This issue of Eric Flint's 1632 & Beyond is the first one in which all the stories focus on a single theme. That is Redbird Institute, a new STEM, arts, and vacation venue a few miles east of the Ring of Fire.
State Library Papers
(Non-Fiction)
This is our first issue that opens with a non-fiction article. It's "What is Redbird?" by Bethanne Kim. It's background information for the entire issue.
Redbird Reader
(Fiction)
The tale begins with Countess Emelie and Count Ludwig Guenther in "Chautauqua, Disney, and the World's Fair" by Bjorn Hasseler.
There's also a traveling component which faces an early challenge in Tracy Morris's "But Will It Play In Peoria?"
Opportunities arise, and some people seize them in "Renamed" by Bethanne Kim.
Redbird is up in steep hills and needs a special railroad. Not all experiments go well. See Michael Knopp's "Escaping The What-Ifs."
More opportunities arise in "A Flask And A Handshake" by Natalie Silk. But you do want those close to you to take them?
George McClellan Grant relates the building of Redbird from an unusual perspective in "That Old Chestnut."
Not everyone is a fan, as we find out in Marc Tyrrell's "To Kill A Redbird."
These stories take us from idea to construction to the opening days of the first season. In next issue (#13), we will explore more stories set during Redbird's first season.
