A collection of Karen Haber's best short fiction, as published in Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, F&SF, and other first tier markets, and including the first publication of Three Days After. - Live anywhere you want... in any time. - Only the foolish complained about the taxes or anything else. Everyone smiled. No one spoke. Silence was the rule in Villarrica. Silence and the General. And those who went to play with the General never came back... - "Oooooo." Charlie covered his eyes with his mutated paws. "That was a close one, Frank." The asteroid, so huge in the viewfield a moment ago, dwindled in the wake of our cruiser to the size of a pebble, got smaller, and... - The Terran was in a telephone booth on Telegraph Avenue when the invisible alien scout from Rigel 9 wafted along on a breeze and noticed him... - They are taking readings in the ruined creche at Am Samirya, an outlying district of Siraga IV's capital-and only-city, and their guide has just shooed away the beggar with opaque irisless eyes and skin the color of bruises... - I was just finishing my third caipirinha and watching the sweat glisten on my knees and the breakers roll in toward Guanabara Bay when the translucent arc of a green wave deposited Jim on the wet sand. It was the fourth time I'd seen his corpse this week... Contents: 3 RMS, Good View (Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine) A Round Of Cards With The General (Wheel of Fortune, AvoNova) Dog Is My Co-Pilot (Alien Pets, DAW) First Contact, Sort Of (The Ultimate Alien, with Carol Carr) Samba Sentado (Women of Darkness, Tor) Three Days After (first publication) Downsize, Downtime (Science Fiction Age Magazine) Red Angels (The Ultimate Zombie, ibooks) Madre De Dios (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction) Up the Side of the Air (After the King: Stories in Honor of J. R. R. Tolkien, 1992, Tor) Your Eyes, My Darling, Black and White and Blue (Science Fictoin Age Magazine) Vampire of the Opera (Celebrity Vampires, DAW) The Sweet Taste Of Regret (Science Fiction Age Magazine) About the Author Karen Haber is the author of nine novels including Star Trek Voyager: Bless the Beasts, and co-author of Science of the X-Men. In 2001 she was nominated for a Hugo for Meditations on Middle Earth, an essay collection celebrating J.R.R. Tolkien. With her husband, Robert Silverberg, she co-edited Best Science Fiction of 2001, 2002, and the Best Fantasy of 2001 and 2002, and co-edited the series with Jonathan Strahan through 2004. Her recent work includes Crossing Infinity, a science fiction novel of gender identity and confusions. Other publications include Exploring the Matrix: Visions of the Cyber Present, a collection of essays by leading science fiction writers and artists, Kong Unbound: an original anthology, an essay in The Unauthorized X-Men edited by Len Wein, and Transitions: Todd Lockwood, a retrospective of the artist's work. Her short fiction has appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction magazine, the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, and many anthologies. She reviews art books for LOCUS magazine and profiles artists for various publications including Realms of Fantasy. She is currently at work on a major survey of fantasy and science fiction artists.