Finalists exemplify the best of near-future, forward-thinking science fiction. Annual contest marks 16 years of highlighting bright futures and rising talent.

Patrick Chiles is a graduate of The Citadel, a Marine Corps veteran, and a private pilot. In addition to his novels, he has written for magazines including Smithsonian’s Air & Space.

Awakenings

Patrick Chiles

MAGELLAN VEHICLE STATUS REPORT / SUBMITTER: D.A.I.S.E

SECONDARY MISSION ELAPSED TIME DAY 656 / 2103Z

16.8 HOURS OF DSN SUPPORT RECORDED, 12.4 HOURS LARGE APERTURE COVERAGE. NO SIGNIFICANT OUTAGES DETECTED. RECEIVED COMMAND LOSS TIMER RESET UPLINK FROM DSS-34 DAY 655 / 1704Z.

SCIENCE INSTRUMENT PERFORMANCE NOMINAL FOR ALL ACTIVITIES DURING PERIOD, NO EDR BACKLOGS.

FLIGHT SYSTEMS PERFORMANCE NOMINAL. SUCCESSFULLY INTEGRATED STAR TRACKER DATABASE UPDATE DAY 653 / 0804Z. COMPOUNDING TRAJECTORY ERRORS INDICATES GRAVITATIONAL FIELD AT PREDICTED PLANET 9 LOCATION.

CREW STATUS:

FLIGHT ENGINEER TEMPLETON REMAINS STABLE UNDER INDUCED TORPOR. H20/IV NUTRIENT INTAKE WITHIN NOMINAL RANGE.

With that, the artificial intelligence guiding Magellan to the far reaches of the solar system had completed its daily summary for the control team on Earth. Now almost fifty astronomical units—not quite fifty billion miles—from home, the signal return times approached thirteen hours. A long time for a human, it amounted to a near-interminable wait for a thinking machine.

Not that the Distributed Artificial Intelligence Surveillance Environment (DAISE) had much need to wait for others to make decisions on its behalf. Daisy had long ago evolved beyond the point of requiring human oversight, in fact its former crewmates had concluded their AI companion had become self-aware during their original journey to the Kuiper Belt.

Robert E. Hampson is a scientist and author. In his scientific career, he takes concepts once thought to be science fiction, and turns them into practical applications of cutting-edge science. As an author, he uses his background to bring real science to science fiction. He is a teacher, researcher, reviewer, scientific journal editor, and consultant.

Dr. Hampson received a Ph.D. in 1988 in the field of Physiology & Pharmacology, with an interest in Neuroscience. He is a professor of Physiology & Pharmacology, and of Neurology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. His forty-year scientific career has concentrated on understanding the effect of drugs, disease, and injury on human memory. WFUSoM recently awarded Dr. Hampson's multidisciplinary Memory Prosthetic Team, the 2022 Faculty Research Excellence Award for Established Team. As lead scientist and co-founder of Braingrade, Inc., he is helping to develop a medical device to restore human memory function.

Robert Hampson's SF writing career began with several pieces of short fiction published in 2015. He writes military, adventure, and hard-science Science Fiction as well as nonfiction articles explaining science to the general public. The Moon and the Desert is his fifth novel (including collaborations). He has coedited two anthologies, published more than 40 works of short fiction and nonfiction.

Robert E. Hampson is available as a consultant through SIGMA—the Science Fiction Think Tank and the Science and Entertainment Exchange (a service of the National Academy of Sciences). His website is REHampson.com.

This article marks a return . . . of sorts. For many years I wrote science essays for Baen, mostly written under my pseudonym Tedd Roberts. That changed in 2018 with "Fixing Broken Memory," however, that was also nearly my last science essay for Baen in many years. It marked the start of an exciting new chapter of science communication, interviews, podcasts, documentaries, and publication of my own science fiction. Moreover, from that point onward, my pseudonym was no longer necessary, given that I had gained recognition in both science and science fiction circles as a professor who used science fiction as part of science education and outreach.

Which brings us to March 2023, and the release of The Moon and the Desert, a book dedicated to a topic which greatly influenced both of my careers. The afterword to the book contains two important pieces of information—the first is how Martin Caidin's novel Cyborg—the inspiration for the TV show The Six Million Dollar Man—influenced my choice of scientific careers. The book was released in 1972, and the TV series in 1974. I watched it faithfully. Every episode, every season.

I wanted to do that—to study and be involved in the science of bionics.

Baen Books, in partnership with the National Space Society, has announced the 2023 finalists for the Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Award.

This month, we’re bringing D.J. Butler’s flintlock fantasy Witchy Eye back into print with a second edition! In addition, March marks the release of Butler’s latest novel, Time Trials, cowritten with M.A. Rothman. To celebrate, we’re offering discounts on all of the Witchy War series, as well as other books in Butler’s backlist.

Baen Books has signed a contract with author Christopher Ruocchio to publish the final two books in his internationally award-winning Sun Eater series, as well as for a first look deal for Ruocchio’s next series.

We’re happy to announce an easier way to deliver our Ebooks directly from Baen.com to your favorite Ereader. You can now email EPUB files directly to your device from our site—no download necessary!

Baen to publish new science fiction novels from authors Monalisa Foster and Marisa Wolf

Lucille Robbins, Eric Flint’s widow and heir, in conjunction with Baen Books would like to announce the forthcoming titles from Eric Flint.

Baen to publish sword and sorcery series The Chronicles of Hanuvar, with first book in August 2023

It is with a heavy heart that we share the news that Eric Flint has passed away. We were proud to publish Eric’s first novel, Mother of Demons, in 1997, and to continue publishing his many worlds, including the best-selling Ring of Fire series that started with 1632.

There are several of Eric’s works already delivered and on the schedule. Eric was a tireless collaborator, and readers can also expect more of his works to be released with Eric’s designated collaborators in the future.

We will be celebrating Eric and his works on the Baen Free Radio Hour this week and the following week and encourage all to tune in.

—Toni Weisskopf
Publisher, Baen Books

Baen Books formally announced this year’s finalists for the Baen Fantasy Adventure Award earlier this month.

Lakewood, Colorado author Wil McCarthy has been named the winner of the 2022 Prometheus Award for Best Novel, for his novel Rich Man’s Sky.