"Aeon's Child" is a classic Robert Reed novella. And this new work -- "Wonderland" -- is a direct sequel.
No more treasures were arriving, the luscious toxins made clean in thousands of remote places. But famine offered its own gift. Free to do as he wished, Child-19 became increasingly skillful with the local water and scaffoldings of carbon. With calcium and quiet uraniums, metals and sweet noble earths. The starship engine continued to simmer, feeding him light, and he thanked each visitor for every part of his good life. Even the least important passenger deserved to have a thousand mouths wishing them well. "Tell me what you hope to see," the gaian called out. "Make wishes, and I'll do my best." His best was to startle every guest. Match their wants, then exceed them. Brighter colors. Richer odors. Jungles of connected bodies prancing before the lowly pedestrian, urging them to join in with the impromptu celebration -- two little beings communing for the next little while.
Robert Reed is the author of legions of SF stories and novels. He won a Hugo in 2007 for his novella, "A Billion Eves." But Reed is best known for his Great Ship stories.
Genre: Science Fiction
No more treasures were arriving, the luscious toxins made clean in thousands of remote places. But famine offered its own gift. Free to do as he wished, Child-19 became increasingly skillful with the local water and scaffoldings of carbon. With calcium and quiet uraniums, metals and sweet noble earths. The starship engine continued to simmer, feeding him light, and he thanked each visitor for every part of his good life. Even the least important passenger deserved to have a thousand mouths wishing them well. "Tell me what you hope to see," the gaian called out. "Make wishes, and I'll do my best." His best was to startle every guest. Match their wants, then exceed them. Brighter colors. Richer odors. Jungles of connected bodies prancing before the lowly pedestrian, urging them to join in with the impromptu celebration -- two little beings communing for the next little while.
Robert Reed is the author of legions of SF stories and novels. He won a Hugo in 2007 for his novella, "A Billion Eves." But Reed is best known for his Great Ship stories.
Genre: Science Fiction
Used availability for Robert Reed's Wonderland