Fiction Vortex - April 2014

We love the unexpected, and we love stories that take us places we've never been. I can guarantee there's something brand new for you here, too, no matter how well traveled you are, or how many episodes of Where in the World Is Carmen San Diego you've watched.Sometimes things aren't as they seem. Sometimes that pothole is actually a portal to another dimension. Sometimes that friend is actually a clone created by an evil corporation. Sometimes that rose smells just like the maw of a particular rose-shaped alien that likes to feast on noses.To illustrate the point — well, not those particular points, but the more general one about things not being as they seem — this issue is full of stories on that topic. Life can be unexpected, as these stories so expertly show, whether that means finding out your mom's ghost isn't really your mom, your favorite fairy tale was actually made by non-robots, or the girl you met in a tree really does have skin made of spider silk but she still doesn't have your best interest at heart. And those are real examples from these stories.We love the unexpected, and we love stories that take us places we've never been. I can guarantee there's something brand new for you here, too, no matter how well traveled you are, or how many episodes of Where in the World Is Carmen San Diego you've watched.