A century ago Hugo Gernsback founded Amazing Stories magazine, and that humble start in 1926 began the procession of great authors who have enriched the 20th and 21st centuries. But these well-known sightseeing stops could not capture the essence of modern sf writing, an essence deeply rooted in the evolution of the form over the past five decades. Searching for that essence, to satisfy my own curiosity and that of the Texas SF Inquirer 's millions of readers, I visited some less accessible havens of modern science fiction production, the homes of 2026's most successful authors.
Travel is difficult.
Only the Inquirer 's bottomless expense account paid my extensive urbway tolls, bribes, and desalination taxes. Only the balloon tires on my hired urbmobile negotiated the broken ferrocrete of North Los Angeles, while a Chicano urchin guided the stealthy approach to my goal. Stealth proved necessary, as gangs of wild dogs and wilder teenagers rove the devastated landscape. Concealed in the bombed- out shell of a relief station, I observed the gangs' careful respect for the red sidewalks surrounding a large, open lot. In the center of that empty area, protected by electrified barbed-wire fences and a traditional moat, lay the green lushness of Heinlein Colony.