Visions of Liberty

The Future of Freedomas
Explored by Top Science Fiction
Writers in a New Volume of All
Original Stories.

As Thomas Jefferson put it, That government is best which governs least. And, as Will Rogers wryly quipped, Were lucky we dont get all the government we pay for! In Visions of Liberty, ten top science fiction writers, several of them Hugo or Nebula award-winners, create ten very different futures in which Government does not exist and explore the possibilities of a truly free society. Among the roster: Hugo winner and Grand Master Jack Williamson; Michael Resnick, winner of four Hugos and a Nebula, and author of the international bestseller, Santiago; Michael A. Stackpole, author of eight New York Times best sellers; best-selling novelist Jane Lindskold, New York Times best-selling author James P. Hogan, Robert J. Sawyer, winner of the Nebula Award for best novel of the year; and more. As threats to liberty arise in our own time, so it will be in the future. In this volume, a stellar cast of SF luminaries consider how the future might be differentand how freedom might truly triumph.

Praise for the science fiction anthologies of Martin Harry Greenberg:

Greenbergs choices are impeccable. Booklist

That rare achievement: a theme anthology that works. . . . Provocative and well-planned. Kirkus Reviews

Sheer enjoyability. . . . a fine mix of stories provokes everything from meditation to laughter. Library Journal

Cover art by Carol Heyer

This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.

First printing, July  2004

Distributed by Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020

Printed in the United States of America

ISBN: 0-7434-8838-5

Copyright 2004 by Mark Tier & Martin H. Greenberg
"Visions of Liberty," copyright 2004 by Mark Tier. "The Unnullified World," copyright 2004 by Lloyd Biggle, Jr. "The Right's Tough," copyright 2004 by Robert J. Sawyer. "The Shackles of Freedom," copyright 2004 by Mike Resnick and Tobias S. Buckell. "A Reception at the Anarchist Embassy," copyright 2004 by Brad Linaweaver. "According to Their Need," copyright 2004 by Michael Stackpole. "Pakeha," copyright 2004 by Jane Lindskold. "Devil's Star," copyright 2004 by Jack Williamson. "Renegade," copyright 2004 by Mark Tier. "The Colonizing of Tharle," copyright 2004 by James P. Hogan.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form.

A Baen Books Original
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Production by Windhaven Press
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Electronic version by Baen Books
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AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE . . .

Granddad told me about Amanda Green, a teacher in a small town near San Francisco. When she didn't show up at school one morning, someone went to see if she was hurtand found her house trashed, all her files and computer gone, but no sign of her.

And her valuables untouched. No ordinary burglars.

Her neighbors knew nothing. But they'd heard the familiar sounds of the sirens and car doors slamming and thumping feet in the middle of the night . . . and they'd closed their houses up tight.

A terrorist, claimed the HSS, inciting her students to rebel against the state.

A homely grandmother, a dedicated teacher, loved by her students, and respected by the community, a terrorist? For teaching her students the meaning of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?

Amanda Green was the spark that lit the fire. It started quietly, like a burning ember, as groups held sporadic protests here and there. Only to be brutally repressed by the HSS police.

The TV coverage inflamed the nation. Within days millions of people across the country were parading with signs saying "Liberty or Death," "Don't Tread on Me," and even "Taxation is Theft."

from "Renegade" by Mark Tier

Baen Books also edited by
Mark Tier & Martin H. Greenberg

Give Me Liberty