D. Avraham ~ Musings

Part of a series of interviews with the writers for the upcoming speculative fiction anthology, Clash of the Titles. the anthology is the brain child of Glen Bavel, who conceived of an endearing conceit: he provides a list of titles and the members of his Facebook workshop, Writing the Short (SF) Story, use it as a starting point for a short speculative fiction story.

Alex Shvartsman is a writer and game designer. Since 2010, Alex has sold over 80 short stories to a variety of magazines and anthologies. His fiction has appeared in Nature, Daily Science Fiction, InterGalactic Medicine Show, Galaxy’s Edge, and many others. Alex won the WSFA Small Press Award for Short Fiction in 2014 and was a finalist for the Canopus Award for Excellence in Interstellar Fiction in 2015.

Alex is also no stranger to anthologies, editing the highly successful anual anthology series of humorous science fiction and fantasy, Unidentified Funny Objects. He’s also the editor of Coffee, Dark Expanse and Funny Science Fiction anthologies. Alex shared with me some of his thoughts about his contribution to the wildly anticipated upcoming new anthology, Clash of the Titles.

First, please, tell us a little bit about your background.

I spent my childhood in the Soviet Union where, from the age of ten or so, I devoured both domestic and translation genre fiction. I read every science fiction book I could find; even so, my genre “education” was far from complete as the Soviet government only allowed certain authors and titles to be translated, and also published mostly golden age SF which they could get away with translating without paying the authors because those works predated an international copyright treaty they became a signatory to in the ’70s.

Why Speculative Fiction?

Speculative fiction offers writers the freedom of creating the most imaginative, unusual, and subversive works they can. It also grants readers the freedom to dream, to grow, and to contemplate pasts that could have been and futures that could be. Most importantly, it allows us all to ask “what if,” and to train our minds to seek all possible answers.

Who are your favorite authors, and who influences/inspires your work?

Pre-1970s SF had the greatest impact on me as a reader. I grew up on a steady diet of fiction by Robert Silverberg, Clifford Simak, Harry Harrison, Edmond Hamilton, Robert Sheckley and others. It wasn’t until my family moved to the United States and learned English that my reading options grew exponentially. Over the following decades I’ve become a big fan of fiction by Mike Resnick (a co-author in the anthology), Joan Vinge, Timothy Zahn, Simon R. Green and Peter F. Hamilton. With any luck, some of their influences can be found in my work.

What do you think is the most important thing that readers , booksellers, etc. know about Clash of the Titles?

Anthologies are particularly good for auditioning new authors. They offer quick bites of different authors’ work and encourage the reader to seek out further writing by their favorites. Clash of the Titles runs the gamut from grandmasters like Mike Resnick and David Gerrold, from solid pros to brand-new authors. It is a great discovery opportunity for anyone looking to find their next favorite author or several. (And what dedicated reader doesn’t seek to increase their already-enormous to-be-read pile?)

What other projects are you working on, besides Clash of the Titles.

Last month I turned in the manuscript for Humanity 2.0, an anthology I edited for Arc Manor/Phoenix Pick. The book is due out in October and I’m especially excited about this one because this is my first hard SF anthology as editor (I’m mostly known for editing humor.) And speaking of humor, I’m currently working on Unidentified Funny Objects 5 — all the stories are in, and they’re undergoing edits now. As a writer, I turned in several solicited stories to anthologies so far this year but most of these I can’t announce yet. Once the bulk of my editorial work is completed, I hope to get back to work on my novel, Eridani’s Crown. As a side project, I’m also working on a non-fiction book about the business side of short fiction, detailing researching markets, cover letters, contract negotiation, and all the other things genre writers need to know once their stories are ready for submission.

You can learn more about Alex, and his extensive bibliography here.  Or, you can follow him on Facebook.

Part of a series of interviews with the writers for the upcoming speculative fiction anthology, Clash of the Titles. the anthology is the brain child of Glen Bavel, who conceived of an endearing conceit: he provides a list of titles and the members of his Facebook workshop, Writing the Short (SF) Story, use it as a starting point for a short speculative fiction story.

   What does Ralph Nader. Richard Feynman, Lovecraft and Quantum Cosmology have in common? All of these apparently disparate elements come together through the talented penmanship of Jonathan Vos Post in his latest story, “Unsafe at Any Speed,” Vos Post’s contribution to the upcoming anthology Clash of the Titles.

Jonathan Vos Post, a scion of the New York City publishing industry, has been a professional published author from the age of twelve, currently boasting over 4,700 publications, presentations, and broadcasts in his resume. Vos Post’s credentials are impressive, as are writers he’s worked with, a list that includes Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, Sir Arthur C. Clarke, and Nobel Laureate Richard Feynman. I had the privileged to discuss with Jonathan his writing in general, and his contribution to the upcoming anthology, Clash of the Titles, in particular.

You’ve had an impressive career and worked with some of the greats. Who has inspired you the most? Whom do you admire?

Aside from my unconscious which sometimes sends me published songs and poems in dreams, which I then recall and scribble down on awakening. (I also dream equations and write them down when I wake up, including a key change to Voyager 2’s flyby of Uranus. After I dreamed the equation, it was confirmed by Project Scientist and later JPL Director, Ed Stone): Aside from that, I would have to say: Blake, Borges, Burroughs, Cervantes, Chekhov, Chandler, Chaucer, Dante, Dickenson, Einstein, Flaubert, Franklin, Goethe, Grass, Hammett, Hawthorne, Hemingway, Irving, James, Kerouac, Lewis, Lovecraft, Márquez, Milton, Nabokov, Oates, Paz, Poe, Quine, Rabelais, Scott, Shakespeare, Thoreau, Tolkien, Twain, Urquhart, Verne, Wells, Xenophon, Yeats, Zwicky.

I understand you found about about this project through Facebook, what made you submit? Would you do it again?

We do everything an infinite number of times, as we are all a simulation.

How did you come up with your story?

My characters take over, and write down what they say and do, while hovering ectoplasmically over my self while I edit on the fly.

A lot has been said about the workshop process wherein the editor takes a video meeting with the writers to help offer instant feedback and share the editing process along the way. How did you find this process; what are your feelings about it?

Video? I’ve been nurtured in, and run writing workshops for poetry, fiction, dramatic plays, comedy, screenplays, teleplays, and science papers through video.

What do you think is the most important thing that readers know about Clash of the Titles?

It is really good, in variety and quality of imagination and nerve, and well-edited.

Did you enjoy working with Gil Bavel, the editor? Would you work with him again?

At the drop of a hat. Any hat. Anywhere in the Solar System.

What do you think is the most important thing for booksellers, libraries and other outlets to know about Clash of the Titles that they don’t know?

Some of the authors have massive readerships and sales bases already.

Would you recommend the process to other writers; how did you find working with this editor to be compared to others?

I’ve had over 100 coauthors and hundreds of editors. That’s the idea — social networks do more than people alone can do on desert islands.

What excites you most about the process, and the anthology in general?

Big Names, and Big Talents.

Did your story grow in ways you didn’t expect due to the workshop nature of the process? How?

EVERY story does. Isaac Asimov only wrote ONE of his novels from an outline, and hated the constrictions. He told me: “If I cannot surprise myself, how can I surprise my readers?”

Please describe your favorite experience in working with Clash of the Titles.

Seeing that rewrites made it better.

What other projects are you working on, besides Clash of the Titles.

.At any moment, I am working on several novels, several novellas, novelettes, short stories, adding to roughly a hundred works of fiction and a thousand poems annually. I simultaneously publish academic papers in Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Economics, Mathematics, Physics, Psychology, and Sociology. My recent publications include:

.* “How often does a bush become a bear?” Atlas Poetica #25, Summer 2016.

* Atlas Poetica #24. ‘Street Food of East London’ for ATPO 24. Interplanetary Small Satellite Conference 2016 25-26 April at Caltech, Pasadena, California

2 poster presentations by me:

* “Magnetic Mirror Math for Antimatter-Matter Rocket” [complete paper, plus 2 40″ x 28″ posters]

* “Risk Assessment of Freeman Dyson’s Noah’s Ark Egg strategy” [abstract and bullet chart]

QUANTUM NETWORKS 2016

The workshop took place in Barcelona from 30 March to 1 April , sponsored by the Foundational Questions Institute (FQXI) under the project “Quantum Bayesian networks: the physics of nonlocal events”. my poster (typed paper from handwritten): “Map Quantum Cellular Automata to Godel Numbers”

* Fifth International Conference on Infectious Disease Dynamics 2015 .

Poster and paper using science fiction and police procedural to combat Ebola’s outbreak, not in Monrovia, Africa, but in Monrovia, Southern California.

* FOUR COMPETING THREADS IN THE DISCOURSE ON MATHEMATICAL PHYSICS PEDAGOGY {by Jonathan Vos Post and Dr. Christine Carmichael} ICERI2015, the 8th annual International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation, Seville (Spain), on the 16th, 17th and 18th of November, 2015.

* “Metasonnet: Day Mom Died” in SGVPQ 67 [Vol.67, San Gabriel Valley Quarterly, p.31];

* My “Bell Letters: 3 Major American authors mutate a famous rhyme about Bells of London” in the Altadena Poetry Review. NOMINATED FOR PUSHCART PRIZE.

* My “Tales from Magic Dragon China #125: Unimpeached”, a Tanka sequence as a loose adaptation of an ancient story “Peach Woods” by Tao Qian [317?-420?] Issue #101 (May 2015) of Dreams & Nightmares :: A Magazine of Fantastic Poetry

* “Dawn of the Holographic Notepad” has been accepted for Issue 3 of Black Wire

*”Ontological Determinism, Non-locality and Bohmian Quantum Mechanics”, by Maurice Passman (Adaptive Risk Technology, Ltd.), Philip V. Fellman, American Military University Charles Town, WV, and Jonathan Vos Post

* My chapter in “Conflict and Complexity” [Springer Science+Business Media New York]

* “Quantum Nash Equilibria and the Nash Bargaining Problem”, by Philip Vos Fellman Southern New Hampshire University Manchester, NH, and Jonathan Vos Post https://www.researchgate.net/publication_267950782_Quantum_Nash_Equilibria_and_the_Nash_Bargaining_Problem.

“Unsafe at Any Speed,” will be featured in the upcoming anthology, Clash of the Titles. Vos Post describes the story as that which grew under the tender loving care of a good editor, and spun from thereads that include the title of Ralph Nader’s bestselling book, Vos Post’s personal and professional friendship with Nobel Laureate Richard Feynman, his research on local celebrity graveyards, all the Deal with the Devil stories he’s ever read, and his Lovecraftian goal of connecting Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction, and the cutting edge Quantum Cosmology which is Vos Post’s day job.

You can see Jonathan Vos Post extensive here.

You can visit Jonathan Vos Post’s here.

Or, connect with him on Facebook  or visit his live journal.

Part of a series of interviews with the writers for the upcoming speculative fiction anthology, Clash of the Titles. the anthology is the brain child of Glen Bavel, who conceived of an endearing conceit: he provides a list of titles and the members of his Facebook workshop, Writing the Short (SF) Story, use it as a starting point for a short speculative fiction story.

Keith P. Grahm first started writing when he was a teenager, and even boasts rejection letters from Ed Furman at F&SF in 1968. But, then, like so many of us, Keith got married, and started a day job. Family and responsibilities kept Keith away from the pen for thirty-five years. Not only hadn’t he written anything, he had read very little Science Fiction in that time, finding it, in his words, “mostly lousy.” Then in the late 1990’s, Keith picked up a copy of John Shirley’s Eclipse from a used book store, and everything changed. He was a programmer and a hacker in real life at the time, a the themes spoke to him. Suddenly, Keith P. Grahm became a Cyberpunk. He started writing again.

He sold my first story to J Erwine at SamsDotPublishing. He has since sold about fifty stories to most of the online magazines.

Keith P. Grahm’s latest story, “Into Her Own,” is featured in the upcoming anthology, Clash of the Titles. I, recently, had an opportunity to talk with Keith about Cyberpunk, the future, his writings, and the upcoming anthology.

.

So, why Speculative Fiction?

SpecFic is what I read and know best. I also read Hard-Boiled detective from the 1930s and 40s, but writing that is harder for me. I have also published nonfiction programming articles.

Who’s your favorite writer?

One word: Ray Bradbury. I read and reread Golden age SF by Heinlein, Asimov, Clarke and others. I keep William Gibson’s complete audio works on tape in my car. I also eagerly await Neal Stephenson’s next book.

How did you find out about the anthology, Clash of the Titles?

Shaun Lawton at Freezine turned me on to it.

What made you want to submit to it?

It seemed like Gil was dedicated to the idea. His vision and enthusiasm made it hard not to join in.

How did you come up with your story? What made you choose that title?

I have a list of plot outlines that I want to write when I get the chance. One of the titles just screamed at me. It was a better title for the story idea than I could have come up with, so I grabbed it and wrote the story.

Is your story for the anthology similar to your other stories? How so?

The character comes from a series of stories where I use an android to help analyze the nature of the human soul. It is different because it is the first story where I extensively use explicit sex.

A lot has been said about the workshop process wherein the editor takes a video meeting with the writers to help offer instant feedback and share the editing process along the way. How did you find this process; what are your feelings about it?

I am a programmer and a technical boy, but I do not own a device with a camera for video. My tech is found on the side of the road and refurbished. My phone flips. I do not video chat.

What do you think is the most important thing that readers know about Clash of the Titles?

That those involved have passion for what they are doing and it is reflected in the quality of the process and the product.

It’s said that the editor will make an anthology every year. Even if the “I pick the titles, you write the story” conceit isn’t used again, would you work with the editor again? Why or why not?

Gil is the best. Whatever he does will be outstanding. I will send him whatever he wants.

What do you think is the most important thing for booksellers, libraries and other outlets to know about Clash of the Titles that they don’t know?

I would like them to know that Gil put his own blood into every story and made it the best it can be. I can see the anthology walking away with some awards at the next Worldcon.

Would you recommend the process to other writers; how did you find working with this editor to be compared to others?

Most editors have to read 500 stories a month, at least. They reject each story based on the first sentence or paragraph – they have no choice. Because of the way this collection was developed, the writers received feedback from the first sentence up until they typed “the end”. It made better writers out of all of us, and the stories reflect this.

What excites you most about the process, and the anthology in general?

I will love sharing a TOC with the other writers in the anthology, some of them are big names in SF. I feel that my story will be read, which is what an author really wants.

Did your story grow in ways you didn’t expect due to the workshop nature of the process? How?

When a story works I feel that I am reading a story as I write it, and I am not very aware of the craft involved. This was one of those stories. I was eager to finish it so I could see how it came out.

Please describe your favorite experience in working with Clash of the Titles.

Usually I write a story and then, not knowing what else to do, submit it. Being caught up in the creative process, you don’t see the forest for the words. Working with Gil broke me out of that mode so I could see the whole story from a viewpoint outside of the writer’s narrow focus. As a result, I edited and rewrote more than I normally would have.

What other projects are you working on, besides Clash of the Titles.

When my current programming gig ends in a month or so, that will be IT for a day job. I will officially retire and live on my Social Security. My first project is to finish two novels that I started over a decade ago. I also have a dozen short stories outlined or started that I need to get to. My goal is to follow Fred Pohl’s example and write 2k words a day until I am 90, and then go to 1k words a day.

If you’d like to see more of Keith P. Graham’s writings, check out his website.

Part of a series of interviews with the writers for the upcoming speculative fiction anthology, Clash of the Titles. the anthology is the brain child of Glen Bavel, who conceived of an endearing conceit: he provides a list of titles and the members of his Facebook workshop, Writing the Short (SF) Story, use it as a starting point for a short speculative fiction story.

Susan Bianculli’s focus on science fiction because she enjoys thinking about how the future might look from inside a story. Published in a variety of venues including Witty Bard LLC, Long Count Press, Mash Stories, and CBAY Books, Susan Bianculli tries to model herself after her favorite author Terry Pratchett. She found out about the upcoming anthology, Clash of the Titles from her long time friend, co-editor, and co-author, Hope Erica Schultz. Susan was gracious enough to answer a few questions, recently, about the anthology, and her upcoming story for it, “Dreaming Dangerously.”

What made you want to submit to the anthology? Would you do it again?

The idea of it intrigued me; and by the time I had heard of it, the list of those already accepted interested me even more.

How did you come up with your story? What made you choose that title?

A story immediately sprang to mind when I saw the title in the list of what was available, so I wrote it – but the one in the anthology is actually the second “Dreaming Dangerously” written. Gil didn’t like the first one.

How is your story for the anthology different from your other works?

This is the first time I have written a murder mystery. Granted, it’s a sci-fi one, but still a murder mystery. Usually I write action adventure fantasy and science fiction.

What do you think is the most important thing that readers know about Clash of the Titles?

That there seems to be something for just about every literary taste in the anthology.

Would you consider doing a project like this again, with the same editor?

Yes, I would be willing to try this again. I enjoy writing to a challenge; it seems much of my work comes from a challenge.

What do you think is the most important thing for booksellers, libraries and other outlets to know about Clash of the Titles that they don’t know?

That the stories in the anthology have a wider range of appeal that just ‘sci-fi’.

What other projects are you working on, besides Clash of the Titles.

I am working on an anthology with Hope Erica Schultz that will be published at some point in the future about well-known fairy-tales except from a different perspective than the usual protagonist.

To learn more about or connect with Susan, check out her website.

My short story, Supersedure is now featured in the magazine Nebula Rift! Administrator Queen may be the last thinking man left in the world.  At least it seems that way to him.  When the first traffic accident in over a decade happens, the system calls on Queen to try and figure out what went wrong.  Only solving this mystery may elicit more questions than answers.  Check out this, and other great SciFi stories in Vol. 3, No. 6 of Nebula Rift.  http://www.fictionmagazines.com/shop/nebula-issues/nebula-rift-vol-03-no-06/

1.

.     Guy looked at the wall clock.  “He’s going to call in the next five minutes.”

.     “Guy, how can you know?” Joe asked.

.     “Just trust me alright.  I got my sources.”  They had been hanging around the central “courtyard” of Feles Crassus Inc.’s third floor.  The well of ancient times had been converted into a coffee island with tables and chairs at the center of a vast field of small office cubicles.  There were only a few people there.  Most everyone had, or was preparing to leave for the night.  The a half a dozen faithful that remained in courtyard were waiting to find out who would get the coveted prize, to head the new project.  It was a lucrative contract that would not only provide a suitable feather in the chosen’s cap, but was also a sure indication for future promotion.

.     “He’s not going to call.”  Stu shook his head.  “Old Man Culus is going to make us stew all weekend.  He’s an ass.”

.     “Yes he is,” Guy agreed.  “But, he is going to call, and he’s going to do it in two minutes.  And, I might, add, he’s going to give the position to me.”

.     Toni threw him a look.  “How can you be so sure you’re going to get it?”

.     “Because I’m the guy,” said Guy.

.     Everyone groaned, but most accompanied it with a smile.  Guy was one of those people who always seemed in control, who always landed on his feet.

.     It drove people like Stu crazy.  Stu had tremendous talent, but for some reason he always found himself playing second fiddle to people like Guy, doing ninety percent of the work and getting ten percent of the credit.  “I hate that guy,” Stu murmured to David.  “I especially hate that his name is ‘Guy.’  I mean what kind of a name is that!”

.     David smiled.  He had been Stu’s friend since college.  “Relax, Stu.  Don’t let Guy get on your nerves.  He’s alright, and you’ll get your due.  What goes around, comes around.”

.     “Yeah, yeah.”

.     “Hey,” said David.  “Now’s your chance, Stu.  You’ve been dying to ask Shelia out for months.  She’s right here.  What do you got to lose?”

.     “You mean besides my dignity, self respect and the fantasy of possibilities?  Oh, I guess, nothing.”

.     David pushed him in Shelia’s direction.  “Go on.  Tell her about that new place.  She’s in a highly emotional state now.  Ready to either celebrate or be consoled.  Go on.”

.     Stu shot Dave a look of incredulity, but he slowly moved over to where Shelia was standing.

.     “Can you believe him?”  Sheila asked Stu as he approached him, indicating Guy with a nod.

.     “Um, no, I can’t,” confessed Stu, honestly.

.     Sheila smiled.  “I mean, I probably don’t have much of a shot at the project.  I’ve been here les than a year.  But, you Stu.  You’re really talented.  I think you have as much of a shot as Guy does.”

.     “Really?”  Stu was suddenly captivated by the sparkle in Sheila’s eyes.  He stared a little too long and her eyebrows rose.  “Um, Shelia, there’s this new club.  It’s supposed to be really different.  They have this guy there that supposedly can read people’s fortunes.  I was wondering …”

.     The second hand hit the twelve and everyone grew quiet.  No one’s phone rang either.

.     “He’s not going to call.  See I told you,” said Stu.

.     “Patience.”

.     Everyone seemed to hold their breath.  Ten seconds later, Guy’s cellular started playing the song, “Ego”.  Guy smiled.  “So sue me for fifteen seconds.”

.     “Oh shit!” Stu closed his eyes and waited for the bullet.  It had been Guy’s phone that rung.  Everyone knew what that meant.

.    It was confirmed by Guy’s smile.  “Yes, sir.  Thank you sir.  I wouldn’t let you down.”

.    As Guy hung up Stu’s phone rang.  It played the classic tune, “Bohemian Rhapsidy.”  He swallowed hard before answering.  When he finished the call, he looked to where Shelia was standing.  She was no longer there.  He walked over to where her.

.     “I didn’t get it.”

.     Shelia offered an expression that aproximated sympathy.  “Oh, I know.”

.     Stu shrugged.  “Well, anyway, maybe we can console each other.  We could go to that place I told you about …”

.     “Well,” Sheila demurred.  “Guy offered to take us all out to celebrate.  I mentioned that place you told me about too.  He said it sounded edgey.  So come on, you’re going to come with, right?”

.     Stu forced a smile.  “Oh,” he managed.

.     Guy came up and slapped Stu on the back.  It was just a little too hard.  “Hey Stu, buddy.  You coming?  No hard feelings right?”

.

2.

.     Stu led the group to a side street off the main drag of bars and clubs that populated the entertainment district of downtown.  A half a flight down from street level was a pair of thick curved wooden doors that marked the entrance to Fortuna.  Shelia thought it looked mysterious, like a passageway to another dimension.  She bristled with anticipation.  A light pink neon sign framed the curved dark wooden doors.  The sign, in simple script read, “Fortune Favors the Bold.”  Guy liked it immediately.

.     “Well, let’s go in,” Guy decided and descended the steps to push open the wooden doors.  Everyone else followed with Stu bringing up the rear.  The entranceway opened into a large wood paneled room.  Though there were few people in the club, it was still early, the air vibrated with energy.  Small round tables, suitable for standing at, were arranged in neat rows on three sides around a square dance floor.  A raised platform hosting a mike stands, a drum set and a keyboard was set against the far wall.  On the right side of the club were more tables, larger and closer to the ground.  Further to the right, along the wall was a full bar that came towards the group and then curved further to the right about fifteen feet from the entrance.  The bartender, who was standing at the apex of the bar talking to two patrons, looked up as the group entered the club.  He raised his hand in a gesture of welcome and then returned to the two customers.

.     At the far end of the bar, sitting at a table nearby, facing the entrance, his back to the wall, was a lanky figure with long black hair and a narrow face.  His eyes seemed fixed upon the newcomers but no welcoming gesture was forthcoming.  There was nothing to indicate that the man had any special role in the club, but it was clear that he had, nonetheless.

.     “That must be him,” Shelia whispered.

.     Stu started to answer.  Guy cut him off.  “Yeah, I hope so.  This place isn’t exactly hoping Stu.”

.     “It’s still early,” observed Stu.

.     “Yeah, well, I hope this guy is interesting.  Come on Shelia, let’s go check it out.  David, you get us all a round a drinks okay?  Here’s my credit card.”  Guy handed David his Visa and put his arm around Shelia guiding her towards the man sitting in the corner.  Stu stood looking after him.

.     “Are you sure you’re not afraid?” Guy whispered jokingly.  “I bet the guy’s a fraud anyway.  Let’s have some fun.”

.     “What are you going to do?”  Sheila became alarmed.

.     “Don’t worry, I’m not going to do anything, but I’m not going to let this guy con me either.  You know he can’t be for real right?  It’s just an act.”

.     “What you don’t believe it’s possible to read someone’s fortune, predict their destiny?”

.     “I make my own destiny.”

.     They arrived at the table.  The man looked at them but didn’t say anything.  Shelia noticed the most intense grey eyes she had ever seen.  They seemed liquid.

.     “Are you this palm reader?”  Guy asked.

.     The man offered a thin smile and gestured towards the chairs on the opposite side of the table.

.     Guy startled.  He hadn’t noticed the chairs before.  He recovered quickly and sat down, offering his hand to the man.  The man shook Guy’s hand, and startled again.  Something was strange.  He looked at the man’s palms.  He hadn’t any lines on his hands.

.     The man noticed Guy’s stare.  “It’s called congenital missing dermatoglypic.  Very rare.”  He held his palms out.  They were smooth.

.     Shelia sat down, her unabashedly open.  “Wow, I’ve never seen anything like that before.”  She looked at the palm reader.  “Is that why you can tell the future?”

.     The Palm Reader’s face broke into a grin.

.     “He can’t tell the future,” interrupted Guy.

.     The Palm Reader’s grin grew wider.  He winked at Shelia.  “Well, I can predict that you’re going to but me a drink,” he said evenly.

.     “Well, I might have,” offered Guy, his own face now smiling.  He had this fakir now.  “But, now I’m not, just to prove you’re wrong.”

.     “You already did.”  The Palm Reader nodded in the direction of the bar.  Guy and Shelia turned around.  David was just getting the credit card back from the bartender.  He noticed them watching him and waved.  A few minutes later, he was buy there side with four mugs of beer.

.     He placed the beers on the table and handed Guy his credit card.  I figured you’d want to buy this guy a drink too, so here.  How’s it going?”

.     Shelia and Guy turned back to look at the Palm Reader.  Sheila gasped.  “How could you have known?”

.     “Oh come on,” protested Guy, “Anyone could’ve figured that out.  He probably got a signal from the bartender or something.”

.     “Yeah, probably,” offered the Palm Reader nonplussed.

.     David shifted uncomfortably.  “Did I do something wrong?”

.     “No, you’re cool David. We’ll join you guys in a minute, okay?”

.     David took the hint, smiled and raised his beer.  “Cheers.”  He said, and went to join the others who had claimed a table near the bar.

.     “How did you do that?” Shelia asked the Palm Reader.

.     Guy started to protest, but the Palm Reader cut him off.  “Guy will tell you how it’s not that difficult.  Like in sales or marketing, right Guy?”

.     Guy stuttered, “Uh, yeah.”  Had David or Shelia mentioned his name?  He couldn’t recall.  This character made him uncomfortable.  Maybe it was the eyes.  Who had grey eyes?

.     “You just need to know how to read the signs, the body signals, group dynamics.  In fact, most of us, do it every day, without even thinking about it, right Guy?”

.     Guy sat up straighter.  “Yeah, of course, Shelia.  It’s like knowing when you’re going to close a deal, even before the other guy does.”

.     The Palm Reader smiled.  “Of course.  Like the deal you closed today, right.  You got the promotion, to head the new project, Guy, but you knew you would, of course.”

.     “Uh, yeah,” Guy became uncomfortable again.

.     “And now you guys are all out celebrating.”  The Palm Reader smiled.  “Even the losers, right Guy?”

.     “Um, yeah, well they’re not really losers.”  Guy shifted uncomfortably.  “We all work together.”

.     The Palm Reader just nodded.  “Of course when it all unravels …”

.     “What are you talking about now?”  Guy became defensive.

.     “Who knows what the future holds?”  But the Palm Reader said it as if he did know.

.     Shelia became excited.  “Is it written in our palms, do you think?”

.     “Of course not,” Guy protested.

.     The Palm Reader smiled.

.     “Have him read your palm,” suggested Sheila.

.     “I’m not going to have him read …”

.     “What are you afraid of, Guy?”  The Palm Reader asked calmly.

.     Guy looked at him.  He didn’t like this.  Guy couldn’t figure out this guy’s angle.  “So, anyway, what’s your name?”  Guy tried to find some type of edge, something.

.     “We all have names, sometimes we wear them sometimes we don’t; sometimes they fit us, sometimes they don’t.  Just call me the Palm Reader, everyone else does.”

.     Sure they do, thought Guy.  He sighed heavily.  Shelia was clearly into this whole experience.  Well, it couldn’t hurt.  “Okay, what does it cost?”

.     “What?” asked the Palm Reader.

.     “A reading.  You know.  What’s the scam?”  asked Guy.

.     “No scam.  If you want me to read your hand, just give it to me.”

.     “Do I get it back?” asked Guy, with a laugh.

.     “Maybe.”  The Palm Reader offered a friendly smile, but a chill ran up Guy’s spine, as the Palm Reader took his hand and turn the palm up for examination.

.     “This is exciting,” Sheila offered.

.     Guy looked at her with a wry expression.  “He’ll probably predict that we’ll become great lovers.”

.     “No,” said the Palm Reader evenly.  “Not even mediocre ones.”

.     Guy rolled his eyes.

.     “Is there another woman in his life?”  joked Shelia.  “Does he have a wedding in his future?”

.     “Well,” offered the Palm Reader.  “He has one in his past.”

.     “What?” Guy tried to pull his hand away.

.     “You were married Guy?  I didn’t know that.”  Sheila was particularly amused.

.     Guy rolled his shoulders.  He squirmed in his seat.  He looked at the Palm Reader.  “Well, I.  How could you know?”

.     The Palm Reader shrugged.  He held Guy’s gaze with those liquid gray eyes.  “It was a short affair, a lark.  You went to Vegas.  Got the marriage annulled, though after a few days, right?  So maybe it doesn’t count.”

.     It counted alright.  Guy stuttered.  “How?”  He had never told anyone about that.  No one knew.  This time he succeeded in pulling his hand away.

.     The Palm Reader smiled.  “Lucky guess, I suppose.”

.

3.

.     “Really, Guy, you were married?”  Shelia was telling everyone about their encounter with the Palm Reader.  Everyone was enjoying the retelling, except Guy.

.     Guy scowled.  “Look, you know, sometimes a guy will do stupid things,”

.     “Whatever it takes,” offered Joe.

.     “Yeah, whatever it takes,” added Stu, “unless of course you have some self-respect.”

.     “Lay off, Stu.  It’s Guy’s night.”  Toni placed a hand on Stu’s shoulder.

.     “So you think this guy is genuine, the palm reader I mean?”  Shelia asked.

.     “I heard,” David looked both ways, consparitoraly, “that he reads palms for free, but when someone wants him to change something, he takes them to the cleaners.”

.     “What are you saying?  That he can change someone’s fortune?”  Shelia looked over at the Palm Reader.

.     David tried his impression of Vincent Price, “The Palm Reader:  Your Destiny is in His Hands.”

.     “That’s ridiculous.”  The contempt was thick in Guy’s throat.

.     “Of course it is,” agreed Stu.

.     Guy looked at Stu.  Rarely had the two ever agreed.

.     “Just repeating what I’ve heard,” offered David.

.     Guy bristled, and sank onto his stool.  “Let’s find another bar.”

.     “Oh come on, Guy.  You should be celebrating.  Don’t be such a sourpuss.”  Toni draped her arm around Guy’s back, but the young executive shrugged it off.

.     “You can’t tell me you believe in that stuff,” Stu offered.

.     Guy scowled as Stu.  “I just haven’t figured out his angle, yet that’s all.”

.     “Maybe he did a quick search on Google when he saw you walk in Guy.  What does it matter?  Let it go.  Have a beer. Celebrate, for tomorrow we’re back to the grind.”  Joe laughed at his own joke.  He had been celebrating for the both of them.

.     Actually that was an idea.  Guy looked over his shoulder at the Palm Reader.  The bar was a crowded now, and the line for those waiting for a palm reading was considerable.  Yet, as soon as Guy’s eyes focused on the Palm Reader, he looked up and gave Guy a smile.  Guy wondered if there was an app for that.

.     He hoped this guy wasn’t for real.  The Palm Reader’s words echoed in Guy’s ears, “of course, when all this unravels …” It didn’t seem that Shelia had paid much attention to those words, but they pierced Guy’s heart.  Of course, he didn’t really believe this guy was genuine.  He couldn’t know the future.  That was ridiculous.  We create our own destiny.  Of course, if he hadn’t been able to figure out Guy’s past.  He had been dead on.  But that was past.  The future was a different story, wasn’t it?  Of course it was.

.     “We make our own destiny.”  Guy pushed himself up from his seat.  “Give me a beer!”

.     “That’s the attitude.”  David slapped a hand on Guy’s back and a beer into his hand.

.     Guy downed the beer and smiled.  But when he stole a glance at the Palm Reader, he caught the man’s eyes resting upon him.  Guy force himself to look away, and keep the corners of his smile from dipping.

.     As the evening wound down the group from Feles Crassus Inc. Made preparations to leave, a waitress came over to Guy and handed him a sealed envelope.

.     “What’s this?”  asked Guy, “Your phone number?”

.     She made a face.  “No.”  Her tone was bored.  In her line of work, she had heard it all.  “It’s from the Palm Reader.  He says to open it up when you feel the need.”

.     “What does that mean?”  Guy asked, exasperated.

.     “Oh, you’re a big boy, I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”

.     Guy looked towards the Palm Reader.  He was looking straight at him.  When their eyes met, the Palm Reader nodded with a smile.  Guy didn’t like the smile.  And he liked the sensation in his hands even less.  It was as if a chill ran through them.  Guy stuffed the envelope into his jacket pocket.  He’d worry about it later, if at all.

.     Guy shook his head.  This was ridiculous.  He would not play along.  “Let’s go,” he called to his friends, as he herded them towards the door.  He wanted to put as much space between himself and this place as possible.