Firestorm

If you obsess over FLOWERS FOR ALGERNON, you will love the twenty-three sci fi stories in this collection. Each tale examines some aspect of the human condition, sometimes dark and dystopian, sometimes optimistic, but always thought-provoking.If you enjoy time travel, try "e;Neverland through the Looking Glass,"e; "e;The Self-Murder Solution,"e; or "e;One Million Years in a Day."e;"e;The Self-Murder Solution"e; describes a suicide crisis a few hundred years in the future from the point of view of a contemporary woman who tries to kill herself.In "e;One Million Years in a Day,"e; an up-close survey of the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way Galaxy goes awry.In "e;Neverland through the Looking Glass,"e; just about everything that can go wrong does, and the culpable scientific and military people try to undo the damage within a narrow window of opportunity.The stories featuring trans characters are: "e;Informed Consent,"e; "e;Yes, Dear, Breast Cancer can Kill a Trans Woman,"e; and "e;The Gender Blender."e; The author is a male-to-female transsexual, and these stories are drawn from her experience as an early transitioned (1974) trans woman.Dystopian stories include "e;Ride the Snake,"e; "e;Maiden Voyage of the Fearless,"e; and "e;The Black Hole: A Tale for Men and Women Who Aren't Trying to Kill Feminism."e; "e;Ride the Snake"e; describes a "e;golden"e; future. "e;The Maiden Voyage"e; focuses on a miracle cure for anxieties of all kinds. "e;Black Hole,"e; is about the status of women in this world and our future world."e;The Cold Waters of Europa"e; (a recreational diving expedition goes wrong with the help of eco-terrorists), "e;Helping Hand"e; (a stranded astronaut proves that she is seriously tough), or "e;Raptures of the Deep"e; (what could possibly turn sideways when exploring the Mariana Trench?) are hard sci fi.If you want a little humor, there are "e;Growing Up Human"e; , "e;The Mimic"e; (one character accuses the other of being an alien and vice versa), or "e;Aliens Anonymous"e; (a quasi-twelve-step program for alien abductees). "e;Electro Genesis"e; is about a woman who survives an electric jolt to the brain. And in "e;Center of the Universe,"e; astronomers begin to worry when all the stars dim.In "e;The Predator Trap,"e; an entomology student solves a missing-person mystery and discovers a new species. "e;Crime Warp"e; mixes science fiction and fantasy when a junior professor discovers that worldwide crime rates are falling. "e;Death After Dying"e; takes a look at the possibility of post-mortem brain waves and quasi-life-after-death experiences. And "e;The Final Launch"e; centers on an Air Force Colonel who will stop at nothing to launch her missile. "e;The Conservationist Hunter,"e; is an adult fairy tale about big-game hunting on a lush alien planet.