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Analog Science Fiction & Fact Magazine has provided four edgy stories about heroism, each exploring emotional dimensions uncommon in this or any other genre.

He was just a freckle-faced, red-headed kid with green eyes and a strangely campelling stare when Mather Mastiff first saw him an the auctioneer's block. One hundred credits and he was hers. For years the old woman was his only family. She loved him, fed him, taught him everything she knew - even let him keep the deadly flying snake he called Pip.Then Mother Mastiff mysteriously disappeared and Flinx took Pip to tail her kidnappers.

Only a few nuclear weapons fell. But in the chaos of famine and plague, there existed a few pockets of order. The strongest of them was the state of Deseret. The climate has changed, and the lake has filled up. There, on the fringes, brave, hardworking pioneers are making the desert bloom again.

From Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, here are the best stories of 2002, written by four of the most respected writers of our day: Robert Silverberg, James Patrick Kelly, Ian Watson, and Gregory Benford. Also try The Best of Analog Science Fiction and Fact Magazine and The Best of Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine 2002.

An extraterrestrial colony, in some form, may already exist, just awaiting discovery. But the greatest impediment to such an important scientific discovery may not be technological, but political. No scientific endeavor can be launched without a budget, and matters of money are within the arena of politicians. Dr. Ben Bova explores some of the key players and the arguments waged in a debate of both scientific and cultural priorities.

An incisive portrait of a culture unanchored and adrift. In these pieces, veteran MTV commentator and rock journalist Kurt Loder turns his jaundiced eye and trenchant wit on the nature of celebrity as embodied by rock musicians and other pop culture icons. Ride along as Mick Jagger sheds his bad-boy image to embrace the jet-setter lifestyle; ponder the puzzling dichotomy between Prince's racy lyrics and self-proclaimed spirituality; and much more.

A master craftsman, Don Lark could fix everything except what mattered, his own soul. After tragedy claimed the one thing he loved, he began looking for dilapidated houses to buy, renovate, and resell at a profit, giving these empty shells the second chance at life he denied himself.

A shattering childhood tragedy left Quentin Fears devastated. But the wealthy, enigmatic recluse has experienced the extraordinarily unexpected: love at first sight, with Madeleine. Now he must meet his new wife's family. A bizarre, dysfunctional collection of extreme characters, they are guarding a secret both shocking and terrifying, as is Madeleine herself. And suddenly Quentin Fears must prevent his dream woman from unleashing an ageless malevolence intent on ruling the world.

In the Kingdom of Estala, sorcerers called the Menti are outlawed, and religious fervour spreads throughout the realm. When Reva Avalon's parents are murdered during the Menti uprising, King Davead of Estala takes her into his care. But instead of marrying Prince Luca, as the King promised, she is sold to the severe General Unna of the King's army. When she is abruptly released from his clutches, Reva embarks on a journey through Estala, with more adventure, danger, and heartbreak than she could ever have imagined. Prince Luca, the king's second son, has always lived in the shadow of his beloved older brother. Sickly and weak, Luca fears he may be on his deathbed, but in a shocking turn of events, Luca finds himself at the centre of a power so great it may consume him. Luca must learn to control his powers in order to hide them, but can he hide his new gifts of sorcery from his father?

Poor orphan. Simpleton. Harder to tame than the wind. He hears what they call him. But he listens to the presence his father promised would never leave him. Yisroel finds his way to those who nurture his healing gifts and rare compassion - until he embraces a destiny he cannot yet fathom nor deny any longer. Honoring women, children, and the poor as his teachers. Celebrating life's simplest deeds as worship. Praying with joyous abandon. Loving without condition. Yisroel's "irreverent" practices threaten the established authorities, among them an embittered rabbinic leader.

A billionaire scientist, driven by the unsolved murder of his wife and daughter at the hands of religious extremists, offers his newly developed Fountain of Youth Pill to the world free of charge - under condition that the recipient abandons any and all support of religion. His goal is the creation of a global utopia based on science and reason, but has he underestimated religion's power for good in the world? Will its destruction threaten the very Armageddon he seeks to prevent?

Usually, former Delta Force soldier John Powers is delighted to hear from Casey McBride, the widow of John's brother-in-arms Braden and mother of John's five-year-old godson Ian. But Casey is calling because she has just killed two of three intruders to her Boulder, Colorado home. And when John hears that Ian, under hypnosis to find a cure for his acute aqua phobia, has claimed to be the reincarnation of an assassinated US senator, he tells Casey to get out of the house, now.

Lord Angle Theta, Claradon Eotrus, and Ob the gnome battle fanatical monks, deadly bounty hunters, and otherworldly fiends whose slightest touch is death, in their relentless pursuit of Korrgonn, Lord of Chaos. Meanwhile, Korrgonn stops at nothing to acquire the fabled Orb of Wisdom, that ancient talisman that can return Azathoth and his kingdom to Midgaard. But the fate of the world turns when Claradon faces DeBoors, the ancient sword-master who has sworn to slay him.

In a distant past, during the dawn of civilization, a group known as the Guardians seek to gather and destroy forever the Royal Stones of Eden and their power to control time and space and spirit. Legends of the past collide with each other as the secrets of ancient elements are discovered and explored by several time travelers as they travel through a land of fantasy, magic, and intrigue; journey to Wales, Egypt, and to the time of the Old American West and the rule of King Arthur.

Few writers have successful blended hard science and speculation with fully realized characters as Gregory Benford has in his critically acclaimed novels. Now he draws us into a vortex of mystery and danger at the heart of the galaxy in his dazzling epic drama, Furious Gulf.

One man in the Universe holds the key to the mystery of Flinx's past - and that man is trying to kill him! It is a strange childhood for a kid, to be adopted by the restless Mother Mastiff and raised in the bustling marketplace of Drallar. Flinx never knew the mom and dad who abandoned him years ago. In fact, his birth has always been shrouded in mystery. But Flinx eventually discovers that his unknown parents have left him a curious legacy - extraordinary mental powers that are both a marvelous gift and a dreaded curse.

A married couple face eight years of separation as the husband goes off on a deep space mission. They knew it would be difficult, but they weren't prepared for the cruelty of the unknown. Coming to terms with new equations and ways of looking at the future is difficult enough, but can any relationship prevail when the only tie to the present starts to break down?

Moth was a beautiful planet, the only one with wings - two great golden clouds suspended in space around it. Here was a wide-open world for any venture a man might scheme. The planet attracted unwary travelers, hardened space-sailors, and merchant buccaneers - a teeming, constantly shifting horde that provided a comfortable income for certain quick-witted fellows like Flinx and his pet flying snake Pip.

In Drawn, a mysterious little boy has begun appearing in the paintings of an artist who can't remember ever actually seeing him. A partially blind, disfigured agoraphobic who suffers crippling panic attacks if he even tries to leave his apartment is forced out by an unseen entity. A lonely widower begins to suffer terrifying nightmares that his long-missing, presumed-dead son is still alive and in mortal danger. A young runaway realizes that a man he thought was his traveling companion is actually his captor...and a predator.

A biological crisis of epic proportions threatens the world. Genetically manufactured creatures, called airwars, attack and kill at random. Despite having captured and sequestered the airwar's creator, a hastily formed world government appears to be more effective in consolidating power than in managing the crisis. Hope emerges when a navy admiral discovers there are individuals born genetically immune to the deadly stings of the creatures. As the "immunes" struggle to protect humanity, they bemoan escalating governmental control. There is, however, one key immune with the intelligence and leadership to look beyond the crisis.