"Attitude Adjustment"

[Eric James Stone]

My story "Attitude Adjustment" is in the September issue of Analog, now available at the Orem Barnes & Noble (and presumably at others, too).

Here's how it starts:

Danica Jarvis switched off the Moonskimmer's main engine, and her stomach lurched in the familiar way that marked the change to zero gravity.  She fired the attitude thrusters, turning the mushroom-shaped ship until it floated head-down over the Moon, so the long stem of the engine wouldn't get in the way.  The clear diamondglass of the Moonskimmer's hull allowed an unobstructed view of the lunar landscape.

From her pilot's chair in the center, she looked around at the eight tourists strapped to their seats along the circumference of the cabin.  "This is the fun part of the trip.  Unbuckle your seatbelts and float while you enjoy the view."

"Fun?"  A teenage boy -- Bryson Sullivan, according to the manifest -- snorted.  "Can we go back to the Hilton now?"  He sported a bright purple datavisor and a shaved head.

Danica mustered her best be-nice-to-the-people-who-pay-my-salary grin and said, "Don't worry, Eddie and I will have you back to Luna City before the basketball game tonight.  Right, Eddie?"  Lunar-gravity basketball was a major tourist draw.

"Yes," said Eddie, the Moonskimmer's A.I.  "Our total flight time is less than two and a half hours.  You'll get to see the far side of the Moon, something fewer than a thousand humans have seen with their own eyes.  You should enjoy it."  Eddie's voice was enthusiastic.

The boy rolled his eyes, then opaqued his visor.

Danica decided to ignore the useless brat and turned her attention to the rest of the passengers.  She pointed to one of the craters below and began her routine tour-guide patter.

#

"Okay, folks, if you'd please return to your seats and buckle up," said Danica, "I'm going to turn the ship so you can see the Earth rise over the lunar horizon."

It took a couple of minutes for everyone to get settled.  For most of the tourists, this was their first zero-gee experience, and it showed.

"Wait, I want to try zero-gee," said Bryson.  He began unbuckling his seatbelt.

Danica couldn't believe it.  The kid had stayed in his seat the whole time, probably playing videogames on his visor. 

"I'm sorry," she said, "but we--"

Fwoomp!

The Moonskimmer jerked sideways, then lunged forward at its maximum acceleration of 0.75 gee.

Bryson yelped as he hit the floor.

...

[Fellfrosch]

Congratulations, Eric, that's awesome.

[Eric James Stone]

"Attitude Adjustment" has been selected for the Year's Best SF #15 anthology, edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer.  This is the first time one of my stories has been selected for a year's-best anthology, and I feel very honored.

[Peter Ahlstrom]

Which length category is it award-eligible in?

[Eric James Stone]

It's a short story for Hugo and Nebula Award purposes.

[Silk]

Congratulations!

[Miyabi]

That's very exciting! Congratulations!

I should get a hold of a copy of that issue so I can read it.  I've been meaning to since I met you a while back, but I haven't yet.

[Recovering_Cynic]

Well done!  I like the intro.

[Eric James Stone]

A bit of further news on this story: the Russian SF magazine ESLI has decided to publish a translation of it.

[Nessa]

double cheers!

[pengwenn]

most excellent