In the aftermath of a disaster, two creatures discuss what went wrong.
"For a long while, Diu was a tiny, persistent presence. Nothing more. At impromptu parties or when friends collided, the old earthling was occasionally, just occasionally, mentioned. Someone had spotted him in the CH'Freeze District, living inside one of the resident's abandoned shells. Or he was keeping a bedsit in the Erstwhile Cities. Or he had pitched a camouflaged skin on the Burnished Savanna, his naked body seen kneeling beside the muddy watering holes where the local monsters gathered. One account pictured him strolling along the Avenue of Calm, and with the famous charm intact, he paused long enough to offer pleasant words and bits of news that almost, almost explained where he had been and where he might travel next.
"'So good to see you.'
"Passing souls heard those cheerful words, and while most sightings involved someone already familiar with Diu, others were blessed to meet him for the first time.
"A certain Highborn friend reported the discovery of a famous terraformer. He was the lone human standing on the kilometer-long pier jutting out into the White-and-Whiter Sea
"'You saw Diu,' said Perri.
"'Not with these eyes,' the alien confessed. 'A former lover. And a future lover, I pray. She noticed the gruesome human face pointing into the endless gale. A very curious scene, and approaching the maverick, she was rewarded with his name and story. What a find honor that was, sharing words and silences with a soul who helped remake entire worlds.'"
Robert Reed is the author of a multitude of stories. He won the Hugo Award in 2007 for his novella, "A Billion Eves." But Reed is best known for his Great Ship saga.
Genre: Science Fiction
"For a long while, Diu was a tiny, persistent presence. Nothing more. At impromptu parties or when friends collided, the old earthling was occasionally, just occasionally, mentioned. Someone had spotted him in the CH'Freeze District, living inside one of the resident's abandoned shells. Or he was keeping a bedsit in the Erstwhile Cities. Or he had pitched a camouflaged skin on the Burnished Savanna, his naked body seen kneeling beside the muddy watering holes where the local monsters gathered. One account pictured him strolling along the Avenue of Calm, and with the famous charm intact, he paused long enough to offer pleasant words and bits of news that almost, almost explained where he had been and where he might travel next.
"'So good to see you.'
"Passing souls heard those cheerful words, and while most sightings involved someone already familiar with Diu, others were blessed to meet him for the first time.
"A certain Highborn friend reported the discovery of a famous terraformer. He was the lone human standing on the kilometer-long pier jutting out into the White-and-Whiter Sea
"'You saw Diu,' said Perri.
"'Not with these eyes,' the alien confessed. 'A former lover. And a future lover, I pray. She noticed the gruesome human face pointing into the endless gale. A very curious scene, and approaching the maverick, she was rewarded with his name and story. What a find honor that was, sharing words and silences with a soul who helped remake entire worlds.'"
Robert Reed is the author of a multitude of stories. He won the Hugo Award in 2007 for his novella, "A Billion Eves." But Reed is best known for his Great Ship saga.
Genre: Science Fiction
Used availability for Robert Reed's The Virtue Tree