Synopsis
A woman is chosen to communicate with aliens who possess the technology for interstellar travel using black holes, but the process is hindered by mutual mistrust.
Notes
TriQuarterly 49 notes that it is for "Fall 1980". This makes this the second story published by Swanwick.
External Links
Awards
| Year | Award | Category | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Locus Poll Award | Best Novelette | Nominee/Finalist |
| 1981 | Nebula Award | Novelette | Nominee/Finalist |
Publications (23)
| Date | Publication | Publisher | Type | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | TriQuarterly 49 | Northwestern University Press | MAGAZINE | 179 |
| July 1981 | The Best Science Fiction of the Year #10 | Timescape / Pocket Books | Anthology | 63 |
| October 1981 | The Best Science Fiction of the Year #10 | Gollancz | Anthology | 63 |
| August 1982 | Nebula Award Stories Sixteen | Holt, Rinehart and Winston | Anthology | 45 |
| 1983 | Nebula Winners Sixteen | Star | Anthology | 44 |
| 1983 | Nebula Winners Sixteen | W. H. Allen | Anthology | 45 |
| September 1983 | Nebula Award Stories Sixteen | Bantam Books | Anthology | 31 |
| August 1991 | Gravity's Angels | Arkham House | Collection | 255 |
| October 1992 | Life Among the Asteroids | Ace Books | Anthology | 235 |
| November 1997 | The Science Fiction Century | Tor | Anthology | 304 |
| November 1997 | The Science Fiction Century | Tor / BOMC | Anthology | 304 |
| May 1998 | The Science Fiction Century | Quality Paperback Book Club | Anthology | 304 |
| April 2000 | Explorers: SF Adventures to Far Horizons | St. Martin's Griffin | Anthology | 313 |
| May 2000 | Exploring the Horizons: Explorers, and the Furthest Horizon | Science Fiction Book Club | Omnibus | 297 |
| March 2001 | Gravity's Angels | Frog Books / North Atlantic Books | Collection | 295 |
| August 2002 | Explorers: SF Adventures to Far Horizons | Anthology | 313 | |
| April 2003 | The Mammoth Book of 20th Century Science Fiction: Volume One | Robinson | Anthology | 126 |
| March 2006 | The Science Fiction Century, Volume One | Orb | Anthology | 298 |
| October 2008 | The Best of Michael Swanwick | Subterranean Press | Collection | 43 |
| October 2008 | The Best of Michael Swanwick | Subterranean Press | Collection | |
| August 2010 | The Best of Michael Swanwick | Subterranean Press | Collection | |
| September 2010 | Before They Were Giants: First Works from Science Fiction Greats | Paizo Publishing | Anthology | 199 |
| January 2025 | Collection of Science Fiction & Fantasy | MotionAudiobooks | Omnibus | |9.043 |