Dear Readers –

As I look over 4 Star Stories Issue 15, I realize that each story, on some level, experiments with the concept of free-will versus compulsion. These stories beg us to ask all sorts of off-the-wall questions. Questions such as: Do we have free-will? If we do, how far can we go in choosing our personal goals and directions? To what degree do forces both inside and outside of ourselves push us into making our decisions? Should we do what society asks of us or should we turn maverick and go do what we want? And, if we do turn maverick, what might it cost us? Is neuroscience intrinsically good or could it be used to mold us to other people’s designs?

Hmm? Good stuff to think about.

In Brenda Anderson’s story, The Game of Diamond and Djiit, we confront the question of free-will versus outside manipulation. Could we be game pieces used by outside forces? And, if so, what does it take for a puppet to win against his puppet masters?

In Maureen Bowden’s contemporary first-contact tale Odin Rising, the reader gets to ask the question: What could happen to free-will when the wrong person takes charge of a delicate situation?

Brandon Daubs’ story, Conductive, invites us to explore the problems of maturing and personal free-will versus the will of one’s parents and society. A tough question to think about when everyone is a little bit right and a little bit wrong.

Sky Worm, by C. A. Rose, asks us to consider the question: Who gets to make an individual’s life choices, the individual or society? Is his personal right to free-will superior to his society members' rights to life, safety, and happiness?

Finally, in Neil James Hudson's Bonus story, Strain Your Brain, we’re challenged to ask the question: Is it all right for a politician to use any means to win an election, even if it includes taking away the voter’s free-will? Could that be a kind of psychological voter fraud?

Along with the stories in Issue 15, we have an exciting Spacship Retrospective that looks back at various artists' visions of future spaceships, some drawn and painted when the word space ship was so new it was still written as two words.

So grab a cold drink, kick back, and enjoy the fun read that is 4 Star Stories, Issue 15.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Oh, and writers, remember to self-edit and spell check every story before you send it to us, or to anyone else for that matter. Reading a clean, error-free manuscript makes editors happy, and a happy editor is more likely to publish your story.

Your Editor,

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