A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

Forever the accidental genius, I stumbled upon the blog of Augustus J Stigwood last September. It was a chance encounter which in many ways proved life-changing, first for myself and subsequently for his many fans around the world. For I have come to find in Augustus not only a soul-mate, but perhaps my only equal.

With novels such as ‘Farewell, Sweet Jupiter’, ‘The Sebum Machine’ and ‘Galaxies Like So Much Salt’, my work has pushed the genre of science fiction into new and uncompromising shapes. But the discovery I made in the attic of my house that fateful day was just as mind-blowing.

It was there that I discovered a casket, which I carefully prised open to reveal inside an ancient hard drive. Despite being more concerned with future worlds than past ones, I estimated it to be from around the 1870s. I was not far wrong.

On connecting it to my own computer I found on the drive the following: four photographs of a young lady in a bonnet posing in Kew Gardens (the final of which lent an unusual use to a bamboo stalk); an obscure computer game involving fish leaping from a stream which the player aims to catch in a moveable handbag; and Augustus’ blog.

I can still recall the moment I first feasted my eyes on his life – the visitations from his dead wife (her name, :;.^., I have learnt to pronounce with a series of clicks and whistles), the peculiar dishes on which he gorged, the drink-fuelled nights at his club, The Porcupine (now an outlet of Costa Coffee)… it was a world away from galactic battles and inter-dimensional travel.

And yet in there, somewhere I recognised a like-minded soul. For both I and Augustus have set out on a mission to discover new worlds. At that moment, I decided to serialise his blog on the Internet once more, over 100 years after it was originally written.

And so, I hope you enjoy following Augustus in his life’s journey. As he prepares for what is destined to become his final expedition into the unknown lands, be warned - there are some shocking discoveries to come.

As Voidon Merkx, the charismatic starlord in my 48th novel, ‘Death to all Droids!’ intones: ‘This life is not for the both of us, Excerzon X – heroes are born but once a lifetime!’ Amen to that.

JC Guthrey