It’s August, and time for a vacation from the virus. Imagine: No PCPs, PCRs or protease paunch. Just new fiction by seven of our favorite authors. Q: Is it all about AIDS? A: Isn’t everything? It’s a rich crop that POZ is serving up: “Ask Amelio,” by this month’s cover girl, Emily Carter. Andrew Holleran’s “Petunias,” which features the longest kiss in literature. “The Mere Future,” an acid satire from Sarah Schulman. “Record Time,” vintage Edmund White about a youth’s awakening to beauty. A haunted, haunting walk in the woods from Veronica, Mary Gaitskill’s new novel. R. Zamora Linmark’s magical “Tita Aida.” And-- trumpets, please!-- two chapters from Larry Kramer’s outlandishly ambitious, 2,000-plus-page The American People. We promise you’ll be inspired, entertained, provoked, aroused and consoled-- your CD4s might even go up. So start reading. Treat your soul.