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

INTRODUCTION ix
Sheila Williams
1 INVISIBLE PEOPLE 1
Nancy Kress
2 PROFILE: NANCY KRESS 25
Lisa Yaszek
3 ECHO THE ECHO 35
Rich Larson
4 SPARKLYBITS 51
Nick Wolven
5 A LITTLE WISDOM 75
Mary Robinette Kowal
6 YOUR BOYFRIEND EXPERIENCE 93
James Patrick Kelly
7 MEDIATION 123
Cadwell Turnbull
8 THE NATION OF THE SICK 135
Sam J. Miller
9 DON’T MIND ME 151
Suzanne Palmer
10 THE MONOGAMY HORMONE 171
Annalee Newitz
11 THE MONK OF LINGYIN TEMPLE 185
Xia Jia (translated by Ken Liu)
ARTWORK: TATIANA PLAKHOVA 215
CONTRIBUTORS 217