FROM THE KEYBOARD
by Douglas Triggs


     Well, here's the first of my many weighty essays which will dominate
this magazine and draw in readers like wildfire.  In this space I will
talk about vitally important issues facing our country and our planet,
issues such as death, dying, the absurd, 1001 neat things to do with spam,
alien artifacts I found in my back yard, where Elvis really lives (he's
actually my roommate), what to do about that pesky radiation build-up in
your microwaves...
     Well, okay, that'll have to wait till next issue.  This week I've got
something much more important to talk about--Binary Stars Magazine's
premier issue.  Yes, that's right, this is a magazine, chock full of
science fiction stories and poetry (though some would quibble that some of
the excellent works we publish aren't really "science fiction") and we are
kind of hoping to publish it as a regular sort of thing.
     I know that all of you out there have been waiting with breathless
anticipation for this wonderful magazine, so I won't take up too much of
your time and keep you from the wonderful stories and poetry we have for
you.  However, I think a brief word about how this magazine was produced
is in order.
     The first thing we had to do was find something to publish.  To make
a long story short, we got lucky, and received just enough submission to
build a decent magazine with.  Second, we had to put it together.  This
was quite a bit easier than drawing stories and such (we actually had a
little control over this part), but it was still an adventure.  The text
file you are staring at right now was compiled on two different computers
(a five year old Amiga 1000 and the Amiga 3000 which replaced it) and
four different text editors and word processors (Wordperfect 4.1, the
Lattice screen editor--usually used for programming--the native AmigaDos
text editor, and MEMacs), not to mention all the hoops that Bill had to
jump through to make sure that the BBS was ready to handle the magazine.
It was fun.
     In any case, the upshot of all this is what you're reading right now,
BSM's September issue (and a bl*ody good issue it is).  We hope you enjoy
it.

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BILLSPEAK
by Bill White


     Just what is a _Binary Stars Magazine_, and more importantly, why?
Well, we're glad we asked that question!  And this is just about what
we answered.
     Doug Triggs and I were chatting one day about the trouble finding
short stories to be read and enjoyed online.  They can be found, but only
with much searching, and after calling many bulletin boards only to find
that one gem hidden away, lost in a text file directory in some dark and
dusty corner of an old hard drive.
     There seemed to be a need for a more orderly archiving process than
everyone hiding just one story on every local bulletin board in the
country.  It seemed a little sad, all those stories, some of them probably
works of art, just waiting, with only a hard drive crash between enjoyment
and extinction.
     So, with a nobler cause unimagined, we decided a vehicle was needed
to transport the efforts of aspiring writers to all who could appreciate
them.  Thus, _Binary Stars Magazine_.  The rest is (recent) history.
     It turned out a very popular idea!  And we were more fortunate than
we had even hoped for.  From the start it was well received.  We have even
received stories from a published author, Kevin Robinson, because he liked
the idea of supporting the modem community and the many writers who just
feel the `need' to be read.
     We would very much like to include your stories in future issues of
_Binary Stars Magazine_.  It is a way to receive the admiration of your
friends, and be `electronically published' all at the same time!  Share
your efforts with your fellow SF fans.  And who knows?  Maybe someone who
could do you some good will discover you, and you'll become fantastically
rich, and famous!  Or maybe you'll just have a good time.
     As a last thought, I'd like to leave you with something Doug is prone
to say:  "Submit!  Submit!  Submit!"

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TIMES TO COME


When will our next issue arrive?  No one knows.  The only thing that can be
counted on is that we'll produce it.  Maybe, just maybe, we'll have another
one out this year, maybe even next month.  It all depends on the stories
we get in the mail and the files that appear on the BBS...

Look for us.

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