Without preamble, here's what awaits you in this one-of-a-kind collection of strange, offbeat, and bizarre tales: ** The Lottery of Forever . a trio of high-school friends awaits the government-run lottery that promises to turn them into near-immortal super-soldiers. ** Can You Hear Me? . those consumers who chose to have their remains frozen pending revival in the future may face a fate that some think worse than death. ** Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll . the rise of the machines and the dumbing-down of humanity combine to produce a future where the impossible dream is to actually think something. ** Early Retirement . a broke, retiring superhero discovers that he cannot qualify for social security - with tragic results for him and the city.

** Van Helsing's Last Stand . the vampire hunter and his great enemy have one last battle - over book royalties, movie rights, and merchandising. ** A Boy and His Dad . a genius astrophysicist's daring plan to rescue his father, a hero astronaut lost inside a wormhole decades ago. ** The Emancipation of Abraham Lincoln XL-3000 . the Abraham Lincoln automaton at Disneyworld, newly endowed with artificial intelligence, begs his creators to set him free. ** Ladies' Night at the Blood Club . a couple's unusual approach to improving their relationship comes back to bite them - literally.

** And more. About the author: Bob Bly, a full-time freelance writer since 1982, is the author of 80 books including The Ultimate Unauthorized Star Trek Quiz Book (HarperCollins) and The Science in Science Fiction (BenBella). Bob holds a B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Rochester and has published more than 100 articles in numerous periodicals including Cosmopolitan, City Paper, Parent Paper, Writer's Digest , and New Jersey Monthly . His science fiction web site is www.sciencefictionprediction.com and his business web site is www.

bly.com.