With stories about consciousness and conscience, about heroes and horrors, this volume offers up two dozen dazzling stories from some of science fiction's greatest writers, including: Neal Barret, Jr., Terry Bisson, Pat Cadigan, Arthur C. Clarke, L. Sprague de Camp, Bradley Denton, Greg Egan, Joe Haldeman, Lukas Jaeger, Kathe Koja, Nancy Kress, Jonathan Lethem, Ian R. McLeod, Tom Maddox, Maureen F. McHugh, Ian McDonald, Frederik Pohl, Robert Reed, Robert Silverberg, Michael Swanwick, Steven Utley, Ian Watson, Kate Wilhelm, Connie Willis. Rounded out by a list of Honourable Mentions and Gardner Dozois's annual summation of the year in science fiction, this anthology is the single best guide available to the best possible tomorrows and alternate yesterdays of the past year.