Author
Ken Liu
Crystal
Every year, I get two letters from Nainai, my grandmother: one for my birthday, one for Christmas. A disk-shaped crystal sits on my desk: about an inch in diameter, a quarter of an inch thick, heavier than it looks. In the four o'clock sun on this New England winter afternoon,…
What Is Expected of a Wedding Host
Welcome, Curious Volunteer! You've taken the first steps on a path that we hope will be rewarding (financially and spiritually) for you as well as the human race: 1. You'll be put through a vigorous series of tests: physical, intellectual, hormonal, and psychological. Don't…
Nova Verba, Mundus Novus
After one hundred and eighty-four days, the Sesquipedalian reached the end of the world. The Atlantean Ocean poured over the edge in a magnificent waterfall. Scales on the tumbling fish reflected the setting sun like liquefied gold. The crew, awed, fell silent. Only the panicked…
City of Chrysanthemum
Bobby is the first off the school bus. He always sits in the front seat on the right; first, because the driver can offer some protection, and second, because he can get out quickly. He does not look behind him. He can feel their gazes. It's still fifteen minutes until homeroom,…
Linger
I am rooted to the ground beneath me, stationary, a statue. The rise and fall of constellations trace broad arcs against my unblinking eyes. The memory of my body in motion sometimes seems unreal. But other memories only become more real with the passage of time. The light. I…
The mMod
Raymond stared at the display in his lap. It showed a picture of him and Laura, taken just a second ago. Laura's smile was beautiful, as always, while his image was a slack-jawed caricature of himself. "Why does this thing need a camera?" "Everything has a camera these days,"…
The Tides
"When I was little," Dad says, softly chuckling, "the Moon was so small I thought I could put it in my pocket, like a coin." I don't answer because there's no time to talk. The tide is coming. Every day, we scavenge the beach for bent rails, rusty beams, broken metal sheets. And…
Summer Reading
On this summer day, with the air still cool after a thundershower, with sunlight slanting through the cracks in the roof and walls of the Library, dappling the floor strewn with vines and leaves, CN-344315 made his daily rounds. The robot docent muttered to himself as he dragged…
The Tome of Tourmaline
"Come, come!" the attendants at the gate of Tourmaline call to you. "Come and bathe your feet." The water is refreshing, ice cold, straight from the glaciers on top of the mountains far to the west. You wash away the dust of your long journey across the desert, and marvel at the…
Safe Empathy
He was sullen when they returned from the party. "What's wrong?" she asked, more out of obligation than interest. "Nothing." She had meant to talk to him tonight, but she saw that was no longer possible. She went over the night in her head, moment by moment. Did she laugh too…
The Last Seed
When Linda was in kindergarten, telescopes and probes produced the first fuzzy images of distant planets orbiting faraway stars. She drew pictures of these planets with bold lines and vibrant colors. She drew herself walking under three red suns in a pink spacesuit. She drew…
The Box That Eats Memories
***Adult Content. If you are uncomfortable with fictional depictions of domestic violence, or are not at least eighteen years of age, do not read on*** In the moonlight, Magda walked through the memory room. This was her room, even more so than the kitchen. Nate never came in…