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THE BEST OF ISAAC ASIMOV'S SCIENCE FICTION MAGAZINE EDITED BY GARDNER DOZOIS Other Ace books edited by Gardner Dozois UNICORNS! (with Jack Dann) MAGICATS! (with Jack Dann) BESTIARY! (with Jack Dann) MERMAIDS! (with Jack Dann) SORCERERS! (with Jack Dann) DEMONS! (with Jack Dann) ACE BOOKS, NEW YORK The End of Life As We Know It" by Lucius Shepard; copyright © 1984 by Davis Publications, Inc.; reprinted by permission of the author. "The Peacemaker" by Gardner Dozois; copyright C 1983 by Davis Publications, Inc.; reprinted by permission of Virginia Kidd, Literary Agent. "Fire Watch" by Connie Willis; copyright © 1982 by Connie Willis; reprinted by per-mission of the author. "Her Furry Face" by Leigh Kennedy; copyright © 1985 by Davis Publications, Inc.; reprinted by permission of the author. "Hardfought" by Greg Bear; copyright © 1983 by Davis Publications, Inc.; reprinted by permission of the author. "Press Enter R" by John Varley; copyright © 1984 by Davis Publications, Inc.; re-printed by permission of Blassingame, McCauley and Wood, Agents. "Bloodchild" by Octavia E. Butler; copyright © 1984 by Davis Publications, Inc.; re-printed by permission of the author. THE BEST OF ISAAC ASIMOV'S SCIENCE FICTION MAGAZINE An Ace Book/published by arrangement with Davis Publications, Inc. PRINTING HISTORY Ace edition/February 1988 All rights reserved. Copyright © 1988 by Davis Publications, Inc. Cover art by John Harris. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by mimeograph or any other means, without permission. For information address: The Berkley Publishing Group, 200 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016. ISBN: 0-441-05498-6 Ace Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group, 200 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016. The name "Ace" and the "A" logo are trademarks belonging to Charter Communications, Inc. PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 CONTENTS Foreword: Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine Gardner Dozois vii THE END OF LIFE AS WE KNOW IT Lucius Shepard THE PEACEMAKER Gardner Dozois FIRE WATCH Connie Willis HER FURRY FACE Leigh Kennedy HARDFOUGHT Greg Bear PRESS ENTER John Varley BLOODCHILD Octavio E. Butler FOREWORD Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine by Gardner Dozois Ten years ago, in the lost and fabled days of 1976-gone now with the dodo and the dinosaur Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine was born, the result of a series of discussions between Isaac Asimov and Joel Davis, President of Davis Publications, Inc. George Scithers was hired as Editor, he hired me as Associate Editor, and IAsfm was launched. The almost unanimous critical opinion of the day was that the magazine could not possibly last, that the climate of the SF publishing world had changed to such a degree that it was no longer possible to found a successful SF magazine. The most optimistic of the commentators gave us six months. They were wrong. I parted company with IAsfm after the first year or so, four issues, more or less (we were quarterly then), but the magazine itself continued on for years under the editorship of George Scithers, who remained at the helm until the 51st issue. This was the first great Age of the magazine, the Scitherian Era, and so far George holds the record for the longest editorial regime. Under George, IAsfm became an established and accepted part of the science fiction scene, progressing from a quarterly to a monthly publication. (We are now actually a tetraweekly publication, publishing thirteen issues a year, but never mind about that.) After George stepped down, there was a brief period in which Kathleen Moloney was in charge. Then Shawna McCarthy (who had already been associated with the magazine for many years, first as assistant, and then, later, as Managing Editor) was named as IAsfm's new Editor, and the curtain rose on the second great Age of the ma