Nonfiction
Dividing Space by Zero
Anything with an escape velocity greater than the speed of light is a black hole. That’s the black hole’s defining characteristic: Gravity so intense nothing can escape.
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Nonfiction
Author Spotlight
Author Spotlight: K.C. Ball
I’m interested in the notion of sentient A.I., and got more and more into the character as the story developed. I tried to make him real and unreal, to give him attitude, particularly in his view of humans.
Editorial
Editorial, June 2011
Welcome to issue thirteen of Lightspeed! Here’s what we’ve got on tap this month … Fiction: “Snapshots I Brought Back from the Black Hole” by K.C. Ball, “Frost Painting” by Carolyn Ives Gilman, “Transcript of Interaction Between Astronaut Mike Scudderman and the OnStar Hands-Free A.I. Crash Advisor” by Grady Hendrix, “Recording Angel” by Ian McDonald. Nonfiction: “Dividing By Zero” by Mike Brotherton, “Dissolving the Wall Between Art and Science” by Graeme McMillian, “Six A.I. Types Who Annoy Us to Death” by Genevieve Valentine, “Feature Interview: Mary Roach” by John Joseph Adams & David Barr Kirtley.
Artist Showcase
Artist Spotlight: Randy Gallegos
I try to take in lots of art, whether in person at museums or books. I also find it important to keep up some with the rapidly changing world of my contemporaries.
Nonfiction
Whose Thoughts Are You Thinking?
Although it’s sensationalized, brainwashing has backing in fact. Over the years, plenty of techniques have been tried.
Author Spotlight
Author Spotlight: Alastair Reynolds
At the back of my mind I’d had an idea about how contact with the alien would lead to us becoming progressively more alien ourselves. All I did was bolt that notion onto a simple war story and “Scales” was born.
Nonfiction
When the Brain Sees God on a Toaster Pastry
What actually happens when a person sees a deity in an inanimate object, specifically not associated with a concomitant religious experience?
Author Spotlight
Author Spotlight: Nancy Kress
He “saw” what he said he saw: Zeus in a toaster pastry. Rather, that’s what he perceived, since sight is a combination of what photons strike our retinas and how we interpret the resulting signals to the brain.
Nonfiction
The Icy Ecosystem of Europa
This icy world, at first glance, is just another moon. It is about 90% the size of our Earth’s moon and shines a nondescript grey white against the background stars.
Author Spotlight
Author Spotlight: Tessa Mellas
Angela also feels generic. She can’t compete with Bibi’s exoticism in a culture that pits girls against one another.
