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LAST DANGEROUS VISIONS (unpublished)
"In a Spaceship Maybe" was written at the 1969 Clarion workshop. It was originally titled "The Deep End." I sent it to Damon Knight for Orbit and he sent it to Harlan Ellison, who bought it for Again, Dangerous Visions. But then he bumped it to Last Dangerous Visions, which has yet to be published (nearly 30 years later). I asked Harlan for an idea for a new title and he suggested "'Where Are We, Doug?' 'I Don't Know. A Spaceship, Maybe.'" (the first lines of the story). I later shortened it to "In a Spaceship Maybe" (inspired by Bergman's "Through a Glass Darkly") over Harlan's objections.
In 2021-22, J. Michael Straczyski took over the project and rejected "In a Spaceship Maybe." There had been many new writers who had made a name for themselves in the 50+ years since Harland accepted it and there just was no room for such a minor (and politically incorrect) story from such a minor writer. I had no problem with that; in fact, I was very happy it would not get published and embarrass me by its incorrect amateurishness.
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