by Robin Craig
Finally Miriam shook herself, pushed herself back to look into his face; but she still could not bring herself to break his hold, though she knew she must. “Alex, I…”
He put a finger to her lips. “Don’t speak. The past and future can wait. We’ve earned the present.” She sighed and leant in to rest her head on his shoulder. Just give me this moment to hold you, without barriers of titanium and guilt. She knew it would not last, that this oasis of forgiveness could not last, but while he granted it she was unable to refuse it.
But finally she found the strength to look him in the eyes and whisper, “Alex, there are some things beyond forgiveness.”
He smiled at her.
“Perhaps there are. But come with me. There’s someone I want you to meet.”
About the Author
Dr Robin Craig has a PhD in molecular biology and a keen interest in science and philosophy. He believes that art in all its forms should have something to say or it isn’t worth doing, but that the pleasure of reading is as important as the theme.
In our world of rapid progress, he feels that science fiction set in the near future is a perfect vehicle to explore intriguing themes relevant now and in his readers’ lifetimes. He approaches ethical and philosophical questions from an original viewpoint, using thought-provoking plots spiced with hidden delights and interesting, sympathetic and heroic characters.
Dr Craig wrote a number of short stories before becoming interested in the more flexible possibilities of longer fiction. Frankensteel, his first novella, explores the world of artificial intelligence and the rights of a thinking machine. It introduces detective Miriam Hunter, then at the prime of her career. His next novel, The Geneh War, goes back in time to the start of her career, while Time Enough for Killing follows shortly after the events in Frankensteel. These three are the beginning of the Just Hunter series, and have been combined into the single volume novel, Steel, Titanium and Guilt.
He also writes non-fiction. In addition to 14 scientific papers and a long-running philosophical series in TableAus (the journal of Mensa Australia), he was a contributor to The Australian Book of Atheism with his chapter on “Good Without God”, on the importance and validity of secular ethics.
