2019 science fiction novella. Four interstellar explorers discover
wonders.
And to say much more than that would be to spoil this rather fine
character-driven short work: these are slower-than-light explorers,
who hibernate not only for the long haul from Earth but between the
planets in the system they're exploring, and have their bodies lightly
remade to minimise the amount of life support equipment they'll need
and impact they'll have on the worlds they visit.
This is not an adventure story, though there are some moments of peril
and some fateful decisions; it's much more like watching a group of
(real) scientists at work. But there's also a pervasive attitude that
these are explorers, not colonists, that they're here for the
knowledge not the exploitable resources; and, isolated from Earth by a
14-year signal lag, they must make their own microcommunity, and if
that isn't exactly what Earth now wants, well, too bad.
It is thoroughly inconclusive, and I found that unfortunate; I like
resolution in stories, even if as here posing the question may be
considered rather more important than answering it. But in spite of
that, something that usually puts me off a work, I very much enjoyed
it. If you've read other Chambers, this is probably closest to Record
of a Spaceborn Few in that not a whole lot actually happens, but the
things that do happen are of great importance to the people they
happen to.
What is space, to you? Is it a playground? A quarry? A flagpole? A
classroom? A temple? Who do you believe should go, and for what
purpose? Or should we go at all?
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