Fusion Fragment, GigaNotoSaurus and Diabolical Plots 11/24: Short Fiction Reviews by Charles Payseur

Fusion Fragment 11/24
GigaNotoSaurus 11/24
Diabolical Plots 11/24

November’s Fusion Fragment starts strong with Emry Jordal’s novelette “The Little Black Wand for Every Occasion”, in which a technology known as Serendipity is growing in popularity, though not without some controversy. It allows people a redo, erasing six minutes or so of time so that people can undo any “mistakes” they just made. In practice, it allows people who can afford it the chance to cheat at life, limited only by their patience – offering a taste of perfection that might be tempting if not for a few little caveats. Like the fact that it might destroy the universe. Jordal reveals through the multiple viewpoints of the story the ways this technology is not only abused but used mercilessly to silence critics and win the war of public opinion, all while playing a truly dangerous game of temporal rou­lette. It’s a vividly imagined and interesting read. Catherine Forrest’s “Stone Test” unfolds in a world where a kind of magic means that if a person throws a stone at someone and the person they throw at isn’t hiding anything from them, the stone will deflect off an invisible shield. It’s something most people take for granted, but which has become tied to relationship dynamics, gender, and trust. For the narrator, it’s something she deals with as from a young age, Peter has always thrown stones at her. Because he likes her, she is told. Because he trusts her, she is told. But it’s never something she likes, and despite growing up to marry Peter and have a child with him, it’s always something that wears at her, until she has to confront her feelings and her husband about it. Forrest deftly explores gender roles and the fault lines of relationships in the story, showing what trust and respect mean in a powerful way. The resolution comes with a dose of hope, that people don’t have to accept the flawed and unfair expectations of society – that true trust and respect reach deeper than any test.

Garrett is a dimensional warrior on a mission to defeat powerful, reality-jumping aliens in GigaNo­toSaurus’s November story, “Remnants” by Lauren Triola. After his reality was destroyed by the Prisc, a quasi-hivemind race who use the connections between realities as conduits for their conquest, he takes up the fight against them, becoming a soul magic user able to shake the foundations of all realities and, if he can pull it off, perhaps close the connections the Prisc use to fuel their power and spread. To that end, he has recruited a group of alternate-hims for a mission to finally end the war. The story follows both the progress of that group, and Garrett’s individual journey after his apparent success and stranding in a reality where his magic is powerless. For all the high science fiction ideas, Triola’s work shines most in how it captures the very intimate and more mundane aspects of his life – his trauma and his attempts to heal and live following a life dedicated to a singular task now complete. It’s sweet and warm and really shows Garrett’s growth from the man he was fighting his war to the man he becomes when he is finally safe to come out of his shell. It’s amazing.

Finally, the November Diabolical Plots features Devin Miller’s science fiction heist story, “Song for a Star-Whale’s Ghost”. In it, a crew needs medicine to save a pod of sick space whales who will die without it. The problem is that their bodies can be used to make ships capable of traversing the galaxy – something the people with the medicine very much want. So it’s down to Ruby and the crew of the space-whale Balentora, whose ghost is so old it’s experiencing the equivalent of space-whale dementia, to take the medicine and outrun the authorities. Miller builds the world of the story beautifully, showing how magic and trust anchor the relationship between humans and their space-whale ships, and how Ruby has been long fearing the deterioration of Balentora – taking fewer risks to try and conserve what time they have left. With so much riding on their success, though, they have to push past the safeties and rely on the strength of their bond to win the day. Action, adventure, and a whole lot of heart make for an excellent reading experience

Recommended Stories
“The Little Black Wand for Every Occasion”, Emry Jordal (Fusion Fragment 11/24)
“Remnants”, Lauren Triola (GigaNotoSaurus 11/24)
“Song for a Star-Whale’s Ghost”, Devin Miller (Diabolical Plots 11/24)

This review and more like it in the January 2025 issue of Locus.

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