Adventures in Far Futures

Edited by T. K. F. Weisskopf.

The early days of space travel – the tragic deaths, the explorers who disappeared without a trace, the many heroisms – were now relegated to a few pages in history textbooks. The Solar System, from Mercury out to the cometary Oort Cloud, was as thoroughly domesticated and familiar as anyone's back yard. But other frontiers still beckoned, as distant as the farthest stars themselves, and humankind swarmed out across the galaxy at speeds many times that of light, but still only an amoeboid crawl in comparison to the vast breadth of the galaxy. And once again the statement by a largely-forgotten 20th century scientist was proven true: the universe is not only stranger than we imagine – it is stranger than we can imagine.

Stories of interstellar voyagers confronting the infinite by: Gregory Benford, Eric Flint & Dave Freer, James P. Hogan, Debra Doyle & James MacDonald... and more.

Contents:

• Introduction: Why Do We Need Tales About "Strange Adventures on Other Worlds, the Universe of the Future"? (Cosmic Tales II: Adventures in Far Futures) by T. K. F. Weisskopf
• The Tree of Dreams by James P. Hogan
• Bring Out the Ugly by Mark L. Van Name
• On Suivi Point by Debra Doyle and James D. Macdonald
• Genie Out of the Bottle by Dave Freer and Eric Flint
• Botany Bay by Paul Chafe
• The Science in the Story: "Botany Bay" (essay) by Paul Chafe
• Beyond Pluto by Gregory Benford