Alien in Apopka: Earthly Edibles

A new story, what everyone reads, and more...

Greetings, humans!

I’m excited to share my newest story with you. But first, I want to share a list that I’ve been collecting for a while.

And of course I would be THE WORST Indie Author if I didn’t mention that my new book, LUNAR LOGIC, is available starting next Tuesday, Jan 16th! Check out some of the ARC reviews on Goodreads, and pre-order your copy on Amazon today! (It will be available widely, not just on Amazon.)

Many/most of you came from my old email list. As part of the welcome sequence, I would ask a few questions, including: “What’s your favorite science fiction book of all time? What sci-fi book was most impactful to you?”

Really hard questions, I know!! But over the last two years, many of you obliged and provided an answer. I’ve been collecting those answers and am going to provide a couple of summaries today. First, here’s a list of the top authors in order of most to fewest responses. Each of these authors had more than 2 people name a book by them, with Robert Heinlein at the top of the list with 12 responses split up over 7 of his books.

• Robert Heinlein

• Isaac Asimov

• Arthur C. Clarke

• Larry Niven

• Douglas Adams

• Frank Herbert

• Andre Norton

• Anne McCaffrey

• Blake Crouch

• Becky Chamber

• Orson Scott Card

• Michael R. Hicks

• Andy Weir

• Lloyd Biggle Jr

After this, answers were one offs and included everything from books I’ve read like Michael Crichton’s “The Andromeda Strain” and “Snow Crash” by Neal Stephenson to ones I’d never even heard of like “Space Prison” by Tom Godwin and “Dreamsnake” by Vonda N. McIntyre. (Although for that last one, I know of her since I’d read several of her Star Trek novels years ago).

And this was one reason I asked the question. I wanted to discover books I’ve never read and in some cases authors I’ve never heard of. It was a great way to grow and expand my own “to read” list. (There’s more detail about why I did this exercise below, in the section for paid subscribers.)

So here’s a list that includes more of those answers in case you’re looking to build up your to “to read” list, too. Note that nothing here is intended as an endorsement of the book. In many cases, I haven’t read it (yet)! But at least one of your fellow newsletter subscribers did, which is why it’s here. Oh… and one more tidbit… my note-taking with this is imperfect, so please forgive me if you’re looking at this list looking for your answer… I apologize if it’s not here! Feel free to reply and tell me about more books that are your favorites!

The list:

• “The Brain Machine” (“The 4th R” in US) by George O. Smith

• “Ballroom of the Skies” by John D. Macdonald

• “Spirits of the Earth” by Milo James Fowler

• “Drakon” by S.M. Stirling

• “Neuromancer” by William Gibson

• “Chasm City” by Alastair Reynolds

• “Red Mars” by Kim Stanley Robinson

• “First Lensmen” by E.E. Doc Smith

• “The Icarus Hunt” by Timothy Zahn

• “Player of Games” by Iain M. Banks

• “The Touchstone Trilogy” by Andrea K Host

• “Tactics of Mistake” by Gordon Dickson

• “Time is the Simplest Thing” by Clifford Simak

• “The Runaway Robots” by Lester Del Ray

• “The Telling” by Ursula LeGuin

• “Guest” by E. Stoops

• “Andra” by Louse Lawrence

• “The Day of the Triffids” by John Wyndham

• “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy

I do plan to read at least a couple of these..

And now, without further ado… here’s my next flash fiction story! It was actually much harder to write than “Alien in Amsterdam: Candy Crisis” because I can no longer work from a blank slate. I went in to “Alien in Amsterdam” with nothing. But now I’ve told myself that these flash fiction stories will all be about Kim, so I’ve restricted myself to that story universe. How I dealt with that is also all part of what’s “Beyond…” in the section for paid subscribers below. (See how I’m trying to entice y’all? lol)

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Alien in Apopka: Earthly Edibles

Kim had returned to his hotel in Apopka. The city was renowned as the "Foliage Capital of the World," a title that intrigued Kim immensely. In his native language, 'foliage' amusingly translated to 'comfort food,' and ever since setting foot on Earth a month ago, Kim had been grappling with a persistent homesickness. He hoped that this so-called capital of comfort might offer some solace.

Kim’s arrival on Earth a month earlier had been part of a meticulously planned mission. Kim and a few dozen colleagues were divided into specialized teams, each tasked with different aspects of human study. Kim had hoped for an assignment on the Social Structure or Ethical and Moral Standards team, areas he found particularly fascinating. But he found himself assigned to the Technological Assessment Team. His mother, once the leading authority of Technological Assessment of Alien Cultures, had left big shoes to fill, and everyone naturally assumed Kim would follow in her footsteps.

The mission was clear: evaluate Earth’s dominant species, humans, against the Galactic Standards for First Contact. These standards were divided into seven areas, each with four distinct levels. To qualify for contact, a species must reach at least level 3 in one area, level 2 in three others, and avoid level 0 across the rest.

Technological prowess was often the simplest area to assess. A civilization achieving level 3 would demonstrate regular space travel within its solar system, something far beyond a few scattered probes. Kim's task was to ascertain if humans fell into the category of level 0, deemed technologically primitive, or had progressed to level 1 as an emerging technology.

Earlier in the day, Kim had been at the launch site. His innate interest in social structures had him more intrigued by the crowd’s behavior than the spectacle itself. The collective excitement over watching a controlled explosion propel a metal tube into space, carrying humans and destined for the neighboring planet, was a phenomenon alien to his own experiences. Back home, such gatherings were unheard of.

Lost in these thoughts, Kim barely noticed the young woman behind the counter addressing him. While he wasn’t yet particularly good at assessing an individual human’s age based on their looks, there was a youthful curiosity evident in her gaze. "You okay, mister?" she asked, eyeing the half-empty glass in front of him.

Kim glanced at his drink — a clear, fizzy liquid called ‘club soda.’ It was a curious beverage; devoid of flavor yet infused with numerous tiny bubbles that caused a tingling sensation when he ingested it. A lot of other bubbly beverages humans drank were infused with substance unique to this planet, called sugar, and were too sweet. Maybe he'd acquire the taste.

Kim snapped back, realizing he had let the numerous fine muscles in his face relax into an uncharacteristic blankness. Quickly, he composed himself. "Yes. I am fine. I'm fine," he replied with a regained semblance of a human expression.

The young server smiled as she wiped down the counter. "You here for the rocket launch? We never used to get many visitors for that, what with being more than an hour away. Heard all the nearby hotels are packed though."

"Yes," Kim responded, his voice steady. "The rocket launch." That was partly true. He had indeed come for the launch, but the real draw to this specific hotel was the name — "Garden Inn." Misinterpreting "garden" as "snack buffet" — another translation error — Kim had been eagerly anticipating sampling the diversity of food on this planet. That promise of sampling diverse alien food was one of the things that lured him into this profession.

"Shame about the delay. I don't get why they just can't launch. It’s just clouds and stuff, right? Cars drive through worse, and planes hardly ever get delayed, except in hurricanes. But it's not even hurricane season," the server mused.

Kim, perplexed by the human’s casual chatter, saw a chance to gather information. "Why do so many people come to watch the rocket launch?" he inquired.

The server looked puzzled, her eyebrows knitting together. "Well, why are you here? Probably the same reason, right?"

Kim, bound by his mission to maintain his cover, withheld the full truth. Instead, he opted for a different approach. "Are you going to see the launch?"

"Probably not. I'm pulling as many double shifts as I can. I'm trying to save some money."

Kim understood money. Although the necessity of it for basic needs like food was a peculiar aspect of human society, one he had hoped to explore on the Social Structure team. Such topics were irrelevant to his current role in Technology.

"Have you ever seen a launch?"

"Yeah, saw plenty as a kid. I grew up in Orlando and we'd go to the beach a lot. I don't think my parents timed it, launches just happened at the same time."

Kim took a sip of his bubbly water, pondering how to steer the conversation towards something informative. Before he could figure out the right question, the server interjected, "Can I get you something to eat? Best to order now before the rush."

Kim nodded, and the server slid a menu across the counter. Kim was both elated and stressed out. Elated because of the variety of choice. Stressed because translating all the words involved in food and cuisine was daunting. Many human food-related words had no direct counterpart in his language. However, after a month on Earth, Kim had picked up a few linguistic tricks.

"What would you recommend?"

"Oh, everyone likes our BBQ ribs," the server replied.

"I'll have that, then," Kim said.

As he savored the meal, a genuine smile spread across his face, momentarily pushing the complexities of his mission to the back of his mind. Technologically, humans might rank at level 1, but their cuisine? If this didn’t qualify them for a level 3 in the Cultural Assimilation area, Kim mused, perhaps it was time for the Galactic Standards to be re-evaluated.

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If you like my stuff, it’s possible you’ll enjoy the work of some other authors that I do newsletter swaps with. Check them out!

Cutting-edge science. Bloodthirsty aliens. Can this band of nerdy scientists save the multiverse one dimension at a time?

That includes these group promos that have a pile of stuff to pick from:

And of course, if you’re the kind of person who also like podcasts, don’t forget to check out me and my co-hosts on The BIG Sci-Fi Podcast. As luck would have it… I’m the guest this week on our episode that drops tomorrow (Friday) morning!! Weird, right? It’s an odd feeling being a guest on your own podcast, but there you have it!

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Beyond…

Now for all the behind-the-scenes stuff. Today, I’ll be discussing aspects of marketing and writing the above story. I’ve also included a planning and accountability section.

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