Visions of the Future by Joe Haldeman, David Brin, Greg Bear, Kevin J. Anderson, Ben Bova, Hugh Howey, Robert Sawyer, Ray Kurzweil, Martin Rees

he thought of the risks and sobered up. Neither the Glint nor any other plane he knew was ready to fly with a starship drive.
    Unbidden, a thought crept out of the shadows in his mind: Go ahead. Do it. You have nothing to lose.
    Kelric spoke. “I’d like to volunteer, sir.”
    Schuldman nodded with approval. “Very well, Captain. The flight will be in three days.”
     
    2
    Arroyo Dawn
    The only light in the sunken living room came from the clock on a table, its violet glow coaxing gleams from the glassy furniture and paneling. Moonlight poured through the big window in the north wall. Outside, the city of Arosa lay under the desert sky, its scattered lights glittering like moonlight trapped in a diamond. It was the only town within a day’s hovercar drive of Arosa Space Force Base, an installation isolated so far out in the desert that nothing but an occasional corkscrew cricket lived near enough to see the aircraft tests.
    Kelric sat in his dark glossy penthouse, sprawled on the couch, holding a glass of desert honey. He had no idea where the whisky got the name honey. It tasted like cleaning fluid. He grimaced and poured his drink back in the bottle, then clunked the tumbler down on the glass table.
    “So,” he muttered. “You like sitting here in the dark or what?”
    “That’s a good question,” a woman said.
    Kelric jumped to his feet so fast he knocked over his glass. The lights in the room came on, blinding him. As his vision cleared he saw a statuesque woman by the door, a golden figure with an angel’s face and masses of radiant curls that floated around her face and spilled down her back.
    “For flaming sake, Mother,” he growled. “What are you doing here?”
    She gave him a wry smile. “I’m glad to see you too.”
    “You surprised me.” She rarely showed up without letting him know first. “How did you get in?”
    “You left the door unlocked.” She walked over to him, her gold hair tousled around her shoulders. “I thought something was wrong. Then I heard you talking to yourself.”
    “I wasn’t expecting visitors.”
    Her smile smoothed away the worried furrow that had creased her forehead. “I decided to come after I saw you on the news tonight.”
    Kelric reddened. He was trying to forget that broadcast. News of his last flight had leaked to the press and a local reporter had called the base to ask if she could interview him. Schuldman gave the go-ahead, unaware that Kelric avoided public speaking like he avoided jumping into hot tar pits. The project information officer had told him to satisfy the press with a good story. Apparently it helped garner public support for the base. So Kelric had tried to prepare for the interview. But when he had walked into the broadcast studio with its bright lights and buzzing crews, it had rattled him so much, he couldn’t do much more than mumble yes and no to the reporter’s questions.
    “That was quite a story,” his mother said. “How did they put it? ‘The handsome hero of Space Command.’”
    “I looked like an idiot.”
    “Actually, I thought you fit the role of hero well.”
    He couldn’t help but smile. “You would think I was heroic if I fell on my face in the mud.”
    She chuckled. “You looked every bit the valiant flyer they made you out to be.” Her smile faded. “But I know you, Kelric. Something was wrong.”
    “I hate speaking in public. You know that, too.”
    “It was more than that.”
    “I don’t know what you’re looking for.” He picked up the whiskey glass. “Listen, I’m glad to see you. I don’t mean to be rude. But I’m tired. I just don’t feel like company tonight.”
    She spoke quietly. “Sitting here alone in the dark won’t bring Cory back to life. And committing suicide in your fancy plane won’t bring you any closer to her.”
    He went rigid. “Good night, Mother.”
    “It’s been two months since her funeral.” She watched him with those gold eyes that saw far too much. “In that