Author
Amanda M. Hayes
I've been writing for most of my life, but "Mercury In Hand" is only my second story to come within a mile of science fiction. I like the idea of enchantment and technology both having places in the universe. It was fun to confirm through "Mercury" that I'm like Dain in one way: I don't need to set magic aside to play with spaceships, or vice versa.
- Amanda M. Hayes
If Wishes Were Fishes
A penny plunked into the fountain outside the Chinese restaurant, and one of the resident goldfish swam up to investigate. He tasted metal in the water. He took the penny in his mouth--he was large, as goldfish went--and tasted something else beneath the tang of countless human…
Mercury In Hand
They held mixed feelings about Dain on the ship. The respect came automatically: he was a Zero-rank, and that meant when he converted starlight into fuel for the Maiden's Crescent he lost nothing to entropy. On the other hand, he'd given up being a Generator to work as a…