Thursday, October 23, 2014

Astropolis

Astropolis is an orbital habitat that has been in orbit of earth for around three centuries, gradually growing and expanding as new modules are built and added until it has reached over a kilometre in diameter. It’s home to several thousand inhabitants, including representatives of some alien races. There are markets and gardens, offices, restaurants, shopping malls and mile upon mile of service corridors and shafts linking it all together. Some of the oldest sections of Astropolis are now defunct, but they lie cocooned within so many layers of newer modules that they have been left in place, abandoned and gathering dust. There are observation decks that look out on nothing but the hull of a new adjunct, docking bays that lead nowhere, recycling systems with nothing to recycle and corridors with no access.


As well as three of my own short stories, Astropolis has been the setting for my three collaborative stories. It’s an ideal setting because the numerous different styles and technologies fused together to form the great habitat allow authors to write what they want without fear of contradicting each other. All three have been blind collaborations, where I give the other authors the setting and minimal guidance, and then I join their contributions together to form a whole.





Astropolis stories:



The Blind Collaborators – Aphelion – Sept 2007
      Reprinted - Aphelion – Feb 2008
Travel by Numbers – Nature – June 2008     
     Serbian translation – Antares – Mar 2009
     Estonian translation – Algernon – Apr 2009
     Spanish translation – Alfa Eridiani – May 2009
     Reprinted – Paralelisomos – Dec 2013
     Galician translation – Nova Fantasia – Sept 2009
Up To My Neck In It – Hypersonic Tales – Aug 2009
     Spanish translation - Aurora Bitzine – Oct 2009
     Reprinted – Paralelismos – Dec 2013
Three AM – Golden Vision – Jan 2010
Crowd Control – Perihiloion SF – Sep 2014
Something On Your Mind? - Kaleidotrope - Oct 2017

Saturday, October 11, 2014

The Gondolier in Macedonian

It's been a while since any new translations of The Gondolier have appeared, so I'm very pleased to be able to present my very short story in its 36th language: Macedonian.


Гондолиерот
 

Црниот клун на мојата гондола успокоено ги расекуваше мирните води на каналите. Витиот чун добро ме служеше во годиниве, носејќи патници по градските канали воден од советите на моите претходници.

Сонцето замираше над древниот град, претворајќи ја водата во модра лента положена меѓу елегантните згради од варовник. Длабоко го вдишав студеникавото вечерно ветре.

Та има ли поубаво место од овој маѓепсен град на каналите? И додека гондолата полека сопираше пред сидриштето, се кренав со воздив кон стемнувачкото небо на Марс.


од Гaрет Џоунс

 
Translated by Sasho Spasoski