The Need for Better Regulation of Outer Space (22 page)

Acknowledgments

Some of these stories have already been published as different versions:

‘Introduction to relativity’

in ‘New Writers Awards 2012: Scottish Book Trust’

‘Identity theft’

on the Human Genre Project website

‘The competition for immortality’

on Lablit (
http://www.lablit.com
)

‘Furthest South’

on CulturBooks (
http://www.culturbooks.de
)

‘The need for better regulation of outer space’

in Fractured West, volume 5

‘The voice-activated lift’

in The Scotsman

‘No numbers’

was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 as part of the Shorts: Scottish Shorts series in January 2015

I’m very grateful to Andrew Crumey for acting as a mentor and providing advice and feedback on these stories as they were being written. I’d also like to thank the Scottish Book Trust for giving me a New Writers Award in 2012, and the School
of Physics and Astronomy in the University of Edinburgh for letting me have office space during 2013. I’m grateful to the Hawthornden Trust for a Fellowship in January 2014 which helped me complete this collection. At Freight, Adrian Searle, Robbie Guillory and my editor Karen Campbell have helped me with huge amounts of guidance and support.

Over the past few years I’ve learnt lots about universes, galaxies, meteor/ites, genes, fruit flies and Antarctic exploration in conversations with Andy Lawrence, Bob Mann, Andy Taylor (who told me about the human computers at the Observatory), John Peacock, Ken Rice, Mar Carmena (who showed me her fruit flies), Lorraine Kerr (who introduced me to Armstrong the liquid-dispensing robot), Jenny Rohn, Anne Strathie, Ken MacLeod, Pedro Ferreira and Marek Kukula. Phillip Helbig gave me feedback on a number of points. Of course, any remaining mistakes are entirely my own responsibility.

As ever my lovely writing pals, particularly Mary Paulson-Ellis, Theresa Muñoz, Sophie Cooke, John Ward and Zoë Beck have all supplied feedback, good cheer, distraction and much appreciated emails.

My family Graeme Busfield, Herb Goldschmidt (who told me about Granny and the three stones) and Belle Brett are endlessly patient and supportive. Louie provided a lot of fur.