Les Johnson is a Baen science fiction author, popular science writer, and NASA technologist. He is the author of Mission to Methone, and co-author of On to the Asteroid and Back to the Moon with Travis S. Taylor, Rescue Mode with Ben Bova, and numerous general science publications. Stellaris: People of the Stars (Baen, September 2019), an anthology Les co-edited with Robert E. Hampson, is a collection of original fiction and non-fiction essays about what may become of humans as we become an interstellar species. To learn more about Les, please visit his website at www.lesjohnsonauthor.com.

In the context of deep space and deep time, humans are newcomers. Astronomers estimate that the universe is about 13.7 billion years old with humans arriving on the scene in only that last 200,000 years. For perspective, as a species, we've only been around for about 0.001% of the time since the universe began. If the age of the universe were one 24-hour Earth day, then humans would have only been around in the last second. We are a blip. To add another layer of humility, consider the diameter of the known universe: about 93 billion light years. To consider this vastness, we again need to put in context with distances we somewhat understand. The Earth is 93 million miles from the Sun and astronomers call this distance 1 Astronomical Unit (AU). The number of AU's in one light year and the number of inches in one mile are almost the same: 1 light year is ~63,000 AU's and 1 mile contains ~63,000 inches. If we scale 1 AU to be 1 inch, then 1 light year equals 1 mile. This means that Alpha Centauri is "only" about four miles away and the diameter of the universe is then "only" 93 billion miles, each "inch" of which is really 93 million miles! We are again only a blip.

J.J. Cragun is the grand prize winner of the sixth annual Baen Fantasy Adventure Award. The award recognizes the best original adventure fantasy short story in the style of fantasy greats like Larry Correia, Mercedes Lackey, Elizabeth Moon, Andre Norton, J.R.R. Tolkien, and David Weber. For more information on the BFAA, including formation on past winners, and now to enter, click here.

The rifle in my hands bucked as I pulled the trigger, spewing fire and death. The crack of the bullet splitting the air echoed eerily across the small mountain valley. The beast looming in front of me was easily eight feet tall. With curling horns atop its head, mottled black fur, and a face more human than beast, the monstrous creature roared as the bullet tore through its chest. The terrifying brute fell, but it wasn't alone. The second beastman, even larger than the first, looked my way. Those eyes, which were once intelligent and full of life, were now dead. There was no rational thought behind those dead eyes. Just lifeless, unfeeling hate, and a mindless drive to destroy the living. And, unlike so many of my comrades, I was still among the living. If I wanted to stay that way, there was more killing to be done.

“Aeric!” I cried out, stumbling back and away from the brute. The beast started for me with lumbering steps.

Aeric wasn't old enough to grow a proper beard, but that hadn't prevented him from being conscripted into the Royal Fusiliers Brigade. He knew death was coming for us, but he never faltered. Without a word, he accepted the carbine I thrust at him, then handed me a freshly loaded rifle.

J. J. Cragun takes home the top prize for his short story “Treason Properly.”

Baen Ebooks is proud to announce an agreement to distribute the English translation of Judgment in Moscow by Vladimir Bukovsky on its retail ebook site, as well as offering a selection of other ebooks from Judgment in Moscow publisher, Ninth of November Press.

Matt McHugh of New Jersey has won the grand prize in the 2019 Jim Baen Memorial Award competition for his short story "Burners."

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