Letter From The Editor - Issue 43 - January 2015
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.
http://www.intergalacticmedicineshow.com/cgi-bin/mag.cgi?do=issue&vol=i43&article=_fromeditor
