The Fifth Di... March 2015

By J Alan Erwine

The Fifth Di... returns for yet another year with more great fantasy and science fiction and a reduced price. This month's issue features fiction from Rik Hunik, Robert N. Stephenson, and Matthew Spence. You'll get a chance to follow an exploration for an ancient artifact, follow a cyborg who seems to have forgotten his mission, and learn about an interesting twist on time travel.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nomadic Delirium Press
• Release date: Feb 28, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311077660

J Alan Erwine

J Erwine was born Oct. 15, 1969 in Akron, Ohio. Early in his life he was exposed to science, and specifically astronomy. From there on, J’s passion turned to science fiction, a passion that’s never died.Due to family issues, J eventually found himself in Denver, Colorado, where he still lives (well, right outside now.)From the time he could put subject and predicate together on paper, J has been writing stories. None of those early stories exist anymore (thankfully), but that passion for writing has never waned.After several years of rejection, the story Trek for Life was eventually sold to ProMart Writing Lab editor James Baker. It wasn’t Asimov’s, but it was a start. Since that time J has sold more than forty short stories to various small press publishers. In addition ProMart also published a short story collection of J’s entitled Lowering One’s Self Before Fate, and other stories, which is still available. ProMart also published a novel from J entitled The Opium of the People, which sold a few copies before going out of print.The relevance of the novel after the events of September 11th caused J to self-publish the novel, as he felt the story had a lot to say in the new reality we now find ourselves living in. Now, this same book has been re-released by Nomadic Delirium Press.Eventually J would become an editor with ProMart. Then, after the untimely death of ProMart editor James Baker, J would move on to ProMart’s successor Sam’s Dot Publishing. J also spends most of his time working as a freelance writer and editor.J’s novel was voted a top ten finisher in the 2003 annual Preditors & Editors contest, and his short story The Galton Principle won a ProMart contest for best story over 5,000 words. In addition, a number of his stories have been voted “best of” in various issue of The Martian Wave and The Fifth DI... and have been included in Wondrous Web Worlds Vols. 2, 3, 4, and 6.In 2009, the Ephemeris Role Playing Game was released. J is the co-creator of this game, and has written numerous supplements for the game.J has now sold three novels and four short story collections, all of which are still available from various sources, including Smashwords.J currently lives with his amazing wife, three wonderful children, three cats, and a very quiet turtle.

Book preview

THE FIFTH DI…

March 2015

Edited by J Alan Erwine

Published by Nomadic Delirium Press at Smashwords

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Copyright 2015 by Nomadic Delirium Press

All stories are copyrighted in the names of their respective authors

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any informational storage and retrieval system, without the written consent of the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passes in connection with a review written for inclusion in a magazine, newspaper, broadcast, etc.

Nomadic Delirium Press

Aurora, Colorado

Table of Contents

Artifact by Rik Hunik

My Killer, Protector by Robert N. Stephenson

Home Plate by Matthew Spence

ARTIFACT

by Rik Hunik

Sitting cross-legged in the basket, Darby watched the circle of blue sky overhead dwindle as the darkness pressed in against the feeble light of his battery-powered lantern. Dimly, about twelve feet away, a vertical rock wall surrounded him in a mathematically precise circle, so featureless he couldn’t tell that he was descending, so perfect that it had to be artificial, which suggested he had found the right place, that his years-long gamble was about to pay off. The Artifact was deemed to be nothing more than a legend, but operating on the hypothesis that it actually existed had brought him here.

The thin cable connecting him to the surface disappeared into the dark, making it seem that he hovered unsupported and motionless, but he was sure he was descending at the same steady rate because he trusted his servants, reinforcing that trust with promises of large rewards. They didn’t know why he was down here, they just knew that when he came back they would be very rich, and if he didn’t come back he would gain his vengeance from beyond the grave.

So many of his colleagues were bogged down in endless analysis of this or that aspect of whatever minor ancient artifact they had, and while it was true that some breakthroughs, such as the cable he hung from, had benefited many and made a select few very rich, the odds were so low he didn’t think he had a chance to win that lottery again.

Besides, his research had taught him that he didn’t need to understand the technology or know how it worked in order to use it, so he concentrated on tracking down the Artifact, a legendary tool that allowed the wielder to accomplish nearly anything he could imagine.

Long ago the Artifact, created to bring peace during a long period of turmoil, had grown too powerful and became corrupted by evil in the hands of a rebel wizard who used it as an ultimate