2014 SF short story, set in the same universe as the Imperial Radch
series. Her-Breath-Contains-The-Universe is is a junior monk in a
monastery (on a space station) that also trains players for something
like the Mesoamerican ballgame, which has political significance too…
To explain the plot would be to undo part of the fun, which is in
working out what's going on, while surrounded by a human culture
that's both profoundly alien and recognisable as human, with human
drives being expressed through different channels. (I like this style
of SF where solving the puzzle is part of enjoying the story, though I
can see if could be offputting if one were expecting to drop quickly
into the universe.)
There isn't room for subtle characterisation, but the feel of what's
going on comes over superbly well. Recommended both in isolation and
if you're an Imperial Radch completist.
"I will give you advice. Be aware of your surroundings. If you are
ambitious, be also silent. Or you may find yourself a genuine saint
at the bottom of the monastery fishpond."
Originally published in Strange Horizons and now available via the
Internet Archive.
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