Edited by Geoff Ryman
My story in this collection is called Without a shell. It’s about a school for genetically modified super children who wear military-grade school uniforms to protect them from regular terrorist attacks. The pupils are also at war with the local comprehensive, St Fuckwit’s.
Every story in this collection comes out of a collaboration between a writer and a scientist. I got to spend a day with the nano-scientist Dr Vinod Dhanak at Liverpool University – a great guy who bought me Moroccan food and wowed me with visions of a future where nano-technology does everything from shielding our teeth from bacteria to making smart weapons that can hunt down specific people based on their DNA. Dr Dhanak’s own research has applications in body armour, which can be made lighter, stronger and more flexible with carbon nano-tubes.
This collection also features stories from Geoff Ryman, Justina Robson, Paul Cornell, Sara Maitland, Ken MacLeod, Gwyneth Jones, Michael Arditti, Simon Ings, Frank Cottrell Boyce, Kit Reed, Chaz Brenchley, Liz Williams, Patricia duncker and Adam Roberts.
‘Highly engaging and fascinating… this thought-provoking collection reminded me why I used to like science fiction so much… Eventually, one hopes, science fiction will regain its rightful place – as once again stranger than science.
– The Guardian
‘All hit, no miss… thought-provoking at worst, and stunning at best… shows that science can inspire anyone and everyone.’
– New Scientist
‘A diamond of compression.’
– Financial Times