SUMMARY: Travel farther than you've ever dreamed Man has mused about the nature of our universe since he first gazed up in wonder at the stars. Now some of the most fertile imaginations in speculative fiction offer bold and breathtaking visions of ''what's out there'' and ''what's next'' in the eleventh annual celebration of the very best short SF to appear over the past year. Once again, acclaimed editors and anthologists David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer have compiled an extraordinary collection featuring stunning works from modern masters as well as dazzling gems from brilliant new talents -- tales that carry the reader to the far corners of the galaxy and beyond, into hitherto unexplored regions. Get ready to take glorious flight on a journey to the miraculous. * David Langford: ''New Hope for the Dead'' (Originally in Nature, 2005) * Hannu Rajaniemi: ''Deus Ex Homine'' (Originally in Nova Scotia: New Scottish Speculative Fiction, 2005) * Gardner R. Dozois: ''When the Great Days Came'' (Originally in F&SF, 2005) * Daryl Gregory: ''Second Person, Present Tense'' (Originally in Asimov's, 2005) * Justina Robson: ''Dreadnought'' (Originally in Nature, 2005) * Ken MacLeod: ''A Case of Consilience'' (Originally in Nova Scotia, 2005) * Tobias S. Buckell: ''Toy Planes'' (Originally in Nature, 2005) * Neal Asher: ''Mason's Rats'' (Originally in Asimov's, 2005) * Vonda N. McIntyre: ''A Modest Proposal'' (Originally in Nature, 2005) * Rudy Rucker: ''Guadalupe and Hieronymus Bosch'' (Originally in Interzone, 2005) * Peter F. Hamilton: ''The Forever Kitten'' (Originally in Nature, 2005) * Matthew Jarpe: ''City of Reason'' (Originally in Asimov's, 2005) * Bruce Sterling: ''Ivory Tower'' (Originally in Nature, 2005) * Lauren McLaughlin: ''Sheila'' (Originally in Interzone, 2005) * Paul McAuley: ''Rats of the System'' (Originally in Constellations, 2005) * Larissa Lai: ''I Love Liver: A Romance'' (Originally in Nature, 2005) * James Patrick Kelly: ''The Edge of Nowhere'' (Originally in Asimov's, 2005) * Ted Chiang: ''What's Expected of Us'' (Originally in Nature, 2005) * Michael Swanwick: ''Girls and Boys, Come Out to Play'' (Originally in Asimov's, 2005) * Stephen Baxter: ''Lakes of Light'' (Originally in Constellations, 2005) * Oliver Morton: ''The Albian Message'' (Originally in Nature, 2005) * Bud Sparhawk: ''Bright Red Star'' (Originally in Asimov's, 2005) * Alaya Dawn Johnson: ''Third Day Lights'' (Originally in Interzone, 2005) * Greg Bear: ''Ram Shift Phase 2'' (Originally in Nature, 2005) * Gregory Benford: ''On the Brane'' (Originally in Gateways, 2005) * R. Garcia y Robertson: ''Oxygen Rising'' (Originally in Asimov's, 2005) * Adam Roberts: ''And Future King...'' (Originally in Postscripts, 2005) * Alastair Reynolds: ''Beyond the Aquila Rift'' (Originally in Constellations, 2005) * Joe Haldeman: ''Angel of Light'' (Originally in Cosmos, 2005) * Liz Williams: ''Ikiryoh'' (Originally in Asimov's, 2005) * Cory Doctorow: ''I, Robot'' (Originally in The Infinite Matrix, 2005)