Many pundits have taken this as a sign of failure, loss, an ending…

Most prominently, perhaps, being the editors of the Economist, who have proclaimed on their recent cover that it is, in fact, the end of the Space Age.

I write this from the shores of a continent that was, some 500 years ago, felt to be beyond “the limit of human ambition”. And yet, here I am, communicating with you from that place, which is now integral to the life of the human community. Writing to you in a medium that literally was unimagined even 50 years ago.

It is true that the current fashionable mode is pessimistic, and that “conventional wisdom” sees

The fashion, today, is to say “we can’t.” “Too hard.” “Won’t happen.”

I don’t believe a word of that.

Neither do any of us in the OA community. Our stories, pictures, and poems try to imagine what the future will be like. We won’t get the details right — after all, we write post-Singularity science fiction. But we don’t fantasize. We try to extrapolate, predict, peer into what might be, and imagine it.

The real fantasy is to believe that history has ended.

Our history is just beginning.

And so’s our next contest — the 2011-2012 Short Fiction contest. Come take a look here… and by all means, start writing.

In this issue, we’re rolling out a new feature, highlighting entries from the OA Encyclopedia Galactica. Our first entry is Earthdance, and we invite you to tell us of your favorite EG entries, that we may feature them in future editions.

That kind of feedback helps us to make this a better webzine. We’re taking feedback like that, for example, and looking at how to add searchability to this ‘zine. We’ve started with a new page, available from all posts and pages on the site, Past Issues. This page will take the interested reader to a list of all issues’ Table of Contents. As we find the best answers for integrating post and author searches, we’ll add those too.

We are still (always? incessantly?) looking for more entries from our readership. Please send us your stories; reviews; images; convention reports; anything and everything that might be of interest to the OA and SF communities. Or perhaps you might consider volunteering for a stint as an associate editor for the project? Details can be found here.

The Orion’s Arm project is a shared universe. We hope all of you who are readers of V/FT will consider taking the next step, and “paying it forward” by sharing YOUR visions of what’s happening in the worlds of Orion’s Arm.

What’s important is what we remember on this date. This is the day, forty one years ago, when our species first set foot on another world.

We now know this can be done. Sooner, or later, it will be done again. Sooner or later, we will go back to stay.

One of our first Grandmasters of science fiction, Robert A Heinlein, put it clearly: “Earth is too small a basket for mankind to keep all its eggs in.”

This edition of V/FT celebrates the journeys yet to come, in a series of vignettes written by travelers in the OA universe. These “Travelers’ Notes” have long been a staple of the OA setting, and we’re pleased to devote an issue to them.

Want to help with the ongoing publication of V/FT? Consider volunteering for a stint as an associate editor for the project. Details can be found here.

In my last editorial, I was introducing the new Orion’s Arm website, and talking about Against a Diamond Sky, which was soon to be released. You will have noticed, by now, that those aren’t the only changes.

This issue of V/FT introduces several new features. We’re going to add “cover art” to every edition, as more OA contributors turn their hands to brush and filter, adding vivid imagery to the written works set in the OA universe. We’re adding a new category, to start showcasing the early fiction of the Orion’s Arm project. And we’ve redesigned the site, in order to make key pieces of information, like the submissions guidelines, easier to find.

Orion’s Arm continues to grow and improve. We hope that Voices/Future Tense will continue to reflect that.

As you read this, Orion’s Arm is rolling out our new website in earnest — you can see it now at http://eg.orionsarm.com, AND very possibly at http://www.orionsarm.com , if your corner of the internet’s received the DNS changes. If you’re not seeing the new website at the old URL, you will soon.

This change will allow us to update the archives of the Orion’s Arm Universe Project more readily. It will also, we hope, allow us to implement new technologies and webpage design protocols with ease. And… well, yes… we think it looks spiffy as well.

On behalf of the Board of Directors, I hope you enjoy the new site, and the other exciting changes which are taking place. An increased presence in Second Life; the novella competition collection, soon to hit the stands; stories, imagery, all manner of things, inspired by the worlds of Orion’s Arm.

Enjoy them all… and enjoy this edition’s stories and imagery, here in issue 10101 …13, if you’re hopelessly mired in base 10. *smiles*

It’s been a long time in coming, and everyone involved in the project is delighted. We will keep you posted as the finals steps are taken… and we will, of course, notify you when the book’s available on the shelves.

One more step towards a time when stories set in the OA universe can be seen in Analog… or as Hugo and Nebula nominees.

Outlandish? Maybe. But it wasn’t that long ago that the thought of a published Novella contest, or a webzine, seemed outlandish. And here you are, reading this. Awaiting the book.

Just think of what you might be waiting to see, tomorrow.

When you’ve done reading them, please go here, review the instructions on voting, and give us your opinions. If you’ve an entry you particularly enjoyed, take a moment or two and write the authors.

If you’d like to see YOUR work up here? Start writing. We’ll be here.

cheerfully,
Bill Ernoehazy
Publisher, Voices/Future Tense

That’s immense.

On behalf of the board of directors for the Orion’s Arm Worldbuilding Group, I would like to thank everyone, throughout the years, who have contributed to the success of this project. This is your success, not just ours.

Good thing we don’t have to put a million candles on the cake in celebration…

That’s right; to you.

You’ve read earlier editions. You hopefully have a couple of favorite works from our collection. Maybe you’ve admired the poetry, or the imagery, instead of the stories. And you’ve got this piece, and you think it might be fun to share, but you’re just not sure.

Here’s the invitation:

Take the plunge.

Drop me a line; let me look at it; let me see what we can do together, and let’s share it with the rest of the folks reading this.

V/FT is going places. The view from the passenger galleries is fine; but it’s even better up here in Navigation, and the Bridge.

Join us!

So. Here’s more:

More distinctive graphics: You will have noted, by now, that the Orion’s Arm Universe Project has a new index page. More changes are coming, over the next couple of months, which will improve the site’s readability. There will also be new content (of course!). We’ve done some redesign work here at V/FT, as well; the new banner has been designed specififcally for V/FT, and the fonts have been chosen to complement the new layout. We hope you like the new look.

More contests: This issue, we are pleased to announce the 2008 Novella Contest. Do you have stories to tell that are too big to comfortably fit in a webzine format? Now’s your chance to share them!

More exhortations: Our short film contest continues. That deadline’s July 20, and fast approaching; if you have a good script, now would be a good time to start filming.

More fine articles: But you expect that of us. We look to deliver.

More authors and artists: That’s YOUR challenge. Write; compose; draw; paint; model; digitize… and submit your work! We’ll be delighted to consider your works for publication.