Welcome to Issue 43 of IGMS, my first issue back in the big chair after a hiatus of two issues. I have to thank Orson Scott Card for allowing me to take the hiatus, Scott Roberts and Eric James Stone for their terrific job selecting stories in my absence, and our ever-present, yet ever-invisible managing editor, Kathleen Bellamy, for keeping it all on track (which, with my absence, had to have been a much easier job).

Our cover story for this issue is "The Wellmachine Robot" by Lon Prater, a touching tale of robots and zombies, the (possibly) last boy on earth, and a theme of which Pinocchio would have approved. This is Lon's second story in IGMS and his first cover.

"The Pining" by Sarina Dorie is a foray into the land of fairies, questioning what's real and what's not, including love.

"The Man in the Pillbox Hat," written by Mjke Wood is a short short written from the point of view of a man whose wife has gone off into outer space, leaving him wondering not only if she'll return, but if she does, who she'll be when she arrives.

Part Two of Stephen Gaskell's novelette "On the Winds of the Rub' Al-Khali" concludes the tale of a young Bedouin boy with a talent for math. Because he is uneducated, he may be better able to learn from the alien device that has baffled mathematicians ever since it landed in Africa -- but even abstract math can have real-world consequences. If you missed Part One, it was published in Issue 42.

"Meat and Greet," by Jamie Todd Rubin, is another short short -- an amusing meta look into the world of publishing, told through the eyes of an agent listening to pitches from some of the greatest literary minds of previous generations.

This issue's audio production, " The Ghastly Thing," written by Kevin McNeil and read by award-winning performer Emily Rankin, shows the challenges of a truly Ghastly Thing as it undergoes a series of encounters with a young girl who seems unwilling to believe that all who gaze upon it will instantly die.

And be sure not to miss "At The Picture Show: Extended Cut," an in-depth article by our regular film critic, Chris Bellamy.

Plus, it's once again time for this year's annual reader's poll. Vote for your favorite stories and favorite artwork. Top vote-getting stories and illustrations will receive an extra cash prize. As an enticement for you, the readers, to cast your vote, one randomly-selected voter will receive a free autographed copy of one Visitors, Uncle Orson's latest novel.

Edmund R. Schubert
Editor, Orson Scott Card's InterGalactic Medicine Show

P.S. As usual, we've collected essays from the authors in this issue and will post them here on IGMS along with our other free columns. Feel free to drop by and catch The Story Behind The Stories, where the authors talk about the creation of their tales.