Entanglements

Genres: Sci-fi Anthologies & Collections; Hard Science Fiction

Synopsis

Science fiction authors offer original tales of relationships in a future world of evolving technology.

In a future world dominated by the technological, people will still be entangled in relationships—in romances, friendships, and families. This volume in the Twelve Tomorrows series considers the effects that scientific and technological discoveries will have on the emotional bonds that hold us together.

The strange new worlds in these stories feature AI family therapy, floating fungitecture, and a futuristic love potion. A co-op of mothers attempts to raise a child together, lovers try to resolve their differences by employing a therapeutic sexbot, and a robot helps a woman dealing with Parkinson's disease. Contributions include Xia Jia's novelette set in a Buddhist monastery, translated by the Hugo Award-winning writer Ken Liu; a story by Nancy Kress, winner of six Hugos and two Nebulas; and a profile of Kress by Lisa Yaszek, Professor of Science Fiction Studies at Georgia Tech. Stunning artwork by Tatiana Plakhova—"infographic abstracts” of mixed media software—accompany the texts.

Contributors

James Patrick Kelly, Mary Robinette Kowal, Nancy Kress, Rich Larson, KenLiu, Sam J. Miller, Annalee Newitz, Suzanne Palmer, Tatiana Plakhova, Cadwell Turnbull, Nick Wolven, Xia Jia, Lisa Yaszek

Release date: September 15, 2020

Publisher: The MIT Press

Print pages: 256

Sample

AN ENTANGLEMENT IS A COMPLICATED RELATIONSHIP. THIS IS TRUE WHETHER IT refers to a brother with a drug addition, a child genetically altered without her parents’ knowledge, friends getting together for their “weekly bad rosé night,” a casual hookup arranged by a personal avatar, or a particle whose quantum state can’t be described independently of one or more other particles even when those particles are very far apart. Science fiction explores the future, and it does that very well. The future can’t be explored without also considering the effects that scientific and technological discoveries will have on all the relationships that tie us to each other. Entanglements is the sixth volume in the Twelve Tomorrows series and the first to have a central unifying theme. The book’s ten fiction authors were asked to write tales about the emotional bonds that hold us together. They had a broad canvas. Their tales could be about families, friends, or lovers, but they all were asked to explore different ways in which these bonds would be affected by our ever-evolving knowledge of science and advances in technology. I’m sure the relationships of the future, be they romances, platonic friendships, or family ties, will be just as loving, messy, complex, affirming, disturbing, heartbreaking, all-embracing, and fulfilling as they are today. They will be affected by our changing world. Infrastructure changes brought on by our warming planet, scientific discoveries, and technical innovations will put new stress on the forces that entangle us with each other even as they relieve some of the issues that complicate life.