4. Editorial
Dear Reader,
Welcome to the long overdue, second issue of Dreadnought SF! Thanks for being here.
By necessity, this is a light issue, but the work contained herein is heavy in wonder — kind of like a teaspoon of neutron star.
I am very happy to be able to get another issue of one of Starship Sloane Publishing’s magazines out during summer, as has been the tradition.
The first issue of this magazine was slim too, and it feels great to be able to get a magazine/webzine out into the world without feeling any sense of oppression in the workload it presents — just riding the inspiration on this one and keeping it streamlined. As I focus on publishing the relaunched, classic science fiction magazines Worlds of IF and Galaxy, plus various book projects, I will from time to time publish a skinny issue of the original webzines that I began with and that I enjoy so much and hope that you do as well.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say that positive energy and good vibes are in short supply globally, as I really do not think that’s the case ultimately, but I do think that the positive energy and good vibes flowing about out there need to be amplified and celebrated in any way possible – including in this ever-so-humble magazine! As I look at our world, I see a dystopian story writing itself and find myself shocked by how quickly and how well it’s being written! The authors are most talented (it’s a cowritten piece, you see).
Admiral Sir John Arbuthnot Fisher — whose motto was, “Fear God and dread nought” — ushered into history a new and fearsome class of battleship, the dreadnought (and a bit later, the name of this magazine). The dreadnought was the ultimate gamechanger. I would like to think that optimistic poetry might shake things up a bit too, but I’m no longer that naive. However, it can’t hurt and may even help. Who really knows? Plus, it inspires us, with inspiration being the shimmering elixir of the gods flowing down from celestial chalices to the parched mouths of our souls — and that helps a lot. Wouldn’t you agree?
About my interpretation of Dave Vescio’s cover art: there we are, humanity, our collective visage obscured but evident, behind the great ice of our world. Our future obscured, too, by our actions. With the potential to correct things before it’s entirely too late. I see it as depicting the momentary limbo of our balancing act, teetering precariously between the abyss of outright self-destruction and the light of our salvation, just on the other side of the ice, through our potential for thoughtful, wise and responsible environmental actions. Life is consequences; politicians lie, corporations lie, greed lies, irresponsibility lies, but the ice does not.
About my choices for some of the interior art. Why all of the fish by Paulo Sayeg? How are they science fictional? Good question. Well, first of all, they look like psychedelic fish in space to me. They really do. But then, everything looks like science fiction to me. Secondly, I can think of few things that better communicate the inherent bounty of the planet we live on and the harm we are doing to it than the once plentiful . . . fishes in the deep blue sea (thanks Hoyt Axton’s “Joy to the World” by Three Dog Night)! Sayeg’s Cycliste piece is an ode to simpler times and simpler technologies that worked great in getting people to places faster and more easily, but didn’t create air and noise pollution and warm up the atmosphere in the process. Next, his Batmanesque character on a motorcycle-ish technology contrasts the old and the new showing our technologies advancing steadily in their complexity. Meanwhile, ML Weintraub’s piece evokes the hope of finding another habitable planet for humanity — but not because we had to leave this one due to having irresponsibly and irretrievably ravaged it! I take great umbrage with the idea floated about of just finding another planet (as if it were that easy!) because we couldn’t get our collective shit together and we destroyed this one. I don’t know about you, but I kind of like this home world of ours and have no interest in finding another one anyway. The idea makes for good science fiction though, I’ll give it that.
And finally, Vescio’s back cover art seems to portray an extraterrestrial being and its blue, horse-like creature plunging into the refreshing wonder of Earth’s big water in front of their flying saucer — with, bottom-left-foreground . . . more . . . yes, I think that is what I see . . . and in keeping with the theme . . . fish! (We just need some of Katerina Bruno’s science fiction Jesus poems to really round things out!)
Kindness, the arts and an optimistic view of the future are necessary to the very soul of humanity. So, as some form of antidote to the dismal version of reality that’s currently playing out on the big stage, let’s enjoy a literary sojourn awash with optimism so that we may dread naught the future!
Enjoy the wonderful work from ultra-talented folks found herein!
Safe travels, children of the stars . . .
Yours truly,
Justin
Justin T. O’Conor Sloane, Editor
Dreadnought SF
06 July 2024