2014

Proposition 23 by Efe Tobunko

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The novella “Proposition 23” by Efe Tobunko was published for the first time in 2012.

In the 22nd century, Lagos is the largest city in the world. Citizens can google using interconnections embedded everywhere but criminals are deprived of citizenship rights and disconnected. Lugard saw an interview with a politician on Proposition 23 and, intrigued by a slipped reference, tries googling to find out more. However, his searches are filtered and soon after that Lugard is deprived of his citizenship.

Rod Serling in 1959

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Rodman Edward Serling was born on December 25, 1924 in Syracuse, New York, USA. During his life, Rod Serling has been a producer and writer for radio and television production occasionally publishing literature. He was a pioneer of television but he’s remembered mostly for the TV show The Twilight Zone”, a mix of genres that became a legend in the history of television.

The Angara A5 rocket lifting off (Photo courtesy Russian Ministry of Defence. All rights reserved)

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Yesterday the Russian rocket Angara A5 successfully completed a test flight after being launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, about 800 km north of Moscow. The Briz-M upper stage separated regularly after about 12 minutes to perform the longest part of the mission, which was to bring a dummy mass to geostationary orbit. The series of maneuvers was successfully completed about nine hours after the launch.

Poster of the movie The Interview lately at the center of the news

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A few hours North Korea came back online after a day in which its Internet connections had become unstable and then got completely cut off. There are no official explanations on the causes of the blackout but the timing suggests a cyber attack, possibly by the USA. Suspicions follow the open accusations by the USA to North Korea for the attacks and threats to Sony that led to the decision not to distribute the movie “The Interview”.

Servant Of The Underworld by Aliette de Bodard

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The novel “Servant Of The Underworld” by Aliette de Bodard was published for the first time in 2010. It’s the first in the “Obsidian And Blood” series.

Acatl is the High Priest of the Dead in Tenochtitlan, the capital city of the Aztec empire. Ceyaxochitl, one of the most powerful women of the empire, summons him to tell him that a priestess disappeared and the clues suggest that she was killed. There are traces of the use of a type of magic connected to the underworld of which Acatl is an expert so he’s charged with the investigation.

The prime suspect is Neutemoc, Acatl’s brother, a warrior who raised in the ranks of the Aztec’s army by proving his worth in battle. This makes the investigation even more delicate and complicated. The young warrior Teomitl is assigned to help him, but even he couldn’t help him that much when he has to deal directly with some deity who are not necessarily friendly.