Exhalation - Ted Chiang

In a very strange 'universe' (which could be a large jar) a scientist investigates an anomaly in time keeping by using radical brain surgery...on himself. A beautiful written story which encapsulates the power of the scientific method as an approach to life.

Crystal nights - Greg Egan

A 'big-ideas' story about an entrepreneur using a completely new and fast type of crystal processor to run a virtual world with the intention of creating virtual intelligent life. The motive is purely business, not research. The writing though is rather flat: a perspective from inside the virtual world would have made it much more interesting.

Little lost robot - Paul McAuley

The robot in this story is not little. It is a civilisation-buster, able to destroy planets and suns. It is not 'lost' since its mission is to destroy life. However it is failing, and its decline, bearing in mind what it has done, is tragic. A superb story, packing in lots of ideas and emotions into a small package.

Evidence of love in a case of abandonment: one daughter's personal account - M. Rickert

In a future America women are being executed on live television or at communal events held in sports stadia. Sometimes women just dissapear. The story is a naive, first person account of this future which eventually reveals the reason for the executions. There is a sledge-hammer message which for me weakens the story. ( )