Issue 6 - June 2024
Welcome to the June 2024 issue of Androids and Dragons. This month we offer three stories featuring uplifted animals.
This is a theme that has long intrigued me. I’ve lived most of my life with pets – gerbils and goldfish when I was young, birds as a teenager, and dogs as an adult. As anyone who has ever lived with animals knows, they each have their own individual personalities, and they express joy, love, fear, and other basic emotions. But a full picture of what animals think and feel is just beyond our grasp.
Stories of uplifted animals give us a window into the minds and hearts of animals and allow us to explore questions about what their intelligence means for the way we treat other species. The stories in this issue are no exception. They are entertaining to read, but they also explore some important questions about the way we interact with the world around us, how we treat other sentient beings, and what unforeseen consequences might arise from scientific breakthroughs.
The following tales of uplifted animals will be published on the dates in parentheses:
“Steve the Ant” by Laura Campbell (June 10)
“After Abercrombie” by Robert Bagnall (June 17)
“Concerning Your Recent Creation of Sentient Horse-Things on the Next Planet Over” by Stewart C. Baker (June 24)
I hope you will enjoy these stories!