John Scalzi: Slow Time Between the Stars
An artificial intelligence on a star-spanning mission explores the farthest horizons of human potential—and its own purpose—in a mind-bending short story by New York Times bestselling author John Scalzi. Equipped with the entirety of human knowledge, a sentient ship is launched on a last-ditch journey to find a new home for civilization. Trillions of miles. Tens of thousands of years. In the space between, the AI has plenty of time to think about life, the vastness of the universe, everything it was meant to do, and—with a perspective created but not limited by humans—what it should do. John Scalzi’s Slow Time Between the Stars is part of The Far Reaches , a collection of science-fiction stories that stretch the imagination and open the heart. They can be read or listened to in one sitting.
I read this (via Audible) on the drive to Portland yesterday. It's a brief nibble of a story, and does a great job of setting up its premise, hinting at the structure of what is to come, and then ending on a lovely grace note. I really enjoyed it, and I don't really want more; I think it was the perfect amount of that story.
