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?
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Nonfiction
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.
Nonfiction
Interview: Jill Tarter, Director of SETI
As the Director of the Center for SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Research, Dr. Tarter has devoted her career to the search for extraterrestrial life.
Author Spotlight
Author Spotlight: Eric Gregory
The action of the latter half of the story is set around a particular stretch of road in Cherokee National Forest. That road is the exact last place I’d ever want to run into hungry dead things, so of course I had to stick my characters there.
Editorial
Editorial, May 2011
Welcome to issue twelve of Lightspeed! On tap this month… Fiction: “The Harrowers” by Eric Gregory, “Bibi From Jupiter” by Tessa Mellas, “Eliot Wrote” by Nancy Kress, “Scales” by Alastair Reynolds. Nonfiction: “Feature Interview: Jill Tarter” by Genevieve Valentine, “The Icy Ecosystem of Europa” by Dr. Pamela Gay, “When the Brain Sees God on a Toaster Pastry” by The Evil Monkey, “Whose Thoughts Are You Thinking?” by Laura Waterstripe.
Artist Showcase
Artist Spotlight: Julie Dillon
I knew I wanted a glowing figure surrounded by floating creatures, and the idea to include mechanical fish developed as I was working on the piece.
Nonfiction
Interview: Elizabeth Bear
Elizabeth Bear should be a familiar name for anyone who even dabbles in science fiction and fantasy. Not only did she catapult into the scene by winning the Campbell Award for Best New Author in 2005, she never lost momentum.
Nonfiction
The Many Worlds Interpretation Theory: Having Your Cake and Eating it Two, and Three, and Four…
Maybe your parents told you to never talk politics or religion in polite company. It’s good advice in scientific circles, too, but with one addition: Never bring up interpretations of quantum mechanics.
