventually, I got a subscription of my own, and my first issue was from October 1983. Going through my collection, I decided to read all of the stories I skipped back then, and reread some old favorites. One of the stories I reread was "Remembering Siri" by Dan Simmons, from the December 1983 issue. The core idea is about time dilation resulting from high speed space travel, and what if two people continued a romance across those time-skips? A local legend grew up around their romance, and it is revealed both people had ulterior motives for keeping the relationship going with bigger consequences at stake. This story held up well, and reminded me why I like science fiction so much in the first place. The best science fiction writers can not only extrapolate on scientific advancement but thoroughly imagine its effects on human behavior in a realistic way. As Isaac Asimov himself said in one his editorials (paraphrased): a good science fiction writer still has to be a good writer, in addition to understanding the science he's writing about. Incidentally, this story was by the same author -- Dan Simmons -- who wrote SONG OF KALI (1985) which we read in our "book club" several years ago.