ABOUT THIS BOOK 101 THINGS TO DO BEFORE YOU'RE DOWNLOADED collects thirteen tales of potential tomorrows from multi-award-nominated writer Scott Edelman, of whom Publishers Weekly has proclaimed, “his talent is undeniable." Populated by robots who discover the meaning of love as they wander a post-apocalyptic landscape, AI astronauts who must learn to navigate deep space boredom, immortal post-human descendants dealing with a dying Earth, and other inhabitants of our shared future, the stories in this volume will transport you to the distant times awaiting our species, and together they offer the advice our species—and you — will need to survive.
CONTENTS
Welcome by Scott Edelman
101 Things to Do Before You’re Downloaded
How Val Finally Escaped from the Basement
The Stranded Time Traveler Embraces the Inevitable
Lost Out There in the Stars
The Man Without the Blue Balloon and the Woman Who Had Smiles Only for Him
I Shall But Love Thee Better
Pity This Busy Monster Not
After the Harvest, Before the Fall
The Time Traveler’s Assistant Discovers
What Could Have Been
An Invitation for the Uninvited
The Lessons Only a Jelly Bean Can Teach
Learning to Accept What’s to Come
The Letters They Left Behind
SCOTT EDELMAN has published 130+ short stories in such magazines and anthologies as Lightspeed, Analog, Apex, The Twilight Zone, and Meta Horror. His collection of zombie fiction was followed by a collection of zombie novelettes, Liars, Fakers, and the Dead Who Eat Them. His science fiction short stories have been collected in What We Still Talk About from Fantastic Books. His previous collections include The Words Are Haunted, What Will Come After (which was a finalist for the Shirley Jackson Memorial Award), Tell Me Like You Done Before: and Other Stories, Written on the Shoulders of Giants, and Things That Never Happened. He is also the author of the Lambda Award-nominated novel The Gift. He has been a Stoker Award finalist eight times in the categories of Short Story and Long Fiction.
Edelman also worked for the Syfy Channel for thirteen- plus years as editor of Science Fiction Weekly, SCI FI Wire, and Blastr. He was the founding editor of Science Fiction Age, which he edited during its entire eight-year run. He has been a four-time Hugo Award finalist for Best Editor. Additionally, he is the host of the Eating the Fantastic interview podcast, which since February 2016 has allowed listeners to eavesdrop on his meals with creators of science fiction, fantasy, horror, comics, and more.