“Until then, ten Terrans accompany us home. They have chosen to do this, for their own reasons. All were told that they would not die if they remained on Earth, but chose to come anyway. They will become World, creating further friendships with our clan brothers on Terra.
“Again—thank you.”
Pandemonium erupted on the barge: talking, arguing, shouting. The sun was above the horizon now. Three Coast Guard ships barreled across the harbor toward the barge. As Marianne clutched her yellow blanket closer against the morning breeze, something vibrated in the pocket of her jeans.
She pulled it out: a flat metal square with Noah’s face on it. As soon as her gaze fell on his, the face began to speak. “I’m going with them, Mom. I want you to know that I am completely happy. This is where I belong. I’ve mated with Llaa^moh¡—Dr. Jones—and she is pregnant. Your grandchild will be born among the stars. I love you.”
Noah’s face faded from the small square.
Rage filled her, red sparks burning. Her son, and she would never see him again! Her grandchild, and she would never see him or her at all. She was being robbed, being deprived of what was hers by right, the aliens should never have come—
She stopped. Realization slammed into her, and she gripped the rail of the barge so tightly that her nails pierced the wood.
The aliens had made a mistake. A huge, colossal, monumental mistake.
Her rage, however irrational, was going to be echoed and amplified across the entire planet. The Denebs had understood that Terrans would work really hard only if their own survival were at stake. But they did not understand the rest of it. The Deneb presence on Earth had caused riots, diversion of resources, deaths, panic, fear. The “mild illness” of the twenty percent like Robbie, happening all at once starting today, was enough to upset every economy on the planet. The aliens had swept like a storm through the world, and as in the aftermath of a superstorm, everything in the landscape had shifted. In addition, the Denebs had carried off ten humans, which could be seen as brainwashing them in order to procure prospective lab rats for future experimentation.
Brothers, yes—but Castor and Pollux, whose bond reached across the stars, or Cain and Abel?
Humans did not forgive easily, and they resented being bought off, even with a star drive. Smith should have left a different gift, one that would not let Terrans come to World, that peaceful and rich planet so unaccustomed to revenge or war.
But on the other hand—she could be wrong. Look how often she had been wrong already: about Elizabeth, about Ryan, about Smith. Maybe, when the Terran disruptions were over and starships actually built, humanity would become so entranced with the Deneb gift that we would indeed go to World in friendship. Maybe the prospect of going to the stars would even soften American isolationism and draw countries together to share the necessary resources. It could happen. The cooperative genes that had shaped Smith and Jones were also found in the Terran genome.
But—it would happen only if those who wanted it worked hard to convince the rest. Worked, in fact, as hard at urging friendship as they had at ensuring survival. Was that possible? Could it be done?
Why are you here?
To make contact with World. A peace mission.
She gazed up at the multicolored dawn sky, but the ship was already out of sight. Only its after-image remained in her sight.
“Harrison,” Marianne said, and felt her own words steady her, “we have a lot of work to do.”
honorable mentions: 2014
Joe Abercrombie, “Tough Times All Over,” Rogues.
Daniel Abraham, “The Meaning of Love,” Rogues.
Nina Allan, “Mirielena,” Interzone 254.
______, “The Science of Chance,” Solaris Rising 3.
Charlie Jane Anders, “The Cartography of Sudden Death,” Tor.com, January 22.
Kelley Armstrong, “The Screams of Dragons,” Subterranean, Spring.
Eleanor Arnason, “The Black School,” Hidden Folk.
______, “The Puffin Hunter,” Hidden Folk.
______, “The Scrivner,” Subterranean, Winter.
Madeline Ashby, “By the Time We Got to Arizona,” Hieroglyph.
______, “Coming From Away,” Upgraded.
Paolo Bacigalupi, “Moriabe’s Children,” Monstrous Affections.
Kate Bachus, “Pinono Deep,” Asimov’s, October/November.
Kage Baker, “In Old Pidruid,” Book of Silverberg.
Dale Bailey, “The Culvert,” F&SF, September/October.
David Ball, “Provenance,” Rogues.
Tony Ballantyne, “The Region of Jennifer,” Analog, June.
______, “Threshold,” Analog, October.
Justin Barbeau, “Nanabojou at the World’s Fair,” F&SF, November/December.
Christopher Barzak, “The Boy Who Grew Up,” Uncanny Stories, June.
Stephen Baxter, “The Lingering Joy,” Multiverse.
Amelia Beamer, “Lelia and the Conservation of Entropy,” Uncanny Magazine.
Elizabeth Bear, “Madame Damnable’s Sewing Circle,” Dead Man’s Hand.
______, “No Place to Dream, But a Place To Die,” Upgraded.
______, “You’ve Never Seen Everything,” The End is Now.
______, “This Chance Planet,” Tor.com, Oct 22.
Chris Beckett, “The Goblin Hunter,” Solaris Rising 3.
Gregory Benford, “Bloodpride,” Multiverse.
______, “Lady with Fox,” Carbide-Tipped Pens.
M. Bennardo, “How Do I Get to Last Summer from Here?,” Asimov’s, July.
______, “Last Day at the Ice Man Café,” Asimov’s, February.
______, “Now Dress Me in My Finest Suit and Lay Me in My Casket,” Asimov’s, December.
______, “Slowly Upward, the Coelacanth,” Asimov’s,
Paul M. Berger, “Subduction,” F&SF, July/August.
Holly Black, “Ten Rules for Being an Intergalactic Smuggler (The Sucessful Kind),” Monstrous Affections.
James P. Blaylock, “The Adventure of the Ring of Stones,” Subterranean Press.
Gregory Norman Bossart, “The Leaves Upon Her Falling Light,” Beneath Ceaseless Skies 158.
Richard Bowes, “Sleep Walking Now and Then,” Tor.com, July 9.
Marie Brennan, “Daughter of Necessity,” Tor.com, October 1.
______, “Mad Maudlin,” Tor.com, February 5.
David Brin, “Latecomers,” Multiverse.
Keith Brooke and Eric Brown, “The End of the World,” Paradox.
Sarah Brooks, “The Great Detective,” Strange Horizons, 9/15.
Terry Brooks, “The Fey of Cloudmoor,” Multiverse.
Christopher Brown, “Countermeasures,” Twelve Tomorrows.
Tobias S. Buckell, “A Cold Heart,” Upgraded.
______, “Ambassador to the Dinosaurs,” Book of Silverberg.
______, “System Reset,” The End Is Nigh.
Oliver Buckram, “A Struggle Between Two Rivals Ends Surprisingly,” F&SF, March/April.
Karl Bunker, “Ashes,” Interzone 251.
Pat Cadigan, “The Big Next,” Paradox.
______, “Business As Usual,” Twelve Tomorrows.
______, “Report Concerning the Presence of Seahorses on Mars,” Reach for Infinity.
James L. Cambias, “Contractual Obligation,” War Stories.
______, “Periapsis,” Hieroglyph.
Rebecca Campbell, “Lilacs and Daffodils,” Interzone 250.
Seth Chambers, “In Her Eyes,” F&SF, January/February.
Robert R. Chase, “Decaying Orbit,” Asimov’s, October/November.
C. J. Cherryh, “Dancing on the Edge of the Dark,” Multiverse.
Rob Chilson, “Our Vegetable Love,” F&SF, March/April.
Liu Cixin, “The Circle,” Carbide-Tipped Pens.
Eric Choi, “Crimson Sky,” Analog, July/August.
Gwendolyn Clare, “It Gets Bigger,” Asimov’s, September.
David L. Clements, �
�Catching Rays,” Paradox.
Heather Clitheroe, “Cuts Both Ways,” Lightspeed, June.
Ron Collins, “Primes,” Asimov’s, January.
Jay O’Connell, “Of All Possible Worlds,” Asimov’s, August.
C. S. E. Cooney, “Witch, Beast, Saint: An Erotic Fairy Tale,” Strange Horizons, 7/2.
Brenda Cooper, “A Heart of Power and Oil,” Coming Soon Enough.
______, “Elephant Angels,” Hieroglyph.
James S. A. Corey, “The Churn,” Orbit Short Fiction.
Paul Cornell, “A Better Way to Die,” Rogues.
Albert E. Cowdrey, “Byzantine History 101,” F&SF, March/April.
______, “Out of the Deeps,” F&SF, January/February.
Ian Creasey, “Ormande and Chase,” Asimov’s, June.
Malcolm Cross, “Pavlov’s House,” Strange Horizons, 4/21.
Kara Dalkey, “The Philosopher Duck,” Asimov’s, June.
Indrapramit Das, “A Moon for the Unborn,” Strange Horizons, 11/10.
Rjurik Davidson, “Nighttime in Caeli-Amur,” Tor.com, January 15.
Aliette de Bodard, “A Slow Unfurling of Truth,” Carbide-Tipped Pens.
______, “The Breath of War,” Beneath Ceaseless Skies 142.
______, “The Dust Queen,” Reach for Infinity.
______, “The Frost on Jade Buds,” Solaris Rising 3.
______, “Memorials,” Asimov’s, January.
______, “The Moon Over Red Trees,” Beneath Ceaseless Skies 157.
Craig Delancey, “Racing the Tide,” Analog, December.
A. M. Dellamonica, “The Color of Paradox,” Tor.com, June 25.
______, “The Ugly Woman of Castello di Putti,” Tor.com, March 5.
Bradley Denton, “Bad Brass,” Rogues.
Malcolm Devlin, “Must Supply Own Work Boots,” Interzone 255.
Seth Dickinson, “A Tank Only Fears Four Things,” Lightspeed, May.
______, “Economics of Force,” Apex Magazine, September.
______, “Morrigan in the Sunglare,” Clarkesworld, March.
______, “Wizard, Cabalist, Ascendant,” Upgraded.
Cory Doctorow, “Petard: A Tale of Just Desserts,” Twelve Tomorrows.
Sarina Dorie, “The Day of the Nuptial Flight,” F&SF, July/August.
Jeffifer Dornan-Fish, “Mind the Gap,” Interzone 255.
Brendan Dubois, “Minutes to the End of the World,” Asimov’s, October/November.
Tananarive Due, “Removal Order,” The End Is Nigh.
______, “Herd Immunity,” The End Is Now.
Thoraiya Dryer, “Human Strandings and the Role of the Xenobiologist,” Clarkesworld, March.
Christopher East, “Videoville,” Asimov’s, December.
Greg Egan, “Bit Players,” Subterranean, Winter.
______, “Break My Fall,” Reach for Infinity.
______, “Seventh Sight,” Upgraded.
Rhonda Eikamp, “The Case of the Passionless Bees,” Lightspeed, June.
Phyllis Eisenstein, “The Caravan To Nowhere,” Rogues.
Warren Ellis, “The Shipping Forecast,” Twelve Tomorrows.
Harlan Ellison, “He Who Grew Up Reading Sherlock Holmes,” Subterranean, Summer.
Amal El Mohar, “The Lonely Sea in the Sky,” Lightspeed, June.
Raymond E. Feist, “A Candle,” Multiverse.
Gemma Files, “Drawn Up from Deep Places,” Beneath Ceaseless Skies 159.
C. C. Finlay, “The Man Who Hanged Three Times,” Asimov’s, January.
Eric Flint, “Operation Xibalba,” Multiverse.
Gillian Flynn, “What Do You Do?,” Rogues.
Michael F. Flynn, “The Journeyman: Against the Green,” Analog, July/August.
______, “The Journeyman: In the Stone House,” Analog, June.
Jeffrey Ford, “La Madre del Oro,” Dead Man’s Hand.
______, “The Prelate’s Commission,” Subterranean, Winter.
Karen Joy Fowler, “Nanny Anne and the Christmas Story,” Subterranean, Winter.
Nancy Fulda, “Recollection,” Carbide-Tipped Pens.
Neil Gaiman, “How the Marquis Got His Coat Back,” Rogues.
Stephen Gallagher, “One Dove,” Subterranean, Spring.
David Gerrold, “The Thing in the Back Yard,” F&SF, September/October.
William Gibson, “Death Cookie/Easy Ice,” Twelve Tomorrows.
Greer Gilman, “Exit, Pursued by a Bear,” Small Beer Press.
Kathleen Ann Goonan, “A Short History of the Twentieth Century, or, When You Wish Upon a Star,” Tor.com, July 20.
______, “Girl in Wave: Wave in Girl,” Hieroglyph.
______, “Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?,” Tor.com, February 12.
______, “Wilder Still, the Stars,” Reach for Infinity.
Theodora Goss, “Cimmeria: From the Journal of Imaginary Anthropology,” Lightspeed, July.
John Grant, “Ghost Story,” Interzone 251.
Sarah Gray, “Rocket Summer,” Flytrap, February.
Daryl Gregory, “We Are All Completely Fine,” Tachyon.
Nicola Griffith, “Cold Wind,” Tor.com, April 15.
Eileen Gunn, “Chop Wood, Carry Water,” Questionable Practices.
______, “Phantom Pain,” Questionable Practices.
James Gunn, “Patterns,” Asimov’s, September.
Caren Gussoff, “The Bars of Orion,” Interzone 253.
Maria Dahvana Headley, “Dim Sun,” Lightspeed, June.
______, “What There Was To See,” Subterranean, Summer.
Howard V. Hendrix, “Habilis,” Carbide-Tipped Pens.
Sarah Hendrix, “The Coin Whisperer,” Abyss & Apex, 3rd Quarter.
Crystal Lynn Hilbert, “Soul of Soup Bones,” Lightspeed, June.
Tory Hoke, “Lysistrata of Mars,” Strange Horizons, 2/10.
Nalo Hopkinson, “Left Foot, Right,” Monstrous Affections.
Kat Howard, “Hath No Fury,” Subterranean, Spring.
______, “The Very Fabric,” Subterranean, Summer.
Matthew Hughes, “Avianca’s Bezel,” F&SF, September/October.
______, “The Ba of Phalloon,” Lightspeed, May.
______, “His Elbow, Unkissed: A Kalso Chronicles Tale,” Lightspeed, January.
______, “Inn of the Seven Blessings,” Rogues.
______, “Under the Scab,” Lightspeed, September.
Claire Humphrey, “A Brief Light,” Interzone 252.
Alex Irvine, “For All of Us Down Here,” F&SF, January/February.
Pasi Ilmari Jaaskeainen, “Where the Trains Turn Past,” Tor.com, November 19.
Alexander Jablokov, “The Instructive Tale of the Archeologist and His Wife,” Asimov’s, July.
William Jablowsky, “Static,” Asimov’s, January.
Xia Jia, “Tongtong’s Summer,” Upgraded.
Alaya Dawn Johnson, “A Guide to the Fruits of Hawai’i,” F&SF, July/August.
Bill Johnson, “Code Blue Love,” Analog, July/August.
C. W. Johnson, “The Anomaly,” Analog, December.
Mathew Johnson, “Rules of Engagement,” Asimov’s, April/May.
James Patrick Kelly, “The Pope of the Chimps,” Book of Silverberg.
______, “The Rose Witch,” Clarkesworld, August.
______, “Uncanny,” Asimov’s, October/November.
Caitlín R. Kiernan, “Bus Stop,” Subterranean, Spring.
______, “The Jetsam of Disremembered Mechanics,” Book of Silverberg.
______, “Pushing the Sky Away (Death of a Blasphemer),” Subterranean, Summer.
Maggie Shen King, “Ball and Chain,” Asimov’s, February.
Ellen Klages, “Caligo Lane,” Subterranean, Winter.
______, “Hey, Presto!,” Fearsome Magics.
Leo Konstantinou, “Johnny Appledrone vs. the FAA,” Hieroglyph.
Mary Robinette Kowal, “Water Over the Dam,” Coming Soon Enough.
/> Nancy Kress, “Angels of the Apocalypse,” The End Is Now.
______, “The Common Good,” Asimov’s, January.
______, “Eaters,” Book of Silverberg.
______, “Outmoded Things,” Multiverse.
______, “Pretty Soon the Four Horsemen Are Going to Come Riding Through,” The End Is Nigh.
______, “Sidewalk at 12:00 P.M.,” Asimov’s, June.
______, “Someone To Watch Over Me,” Coming Soon Enough.
Matthew Kressel, “Cameron Rhyder’s Legs,” Clarkesworld, Nov.
Naomi Kritzer, “Containment Zone: A Seastead Story,” F&SF, May/June.
Derek Kunsken, “Persephone Descending,” Analog, November
______, “Schools of Clay,” Asimov’s, February.
Geoffrey A. Landis, “A Hotel in Antarctica,” Hieroglyph.
______, “The Chatbot and the Drone,” Commuications of the Association for Computing Machinery.
______, “Incoming,” Coming Soon Enough.
Sarah Langan, “Black Monday,” The End Is Now.
Joe R. Lansdale, “Bent Twig,” Rogues.
______, “The Red-Headed Dead,” Dead Man’s Hand.
Rich Larson, “The Air We Breath Is Stormy, Stormy,” Strange Horizons, 8/11.
______, “Brute,” Apex Magazine, November.
______, “Capricorn,” Abyss & Apex, 4th Quarter.
______, “Ghost Girl,” War Stories.
______, “Maria and the Pilgrim,” Apex Magazine, “February.
Anaea Lay, “Salamander Patterns,” Lightspeed, January.
Ann Leckie, “She Commands Me and I Obey,” Strange Horizons, 11/10–11/17.
Yoon Ha Lee, “Always the Harvest,” Upgraded.
______, “The Bonedrake’s Pennance,” Beneath Ceasesless Skies 143.
______, “Combustion Hour,” Tor.com, June 15.
______, “The Contemporary Foxwife,” Clarkesworld, July.
______, “Warhosts,” War Stories.
______, “Wine,” Clarkesworld, January.
David D. Levine, “The End of the Silk Road,” F&SF, May/June.
______, “Mammals,” Analog, December.
Michael Libling, “Draft 31,” F&SF, March/April.
Kelly Link, “The New Boyfriend,” Monstrous Affections.
Marissa Lingen, “The New Girl,” Apex Magazine, November.
______, “The Suitcase Aria,” Strange Horizons, 8/17.
The Year's Best Science Fiction, Thirty-Second Annual Collection Page 112
