To Be Taught, If Fortunate

Becky Chambers

Summary

A stand-alone science fiction novella from the award-winning, bestselling, critically acclaimed author of the Wayfarers series.

At the turn of the twenty-second century, scientists make a breakthrough in human spaceflight. Through a revolutionary method known as somaforming, astronauts can survive in hostile environments off Earth using synthetic biological supplementations.

A team of explorers, Ariadne O’Neill and her crewmates, are on a mission to ecologically survey four habitable worlds in a planetary system fifteen light-years from Sol. They face the challenges of sharing their findings with a culture on Earth that has transformed during their absence.

Excerpt

"Faced with the possibility of returning to a planet that has forgotten those who have left, Ariadne begins to chronicle the story of the wonders and dangers of her mission, in the hope that someone back home might still be listening."