Twelve Tomorrows

In this book, new and established voices in science fiction come together to offer original stories of the future. Ken Liu writes about a virtual currency that hijacks our empathy; Elizabeth Bear shows us a smart home tricked into kidnapping its owner; Clifford V. Johnson presents, in a graphic novella, the story of a computer scientist seeing a new side of the AIs she has invented; and J. M. Ledgard describes a 28,000-year-old AI who meditates on the nature of loneliness. We encounter metal-melting viruses, vegetable-based heart transplants, search-and-rescue drones, and semi-automated sailing ships. Sometimes hilarious, sometimes frightening, and always relevant, Twelve Tomorrows offers compelling visions of potential futures.Originally launched in 2011 by MIT Technology Review, the Twelve Tomorrows series explores the future implications of emerging technologies through the lens of fiction. Featuring a diverse collection of authors, characters, and stories rooted in contemporary real-world science, each volume in the series offers conceivable and inclusive stories of the future, celebrating and continuing the genre of “hard” science fiction pioneered by authors such as Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, and Robert Heinlein. Twelve Tomorrows is the first volume of the series to be published in partnership with the MIT Press.ContributorsElizabeth Bear, SL Huang, Clifford V. Johnson, J. M. Ledgard, Liu Cixin, Ken Liu, Paul McAuley, Nnedi Okorafor, Malka Older, Sarah Pinsker, Jason Pontin, Mark Pontin, Alastair ReynoldsContentsvii • Preface (Twelve Tomorrows) • essay by Wade Roush1 • Profile: Samuel R. Delany • essay by Jason Pontin and Mark Pontin13 • The Woman Who Destroyed Us • novelette by S. L. Huang39 • Okay, Glory • novelette by Elizabeth Bear69 • Byzantine Empathy • novelette by Ken Liu101 • Chine Life • short story by Paul J. McAuley [as by Paul McAuley]119 • Fields of Gold • short story by Cixin Liu (trans. of 黄金原野?) [as by Liu Cixin]135 • Resolution • graphic format • short story by Clifford V. Johnson157 • Escape from Caring Seasons • novelette by Sarah Pinsker181 • The Heart of the Matter • novelette by Nnedi Okorafor209 • Different Seas • short story by Alastair Reynolds223 • Disaster Tourism • short story by Malka Older241 • Vespers • short story by J. M. Ledgard255 • Contributors (Twelve Tomorrows) • essay by uncredited