Martin Greenberg - The Future We Wish We Had

Introduction copyright 2007 by Rebecca Lickiss

A Ros for Emily, copyright 2007 by Esther M. Friesner

Waiting For Juliette, copyright 2007 by Sarah A. Hoyt

Boys, copyright 2007 by Dave Freer

Trainer of Whales, copyright 2007 by Brenda Cooper

Good Old Days, copyright 2007 by Kevin J. Anderson

Kicking and Screaming Her Way to the Altar, copyright 2007 by Alan L. Lickiss

Alien Voices, copyright 2007 by P. R. Frost

Inside Job, copyright 2007 by Loren L. Coleman

A Small Skirmish in the Culture War, copyright 2007 by Mike Resnick and James Patrick Kelly

Dark Wings, copyright 2007 by Lisanne Norman

My Father, The Popsicle, copyright 2007 by Annie Reed

Destiny, copyright 2007 by Julie Hyzy

Cold Comfort, copyright 2007 by Dean Wesley Smith

The Stink of Reality, copyright 2007 by Phyllis Irene Radford

Yellow Submarine, copyright 2007 by Rebecca Moesta

Good Genes, copyright 2007 by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Rebecca Lickiss

I remember watching the lunar missions on TV. Men landing and walking on the moon, collecting rocks and dirt, jumping around and having fun in their lunar buggy. It was exciting, thrilling, breathtaking, and inspiring. I remember one night looking up at the moon and thinking someone was up there, looking back at me. Probably they were busy elsewhere, or whatnot, but lets go with it.

Then and there I promised myself that someday I would live on the moon. It didnt seem such an impossible dream. All the science fiction that I read clearly implied that the future would hold wonders of technology that would revolutionize our lives, change the way we understood and interacted with each other, and help us to achieve the ideals of freedom and equality and prosperity that would make the world a better place. After all, why would anyone go to the trouble of getting to the moon, and then stop?

Sadly, but Im sure not surprisingly, I dont live on the moon, and theres very little chance I ever will. Someone, somewhere along the line didnt keep the implied promise of the future.

You know that future: the one where we all have some form of flying transportation, flying cars or jet-packs, and no one has to cook or do any of the boring housework that everyone hates. Everyone is smart; probably, were all scientists. Everything is all shiny chrome and sleekly aerodynamic.

Well, here we are in the future. Shiny chrome and sleek aerodynamics come and go as design fashions. We didnt get our flying cars, but the entertainment possibilities today are staggering. We have music on demand, and were able to hear music seemingly minutes after it has been recorded. Also, there are some home theater systems that rival small theaters, without the overpriced snacks. Phones everywhere we go, which is becoming annoying.

It is interesting and exciting in its own way, but not exactly what I was expecting. Probably not what you were expecting either. Everyone had their own expectations-their own idea of what should and shouldnt be. Which is why we get what we have.

Gathered here are sixteen stories of what this future we have now, and will have tomorrow, might have been. Could have been. Maybe still will be. Or maybe even one were glad is not.

I hope you enjoy these stories as much as I did. I hope they make you as nostalgic for the future that could have been as they have made me.

Newfangled? Marjorie Bedford echoed, as if repeating the outlandish word would somehow make it go away. She leaned her forearms on the massive mahogany desk that was hers by right of being Paradise Purchased Properties top saleswoman. Behind her, floor-to-ceiling windows framed a glittering panorama of New York City from a very expensive height. Did I actually hear you call the Carme 6000 Mequizeen newfangled?

Would you like me to call it a contraption while Im at it? Emily June Newcomb replied tartly. She tossed back her golden hair and added: Im willing to throw in a couple of complimentary goldangs and maybe a consarn it or two, if you insist, but yeehaw costs extra.

I assure you, Ms. Newcomb, I didnt mean to insult you, Marjorie said hastily. I was simply charmed by your colorful choice of words.

Bullshit, maam, Emily said without raising her voice. She didnt have to: a woman with her celebrity-level good looks was always heard. Hows that for colorful? I know what you really think of me and my family. I just wish that when you were showing us the house, I wasnt the only one who noticed the way you kept giving Mama and Daddy those condescending little smirks every time they oohed and aahed over all the fancy tricks that deathtrap could do. It was like you were at the zoo, thinking What clever little monkeys. Why, theyre almost human! Instead of the fruit basket and bottle of swill you gave us as a moving-in gift, why didnt you just buy us a welcome mat that said Hicks With Money?

Marjorie felt her cheeks heat with the intense blush of an amoral wife caught by hubby twixt the sheets with the pool boy. (Which indeed was how Marjories last-marriage-but-one had ended.) Damn this girl, she thought. How dare she? How dare she be so bloody right, the sow?

Ms. Newcomb, arent you being a trifle harsh? Marjories teeth gritted together only a little when she smiled. Monkeys? Deathtrap? And calling a bottle of Mot et Chandon swill? Tsk. I do apologize if youve misconstrued any of my words or actions. It was a privilege and a pleasure to deal with your parents.

I know, Emily returned. I saw the check Daddy handed over at the closing. We know a family or two back home who could live for a year on the commission you earned. And before your mind flashes into Beverly Hillbillies reruns, back home for us was neither the backwoods nor the boondocks. Not all small Southern towns are drenched in hot-and-cold running possums.

Marjories fingers curled, her hands knotted. She wanted to squeeze Emily Junes slim, white neck like a toothpaste tube. I thought youd come to see me about the problems your familys having with the Carme 6000, Ms. Newcomb, she growled. But if your sole purpose was to berate me for what you think is my attitude towards your family, congratulations on your fabulous ESP.

Emily opened the Italian leather briefcase in her lap and yanked out a stack of papers. You want me to cut to the chase? Heres the scalpel. She slapped the rustling pile onto Marjories desk. The house you sold to my parents is unsatisfactory and the Carme 6000 Mequizeen kitchen unit contained therein is a danger to life and limb. We want it removed and destroyed. We also want payment for acute psychological damage, loss of self-esteem, and being the victims of hate speech. The figure we want is here. She pointed to a long line of numerals on the top page. Thats if Paradise Purchased and the Mequizeen Company settle now. If this goes to court, I promise that figure will swell up like like a tick on a hound dog. She showed her teeth, then very deliberately added: Hoo-ee.

Emily June Newcomb was no lawyer, nor had she gone so far as to retain one. Yet. Still, the legalese in the papers shed dropped in Marjories lap was flawless. Two of the attorneys on payroll with Paradise Purchase Properties read it and wet themselves.