Questions of fate never get old because they never really get answered; they just keep echoing through time. Did Pandora make a bad choice when she peeked in the mystery box, or did she make the only choice? How would the world be different if Lily Evans had married Severus Snape instead of James Potter? Would another hour of sleep have kept me from pouring orange juice in my coffee this morning?
The stories in our seventy-eighth issue all grapple, in some way, with the struggle to determine whether what happens must always have happened or merely happens to have happened. Two of them, Rowdy Geirsson’s “Dream Hard On” and Ani King’s “I Give It Six Months” engage directly with the gods of Norse and Greek mythology, respectively. In Matt Dennison’s “Magnets of Faith and Knowing,” narrator Lurleen finds a penny, but it’s up to you to decide whether it’s lucky or not. The characters of GJ Hart’s “What Feasts Might Follow” encounter a sneaky curse, while the protagonist of Joshua James Jordan’s “Zoned” finds the border between realities to be less controllable than one might have hoped. Deanne Richards’ “Luminary” puts forth poetic inquiries into the nature of existence. Also, you’ll want to check out the cover art from Jon Snoek if you’re fond “Of Mice and Rats.”
Here is one final thought: all of these stories have traveled through space and time to meet you in this place, at this moment. They are, as George McFly would say, your density. Embrace them.