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Table of Contents

The Story So Far… by Walt Boyes

1. Contra Servitutem by Walt Boyes

2. Cassini Takes First by Robert E. Waters

3. Mrs. Flannery’s Flowers, Part 2: Flowers and Fashion by Bethanne Kim

4. Tethered Balloons and Kites in the 1632 Universe, Part 2 by Iver P. Cooper

5. Notes from The Buffer Zone: Stepping Into an Uncertain Future by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

6. Hot Off Eric Flint’s Ring of Fire Press! by Walt Boyes

7. Time Spike: The First Cavalry of the Cretaceous, Part 8: The Righteous and the Wicked by Garrett W. Vance

8. Universe Annex: Though the Night Be Long by J. Kenton Pierce

9. Ill-Met in Space-Time, Part 2 by Edward M. Lerner

Introduction

Grantville Gazette 96‘s theme is hope. Find out what happens when the Roman Catholic Church denounces slavery in Walt Boyes’ “Contra Servitutem.” Then go on to Robert E. Waters’ “Cassini Takes First,” about a boy who just wants to play baseball. Remember Irene Flannery? She was more complicated than it appeared, and her estate brings hope in many ways in “Mrs. Flannery’s Flowers, Part 2: Flowers and Fashion” by Bethanne Kim. Many people in the new timeline want to fly. Iver P. Cooper explains how some of them might be able to in “Tethered Balloons and Kites in the 1632 Universe, Part 2.”

Kristine Kathryn Rusch brings us “Notes from The Buffer Zone: Stepping Into an Uncertain Future.”

In “The First Cavalry of the Cretaceous, Part 8: The Righteous and the Wicked,” by Garrett W. Vance, the battle comes to an end, leading a number of characters to reflect on their hope or lack thereof. In the Universe Annex, we have J. Kenton Pierce’s “Though the Night Be Long” and Edward M. Lerner’s “Ill-Met in Space-Time, Part 2,” which deal with hope in very different ways.

Cover Art by Garrett W. Vance

The Story So Far

July, 2021

Welcome to the July issue of the Grantville Gazette. We have some new rides that have opened up this issue.

First, we present “Contra Servitutem” or “Against Slavery.” When Urban VIII was martyred by Cardinal Borgia’s assassins, he had given his legacy, including no more killing because of doctrinal differences, no more slavery, and more. As the Jesuit Father General’s legate to the Jesuits, Friedrich Spee von Langerfeld is speaking and writing about Urban’s legacy when he comes face to face with the fact that the Jesuits themselves own slaves. This story is a prequel to the upcoming novel 1637: The African Queen by Eric Flint, Griffin Barber, and Walt Boyes.

Next, we have “Cassini Takes First” by Robert Waters. The world-famous astronomer is a weakly understrength little boy who is madly in love with baseball. How does he get on?

In Serials, we have another installment of Garrett Vance’s wildly popular “First Cavalry of the Cretaceous” and the next part of Bethanne Kim’s “Mrs. Flannery’s Flowers.”

In Non-Fiction, we have Iver Cooper’s “Tethered Balloons, Part Two.” Everything you ever wanted to know about tethered balloons, including what happens when the tether breaks with a general officer on board.

In her column, Kristine Katherine Rusch gives us some thoughts on “Stepping into an Uncertain Future,” post-pandemic.

In the Universe Annex, we have the next installment in Edward M. Lerner’s “Ill-Met in Space-Time,” Part Two, and we have a wonderful story by J. Kenton Pierce called “Though the Night Be Long.”

We hope you will enjoy the rides. Remember, readers, keep your hands and feet inside the car and don’t stand up while reading.

This Issue’s Cover

“I refuse to accept!”

Inspired by Walt Boyes’ heartening story Contra Servitutem.

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