Aboriginal Science Fiction, Issues 57–58

# Aboriginal Science Fiction, Summer 1998

This issue of Aboriginal Science Fiction (combined issues 57–58) features "Infestations," a science fiction story by Jeff Janoda, illustrated by Janoda Lubov. Set during World War II, the narrative follows Jaconit, an alien being belonging to a species called "the People," who rescues a drowning German sailor named Rudolph Keppler from the sinking battleship Bismarck in the North Atlantic. Jaconit transports Keppler to a massive artificial sphere—a spacecraft—where survivors from the sunken vessel are collected. An elder alien named Buchazza addresses the captives, revealing they have been saved to serve a larger purpose. Despite resistance from surviving German officers, particularly Commander Thomas Vogt, the humans are eventually transported into space for labor mining operations in zero gravity. Keppler gradually recognizes the aliens' capacity for compassion and communication, while tensions mount between him and the authoritarian military hierarchy attempting to maintain discipline among the displaced crew.