THE MENTOR AUSTRALIAN SCIENCE FICTION CONTENTS #81 ARTICLES: 27 - 40,000 A.D. AND ALL THAT by Peter Brodie COLUMNISTS: 8 - "NEBULA" by Andrew Darlington 15 - RUSSIAN "FANTASTICA" Part 3 by Andrew Lubenski 31 - THE YANKEE PRIVATEER #18 by Buck Coulson 33 - IN DEPTH #8 by Bill Congreve DEPARTMENTS; 3 - EDITORIAL SLANT by Ron Clarke 40 - THE R&R DEPT - Reader's letters 60 - CURRENT BOOK RELEASES by Ron Clarke FICTION: 4 - PANDORA'S BOX by Andrew Sullivan 13 - AIDE-MEMOIRE by Blair Hunt 23 - A NEW ORDER by Robert Frew Cover Illustration by Steve Carter. Internal Illos: Peggy Ranson p.12, 14, 22, 32, Brin Lantrey p.26 Jozept Szekeres p. 39 Kerrie Hanlon p. 1 Kurt Stone p. 40, 60 THE MENTOR 81, January 1994. ISSN 0727-8462. Edited, printed and published by Ron Clarke. Mail Address: PO Box K940, Haymarket, NSW 2000, Australia. THE MENTOR is published at intervals of roughly three months. It is available for published contribution (Australian fiction [science fiction or fantasy]), poetry, article, or letter of comment on a previous issue. It is not available for subscription, but is available for $5 for a sample issue (posted). Contributions, if over 5 pages, preferred to be on an IBM 51/4" or 31/2" disc (DD or HD) in both ASCII and your word processor file or typed, single or double spaced, preferably a good photocopy (and if you want it returned, please type your name and address) and include an SSAE anyway, for my comments. Contributions are not paid; however they receive a free copy of the issue their contribution is in, and any future issues containing comments on their contribution. JANUARY 1994 page 1 Contents (C) Copyright 1993 for the Contributors. THE MENTOR 81 page 2 THE EDITORIAL SLANT by Ron Clarke One of the things that people in Australia are used to and exams policed by the State governments, most students is the plethora of Educational systems that have been input, had the same background in basic subjects. With the tried out, then given over to a new system, over the last thirty widening of subject bases, with literature and soft sciences years. In the 1950s and early sixties the system stayed being admitted, these had branched away into areas that the basically the same. The old subjects: English, Mathematics, business community had thought to be a waste of time. Physics, Chemistry, Geography, Social Studies, Music and Especially since many of these subjects were taken by the Home Economics were taught to the majority of the students. newly "liberated" female students. Taking subjects that These were meant to get those students ready for life after would not do them much good in later work-life in the work school through basically a system of learning by rote. It place. Subjects that could be seen as fillers and good for worked in most cases. Whether the life after school used "quality of life", but not much good for living that life in day to these skills is another thing. day work relationships. Those were the days of blind obedience by the mass At present the recession may be at last on the way of citizens to the dictates of politicians and belief that the out. With the CPI at about 2.2%, with any luck the economy government knew best. The later sixties saw that belief will pick up and jobs start opening up again. The 21st Century changing with the support of ill-advised wars and changing is nearly on us - only seven years to go. Back in the 60's a social standards. There was another swing in moral attitudes book called FUTURE SHOCK said that change is with us and such as that which happened in the twenties, with material change will be faster and faster. Technology has certainly wealth accumulating and access to more money which enabled changed, as everyone knows. However, people and their the youth of the day to buy personal transport and get away attitudes still are on the old merry-go-round. Their attitudes from their policing elders. Drive-in movies flourished. are still governed by the Press, either by newspapers, Youthful rebellion flourished. Over time this was tolerated, magazines, TV and radio and by religious and political groups. rather than put down violently, because of the accumulating This can be seen even in fanzines and their topics and in their of leisure time and wealth. letter columns. The changing power of technology is shown The emerging 80s saw education systems changing in computer bulletin boards and the writing therein - of which to try to keep up with the liberation of the times - the de- there have been comments by readers that these, just because segregation of the sexes, the abundance of contraceptives, the they are "real time", are not as well thought-out as replies in idea that punishment was not to be automatic and that the printed letter columns in fanzines. This is, of course, a good young should be allowed their "freedom". The 90's saw the example of the speed of change and modern late 20th Century beginning of the backlash of monetary freedom with the life. recession tightening cash and business taking their pick of It will be interesting to see what the future brings in school leavers. Pressure on government changed the syllabus the way of school curriculum. Will it continue to reflect what again and school courses changed their aim to provide skills is seen to be the student's life at their work-stations? Will that were more appropriate to the student's later work life. Of they have a basic education in high school and do their what use was physics and chemistry formulae to a clerk, "quality of life" studies at Technical Collages and High School sales"person", bookseller, or business"man"? There had night classes as it happening in Australia at the moment? been a theory that the school curriculum was not so much to Presently, In many government departments, along with provide "fuel" for the student's coming life, but to provide a courses in affirmative action for the (as seen by politicians) mechanism of how to learn - that this didn't work was obvious left-behind-women in the work-place are courses in in the failure rate at universities. In high school one was management and self-development. In departments, courses forced to study by a teacher who came around and checked are being left to the individual, rather than forcing them to take that the student was paying attention - in university the same them. This is probably a result of the onflow from the school student was lectured to, and if they didn't take notes, read system, where it didn't work. them up and study, then they failed. A totally different system One thing we can be sure of, though. Times they are of learning. a changing, and this change will be faster and faster for In Australia with school curriculum set by the State everyone. Will more and more people fail to keep up and fill and the majority of the schools following State set subjects our Institutions because of it? - Ron. JANUARY 1994 page 3 PANDORA'S BOX by Andrew Sullivan 12th August, 1995 stuck now.) exists as a atom-wide sheet laid between two I had some news today from Gerry up in the sheets of diamond crystal lattice. We couldn't figure out why Kimberleys. It seems one of the mining companies up there ran it was observable with X-ray spectroscopy from an oblique into a vein of diamond that predated the De Beers' site in angle and not from an acute angle but then it hit us: The atom Johannesburg by more than five million years. Gerry wanted a (not known for sure but something big, in the range of 90 to sample to test before they dynamited the region and 110 atomic weight) is absorbing the X-ray radiation if and only destroyed any evidence of early Antamatite fossil deposition if the incident angle is less than Brewster's angle to the sheet and so they sent him down one of the test shafts with one of and so was not giving us any return scattering on the film. the drilling crew. They found (in Gerry's words) the biggest But when the incident angle was increased we saw the fucking lode of diamonds in the world. The rest of Gerry's deflected X-rays quite clearly. What's got us worried now is letter was pretty well lost in dirt, dust, scribble and beer stains what has happened to all the energy that has been absorbed? (I gathered he was having a pretty happy time of it with the We just don't know. There has been no re-emitting of the rest of the drilling crew while he was writing the letter) but I energy, no reflection of the energy, it did not pass through, it's did manage to read one passage where he mentions an artefact like all that power has just been swallowed by some black found buried in between the slices of diamond lattice hole. It's got us absolutely stumped. So tired I can't even see structure. I tried to ring him but had no luck in getting to write. Back to work tomorrow morning. Janine doesn't like through. He was probably yucking it up with the local yokels . it when I go into work on Saturdays but this one has me by the short and curlies.