"Outcasts"

Being born — well, Lais remembered it, a gentle transition from warm liquid to warm air, an abrupt rise in the pitch of sounds, the careful touch of hands, shock of the first breath. She had never told anyone that her easy passage had lacked some quality, perhaps a rite that would have made her truly human.

Thus does begin Vonda McIntyre’s “The Genius Freaks”, one of the three stories in her collection “Outcasts”, released today by Book View Café, an e*publisher specializing in bringing back work that has gone out of print.

In “Screwtop”, Kylis, an outcast on the world where she was born, has been taken prisoner by another planet’s society she was just passing thru, but which unfortunately for her is very unforgiving toward the practice of spaceport rats hitching clandestine rides from star system to star system. Exiled to a penal colony that’s used to build geothermal stations in the middle of that world’s jungle, she can’t escape, or so it seems, but even then she’ll fight the system for a way to allow some of her fellow misfit prisoners to leave.

“Steelcollar Worker” Jannine, who has escaped from a mysterious situation, now works at a company whose employees use virtual reality to build drugs one atom at a time, and she loves what she does, but she does it too well, in spite of herself. It draws the attention of her higher-ups, attention that she desperately wants to avoid and she finds herself having to choose between being caught and running again.

“The Genius Freaks” were once greatly feared by their society, until most were exterminated. They were geniuses though, and so were very useful. To control them, the next generations were created by the Institute in test tubes, and with a termination date. Lais has escaped from the Institute, but, on the run and dying from cancer, she keeps working on a scientific problem, and finds a way to have her revenge on the system that created her.

I'm looking forward to more of McIntyre's tales being made available to us. Meanwhile, this collection can be acquired here:

http://www.bookviewcafe.com/index.php/Outcasts-by-Vonda-N.-McIntyre

making room for the throne

On second thought, I think our DVR will have just enough room to store the 2nd season of "Game of Thrones" while I go thru the DVDs of the first season. Mind you, I had to toss out a few things, including Hammer's "She", starring Ursula Andress as She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed - no, not Mrs.Rumpole. It was a tough decision, but sometimes one must make sacrifices.

feeling groovy

( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvlW4bEjB5A )

rustbuckets and what one does

I found out today that my team lead didn't know that I work full-time not on the New System, but on the Old System, which is his responsibility. I'll be kind and blame his lack of experience for why he has no idea how much work it takes to keep the rustbucket afloat.

another treat of words

I once again decided to treat myself tonight so I went to Page One and bought the recent reprint of George RR Martin's novel "Dying of the Light".