What’s in Issue 234

Novel	Michael E. Lloyd, Observation Two: Standing Divided Chapter 19: Red Lodge, Montana — ‘Salvatore and Maelene get the measure of the rhodium deposits at Bearbite Mines. Well, Salvatore tries to...’ Chapter 20: Los Angeles, California, part 1 — ‘Toni is handling Maelene badly on the phone, but he’s performing well in helping Carla and Quo with their plans to crash the “Gerontite” party...’ Chapter 20: part 2 — ‘Quo and Carla embarrass an aging Hollywood stud into setting up their meeting with “The Man,” while Toni takes advice and get things back on track with Maelene.’
Serials	Sigmund Parvo careens toward a showdown with a putsch — and the ultimate Pest: Colin P. Davies, Pestworld, part 5; part 6; part 7; part 8; conclusion. The desert city of Oyan is experiencing torrential rains; but the serpent goddess Sonya is hungry, and her acolytes threaten to unleash a bloodbath: Slawomir Rapala, The Birth of Vengeance, part 1: Rain, Blood and the Serpent.
Short Stories	Joe is a good guy to know in a pinch. But others’ pinches become his own when he’s down and out on the city’s mean streets: O. J. Anderson, Hard Cash, part 1; conclusion. New contributor Ed Coet wrestles with theodicy. Can even the spirit of Elijah unravel the conundrum of divine omnipotence and good and evil? David’s Angel, part 1; conclusion. Those blackflies eatin’ on your bones... / But they’re not the very worst thing, you know, / In north Ontar-i-o, i-o, in north Ontar-i-o: Bryce V. Giroux, Dead Simple, part 1; conclusion. New contributor Ed Lynskey discovers a fellow who’s building an altar. To himself. In a meat locker: The Nth Degree of Me, part 1; conclusion. How can a precocious young girl fill out her university application when her Dad is busy messing around with the timeline and helping Archimedes with his mirrors? E. S. Strout, Reflection.
Flash Fiction	Want to save the world? Remember, you can never do just one thing. And sometimes even one thing is one too many, or too few: Kevin Ahearn, The White Life. Want to become wealthy as an arms merchant? It may be something you could try at home: Karlos Allen, The Swordsmith.
Poetry	Anna Ruiz, At Some Point John Stocks, Night Apples
Prose Poetry	New contributor Andy Riverbed, For It Is Today That I Am Born Roberto Sanhueza, Another Night in Transylvania
Interview	Phil Reisman of WVOX radio interviews Jack Alcott.

Departments

Welcome	Bewildering Stories welcomes Ed Coet, Ed Lynskey, and Andy Riverbed.
The Critics’ Corner	Bill Bowler, Code and Message in “David’s Angel”
Challenge	Challenge 233 response: Some editors ponder memes. Challenge 234 spends Another White Night.
Letters	Donald Schneider writes about “Scratch Handicap”
The Art Gallery	A randomly rotating selection of Bewildering Stories’ art NASA: Picture of the Day

Randomly selected Bewildering motto:

Randomly selected classic rejection notice:

Bewildering Stories’ official mottoes:

“Poems are not made with ideas; they are made with words.” — Stéphane Mallarmé
Ars longa, vita brevis. Rough translation: “Proofreading never ends.”

To Bewildering Stories’ schedule: In Times to Come

Readers’ reactions are always welcome.
Please write!

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