Item 202

Recommended

This very short story is set on a post-apocalyptic Earth abandoned by humans and populated by synthetic beings who were left behind. With little information about why they were created and abandoned, their culture is made up entirely of myth and superstition and it quickly becomes clear that their civilization is withering away. I loved so many things about this story; where to start? It is told in five brief, eerie episodes that somehow manage to convey an impression of the entire, tragic history – and longing for a better future that will never come – of this society of slowly corroding robots. The overriding motif of the story is of a damaged “God” that fashions synthetic children from metals torn from the Earth, though these children are barely functional and don’t live long. Evenson’s reputation as a teller of macabre tales especially shines in the one vignette about a human character. The author’s effective use of a collective narrative voice punctuates the overall grimness of the tale. Truly exceptional science fiction.