Longshot Island

Stories by J.D. Harpley, Danielle Hauck, Emily Devenport, David R. Grigg, Jerry Oltion and Douglas Cole. Edited by Daniel Scott White.I'm sure you've heard of the antikythera mechanism. Some suggest is was a 'computer' used to calculate the position of the stars. The story goes that Hipparchus invented it in the second century BC. Then he was killed by the Romans when they sacked the city.The antikythera mechanism was lost for millenia and rediscovered around 1901.What if it had been a kind of computer and Hipparchus hadn't been killed? What if he'd shared his genius with the world over 2,000 years ago? And, what if we'd gotten to the moon a thousand years ago? Where would we be today? It's kind of exciting to think about.I imagine in a thousand years from now we'll have made it out of our solar system, but I'm not holding my breath. It's not the technology that will hold us back, but the politics and wars and whatnot. There'll be delays in the space program and then flourishes in interest. In a thousand years, we may not have even conquered interstellar travel. Sure wish I could be around to see what will happen.In this issue, we are dedicated to bringing you new authors as well as masters of science fiction. There will also be departments for poetry, reviews, style, humor, and more, as always. Welcome to Deep Space, the science fiction issue.