ANGELS

The next morning, she got up early as usual, opened her door and grabbed the London Free Press lying at her doorstep. Not surprisingly, the upcoming court case was quite prominent in the news section.

At a little before half past nine, Rachel cruised on Dundas Street, swerved sharply to avoid a man who almost jumped in front of her car – obviously drunk – and got stuck in a traffic jam caused by a rally of protesters carrying “Ban Androids” banners. It took her ten minutes to move a few hundred meters and finally park her apple green Honda Accord in its designated place at the court house parking lot.

What did these people have against androids, Rachel wondered, as more and more people seemed to be joining the rally. The androids were harmless beings. They were like – like… A strange analogy burst upon her awareness. Angels were supposed to be beings without the capacity for sin. By that definition, the androids were angels, man-made angels.

I wish people could be more like androids, she thought, totally sane, totally considerate, and operating under Asimov’s laws.

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Traveler From An Antique Land

Was he a madman, a consummate actor and prankster taking advantage of the similarity of facial features, or truly the person he claimed to be? To this day, I do not know for sure, but as a result of that encounter, I did become one of the leading authorities on Mexican history and culture.

I had just finished my first year at the University of Western Ontario and was enjoying my summer vacation. One pleasant evening, I was at Harris Park – one of my favorite places in London – sitting on a bench near the water fountain and I was reading “The Devil’s Dictionary” when I noticed someone coming down the path towards me.

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