Fear and Courage: Fourteen Writers Explore Sime~Gen

Forewords, by Jacqueline Lichtenberg and Jean Lorrah
"Moonlight Sonata," by Mary Lou Mendum
"A Mother’s Choice," by Donna Fernstrom
"Obsession," by Eliza Leahy
"How Far Must I Go?", by William Long
"A Journey Into Demonland," by Mary Lou Mendum and M. Alexis Pakulak
"The Legend of the Creeping Need," by Zoe Farris
"Be Not Afraid," by Marjorie Robbins
"Running on Selyn Alone," by D.H. Aire
"Blood Taint," by Katherine X. Rylien
"More Than Meets the Eye," by R. K. Hageman
"The Box," by Laurie Pollack
"Prelude and Fugue in Four Choices," by Mary Lou Mendum
"Shadows," by Zoe Farris
"Vincent of the Gate," by R. K. Hageman
"Destiny," by N. Eileen O’Neill
"Three Milestones in the Founding of Cordona Territory," by Mary Lou Mendum
"A Short Life," by Eliza ambrov Halwyn
"Controller’s Dilemma," by Marjorie Robbins and K. L. Schaefer
"The Gift of Alauno Light," by Andrea Alton

What is Sime~Gen? For those of you who are reading this book without previous experience of this expansive universe here is a brief introduction:

Sime~Gen is a series of novels written by Jacqueline Lichtenberg and Jean Lorrah. It is set in a future where humans have mutated into two subspecies. Simes, who go through a brief but dramatic change at puberty and Gens, whose change, while just as dramatic, is invisible to the naked eye.

The outward sign of the Simes' change is development of tentacles on their forearms, four strong and flexible "handling" tentacles and two smaller tentacles just for selyn transfer, called "laterals." Gens produce life energy called "selyn" which Simes require once a month to live. Unfortunately, the result in obtaining this energy is usually the death of the Gen.

This physical transformation happens just prior to puberty. There is no way of knowing, before that, if a person will be Sime or Gen.

At the chronological beginning of the published novels by Jacqueline, and Jean, a second mutation of Sime emerges. These "channels" are able to keep Simes from Killing Gens, thus saving mankind from self-annihilation. The stories that you find here, and the published books by Jacqueline Lichtenberg and Jean Lorrah, explore the role of these new Simes, and the Gens who live side by side with them as humankind struggles to become one again.

This volume was edited by Zoe Farris and Karen L. MacLeod