Thanks! Yeah, the standard genre term is “alternate history,” or maybe, in this case, “counterfactual history” since there’s explicit macro-scale quantum-weirdness presented in the story, and we don’t see those things in our particular universe.

Check your email for more! :)

“The first story, titled ‘Lester Young and Jupiter’s Moons’ Blues,’ by Gord Sellar, is a report by a black American jazz musician from an alternative timeline where space creatures in the 1940s have colonised the solar system, and it tells of his experiences as musician working on one of their ships. Very authentically written and a very good story, even if you know nothing about jazz.”

I used my knowledge of German for “rumvæsener,” i.e., “space beings” — though you might have used some other term yourself.

As for “tidslinje” . . . that’s certainly “timeline,” but I wonder if a different translation wouldn’t be better. Is the story about an alternative history, sort of what might have happened if…?

Jeffery Hodges

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