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The Anderson Project #1
Reborn
Please enjoy “Reborn,” by Ken Liu, a novelette inspired by an illustration from Richard Anderson.
“Reborn” is part of a three-story series curated by senior Tor Books editor David G. Hartwell. All three are based on a singular piece of art by Richard Anderson.
“Reborn” is part of a three-story series curated by senior Tor Books editor David G. Hartwell. All three are based on a singular piece of art by Richard Anderson.
32 pages, ebook
First published January 29, 2014
About the author
Ken Liu
468 books22.2k followersKen Liu (http://kenliu.name) is an American author of speculative fiction. A winner of the Nebula, Hugo, and World Fantasy awards for his fiction, he has also won top genre honors abroad in Japan, Spain, and France.
Liu’s most characteristic work is the four-volume epic fantasy series, The Dandelion Dynasty, in which engineers, not wizards, are the heroes of a silkpunk world on the verge of modernity. His debut collection of short fiction, The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories, has been published in more than a dozen languages. A second collection, The Hidden Girl and Other Stories, followed. He also penned the Star Wars novel, The Legends of Luke Skywalker. His latest book is All That We See or Seem, a techno-thriller starring an AI-whispering hacker who saves the world.
He’s often involved in media adaptations of his work. Recent projects include “The Regular,” under development as a TV series; “Good Hunting,” adapted as an episode in season one of Netflix’s breakout adult animated series Love, Death + Robots; and AMC’s Pantheon, with Craig Silverstein as executive producer, adapted from an interconnected series of Liu’s short stories.
Prior to becoming a full-time writer, Liu worked as a software engineer, corporate lawyer, and litigation consultant. He frequently speaks at conferences and universities on a variety of topics, including futurism, machine-augmented creativity, history of technology, bookmaking, and the mathematics of origami.
In addition to his original fiction, Liu also occasionally publishes literary translations. His most recent work of translation is a new rendition of Laozi’s Dao De Jing.
Liu lives with his family near Boston, Massachusetts.
Liu’s most characteristic work is the four-volume epic fantasy series, The Dandelion Dynasty, in which engineers, not wizards, are the heroes of a silkpunk world on the verge of modernity. His debut collection of short fiction, The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories, has been published in more than a dozen languages. A second collection, The Hidden Girl and Other Stories, followed. He also penned the Star Wars novel, The Legends of Luke Skywalker. His latest book is All That We See or Seem, a techno-thriller starring an AI-whispering hacker who saves the world.
He’s often involved in media adaptations of his work. Recent projects include “The Regular,” under development as a TV series; “Good Hunting,” adapted as an episode in season one of Netflix’s breakout adult animated series Love, Death + Robots; and AMC’s Pantheon, with Craig Silverstein as executive producer, adapted from an interconnected series of Liu’s short stories.
Prior to becoming a full-time writer, Liu worked as a software engineer, corporate lawyer, and litigation consultant. He frequently speaks at conferences and universities on a variety of topics, including futurism, machine-augmented creativity, history of technology, bookmaking, and the mathematics of origami.
In addition to his original fiction, Liu also occasionally publishes literary translations. His most recent work of translation is a new rendition of Laozi’s Dao De Jing.
Liu lives with his family near Boston, Massachusetts.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
January 14, 2017
I have wanted to read some of Ken Liu’s work for a while, having heard a lot of good about him. I grok Tor.com, being the coolest thing since the ansible, and so I was able to find his 2014 short story “Reborn”, a part of “The Anderson Project” series of stories.
Being inspired by an illustration from artist Richard Anderson, this is also similar in theme and design to the 1988 film Alien Nation directed by Graham Baker and starring James Caan and Mandy Patinkin.
Liu goes one step further though as the aliens are in control and humans get to live and work beside the conquerors. Liu throws in some more very surprising and entertaining twists to this idea and his story flows along some unexpected paths.
Entertaining and thought provoking this will not be my only visit with Ken Liu’s writing.
Being inspired by an illustration from artist Richard Anderson, this is also similar in theme and design to the 1988 film Alien Nation directed by Graham Baker and starring James Caan and Mandy Patinkin.
Liu goes one step further though as the aliens are in control and humans get to live and work beside the conquerors. Liu throws in some more very surprising and entertaining twists to this idea and his story flows along some unexpected paths.
Entertaining and thought provoking this will not be my only visit with Ken Liu’s writing.
April 7, 2020
A classic alien abduction story complete with memory alteration set a against a police procedural plot. Loved the twist at the end ;) can't wait to read the next 2 installations!
July 28, 2016
Racconto che parla di memoria. Per Ken Liu essa è parte essenziale della nostra identità. Rimuovendone una zona, diventiamo persone diverse; eppure, nulla si può mai sovrascrivere davvero. La memoria è lì da qualche parte. Allora, chi siamo noi?
Leggermente straniante che, in questa storia, gli "xenofobi" siano i buoni. La questione di fondo mi ha fatto pensare a una metafora sulle generazioni che discendono dagli oppressori − nazisti, guerrafondai o colonialisti che siano −, intere società che vivono sulla conseguenza delle colpe terribili dei padri, ma senza pensarsi responsabili: hanno ragione, o hanno torto? Forse c'è questo di disturbante, in Rinascita: Ken Liu li dipinge nel torto brutale, ma in fondo quegli alieni siamo noi.
Leggermente straniante che, in questa storia, gli "xenofobi" siano i buoni. La questione di fondo mi ha fatto pensare a una metafora sulle generazioni che discendono dagli oppressori − nazisti, guerrafondai o colonialisti che siano −, intere società che vivono sulla conseguenza delle colpe terribili dei padri, ma senza pensarsi responsabili: hanno ragione, o hanno torto? Forse c'è questo di disturbante, in Rinascita: Ken Liu li dipinge nel torto brutale, ma in fondo quegli alieni siamo noi.
March 24, 2016
First story in this project, based on Richard Anderson’s illustration, it’s an outstanding complex story about who we are, about the memories which define us as unique individuals.
Some questions are being raised: can we still be ourselves if our memories, being them good or bad, are lost? Are we defined by our memories? And the most controversial one: if memories of an evil deed are erased, will that person become innocent?
It can be read here: http://www.tor.com/2014/01/29/reborn-...
Some questions are being raised: can we still be ourselves if our memories, being them good or bad, are lost? Are we defined by our memories? And the most controversial one: if memories of an evil deed are erased, will that person become innocent?
It can be read here: http://www.tor.com/2014/01/29/reborn-...
April 13, 2016
What defines a person’s nature/true self? His/her memories, his/her actions? If your memories would be taken away, would you be a completely different person? Can a bad person - a criminal - be absolved of evil by erasing the bad memories?
Very interesting story!
p.s. It got me thinking a little about Bester’s The Demolished Man
As a general conclusion, excellent short stories in this project, BRAVO!
Made me curious to also check the ones in Palencar :)
"You humans think you are what you've done. But you're really what you remember."
Very interesting story!
p.s. It got me thinking a little about Bester’s The Demolished Man
As a general conclusion, excellent short stories in this project, BRAVO!
Made me curious to also check the ones in Palencar :)
January 22, 2019
Gracias a Marcheto podemos leer en su blog este relato de Ken Liu traducido al español. Es un relato muy interesante que, tomando una ilustración como referencia, crea una historia psicológica donde una civilización alienígena ha tomado el control de los humanos.
Por cierto, gran labor de Marcheto traduciendo esta raza al género neutro.
Por cierto, gran labor de Marcheto traduciendo esta raza al género neutro.
February 13, 2014
"Just because something is true doesn't mean you stopped struggling."
A very short tale of--well, rebirth. "You humans think you are what you've done. But you're really what you remember." Compact. Well-told. Soft extraterrestrial porn. Ewww. Layers within layers.
"To forget is a far greater sin than to remember too well."
I liked it.
A very short tale of--well, rebirth. "You humans think you are what you've done. But you're really what you remember." Compact. Well-told. Soft extraterrestrial porn. Ewww. Layers within layers.
"To forget is a far greater sin than to remember too well."
I liked it.
September 26, 2021
A tale of brutal conquerors remade into beneficent leaders through the power of forgetting. It’s a skill they forcefully share to remake a better world, but humans find memories, especially painful memories, hard to let go. All in all, it was an excellent episode of The Outer Limits.
September 26, 2018
Excellent SF, with a strong atmosphere and an impressive manner to tell things without saying them. The story in itself is quite sad, desperate even, but not gratuitously: behind the SF themes, other ones are broached with a lot a sensibility : sexual and psychological abuses, identity and memory, what is worth to die for. An unforgettable read for me.
June 22, 2015
I love reading Ken Liu. He is an amazing short story writer. You always finish wishing for more because it was written so well, but you never finish feeling like you missed out on something.
In this version of Earth, we have been visited by aliens who have the ability to erase your memories, even very specific ones.
It was fun to read and I recommend it for any science fiction/alien readers out there.
In this version of Earth, we have been visited by aliens who have the ability to erase your memories, even very specific ones.
It was fun to read and I recommend it for any science fiction/alien readers out there.
January 2, 2017
Ken Liu is a master of the short story, and this is yet another example of why. The plot twist was telegraphed early on, but I don't hold it against him because the rest of the story is so well written and well executed. I would love to see him write a full novel set in the world this story was set in. 5/5.
October 24, 2018
Eh. An uneasy mix of alien abduction, terrorism, police-procedural, and soft porn. Didn't work for me. DNF.
April 1, 2022
This was a gritty, ruthless exploration of being conquered, loss, deprivation, and the hope of vengeance. Equally terrifying and satisfying, this one would be remembered by me for a long time.
Recommended.
Recommended.
November 24, 2018
Me alegra ver que es el primero de una serie porque la historia da para mucho.
April 4, 2020
Recensione pubblicata su Cronache di Betelgeuse
I ricordi custoditi nella nostra mente sono una parte importante della nostra personalità. Pensare che esista una tecnologia in grado di tagliare una parte di noi, per plasmarci in qualcosa di diverso e più malleabile è tremendo.
Però è quello che succede nel libro con l’arrivo dei Tawnin, alieni in apparenza pacifici, è a dir poco sconcertante. Grazie alla potenza della tecnologia i Tawnin riescono in poco tempo a conquistare gran parte del pianeta. L’unica forma di resistenza viene spazzata via pian piano grazie alla rimozione dei ricordi. Se con un lento processo è possibile rimuovere tutto il tuo passato, sostituendolo con memorie false, per cosa devi lottare?
Josh, l’umano protagonista del libro, si è sottoposto in passato al trattamento della “Rinascita”. Condivide la sua vita con il compagno Tawnin Kay, che è sempre al suo fianco. Per buona parte del racconto ci sembra una relazione amorevole, in cui i due individui si adorano e non si capisce quale motivo i ribelli abbiano per continuare a combattere.
Il punto di svolta però ci fa leggere la vicenda con un occhio più critico. Essere privato di una parte importante di sé stessi è veramente una rinuncia liberatoria o un’imposizione dittatoriale?
I ricordi custoditi nella nostra mente sono una parte importante della nostra personalità. Pensare che esista una tecnologia in grado di tagliare una parte di noi, per plasmarci in qualcosa di diverso e più malleabile è tremendo.
Però è quello che succede nel libro con l’arrivo dei Tawnin, alieni in apparenza pacifici, è a dir poco sconcertante. Grazie alla potenza della tecnologia i Tawnin riescono in poco tempo a conquistare gran parte del pianeta. L’unica forma di resistenza viene spazzata via pian piano grazie alla rimozione dei ricordi. Se con un lento processo è possibile rimuovere tutto il tuo passato, sostituendolo con memorie false, per cosa devi lottare?
Josh, l’umano protagonista del libro, si è sottoposto in passato al trattamento della “Rinascita”. Condivide la sua vita con il compagno Tawnin Kay, che è sempre al suo fianco. Per buona parte del racconto ci sembra una relazione amorevole, in cui i due individui si adorano e non si capisce quale motivo i ribelli abbiano per continuare a combattere.
Il punto di svolta però ci fa leggere la vicenda con un occhio più critico. Essere privato di una parte importante di sé stessi è veramente una rinuncia liberatoria o un’imposizione dittatoriale?
April 19, 2016
A fantastic exploration of humanity where Ken Liu takes the dialogue to a darker side that is vaguely reflective of humanity's own collective ignorance.
In a world that is invaded and now occupied by aliens, an odd peace is achieved after the aliens thrashed humanity and collectively forgot about it as a part of their natural growth. Similar technique is used on humans and these humans are called "Reborn". As is the natural order of things, with change comes resistance. Very early in the story Liu gives up all the charades of this short story being a hero vs. villain argument, and plunges right into a conversations that we, as readers, have all had at one or the point in our lives: what makes us humans? Is it our memories, our dreams, our hopes, our relations, our emotions, our feelings?
As the story unfolds, Liu stops holding hands and dumps us right into meaty part of the story. The subject matter has a refreshing twist and the story in itself is a wonderful read.
In a world that is invaded and now occupied by aliens, an odd peace is achieved after the aliens thrashed humanity and collectively forgot about it as a part of their natural growth. Similar technique is used on humans and these humans are called "Reborn". As is the natural order of things, with change comes resistance. Very early in the story Liu gives up all the charades of this short story being a hero vs. villain argument, and plunges right into a conversations that we, as readers, have all had at one or the point in our lives: what makes us humans? Is it our memories, our dreams, our hopes, our relations, our emotions, our feelings?
As the story unfolds, Liu stops holding hands and dumps us right into meaty part of the story. The subject matter has a refreshing twist and the story in itself is a wonderful read.
December 26, 2015
The story argues that everything is contextual, for example, personality.
Can one person bear a responsibility for a crime of one of his personalities? And what if some of the memories are erased or forgotten?
An interesting, philosophical story.
"The unified individual is a fallacy of traditional human philosophy. It is, in fact, the foundation of many unenlightened, old customs. A criminal, for example, is but one person inhabiting a shared body with many others. A man who murders may still be a good father, husband, brother, son, and he is a different man when he plots death than when he bathes his daughter, kisses his wife, comforts his sister, and cares for his mother.”
Can one person bear a responsibility for a crime of one of his personalities? And what if some of the memories are erased or forgotten?
An interesting, philosophical story.
March 19, 2015
Eh. I liked some of the story: the layers upon layers in a very small space, the mystery unravelling as you read, but there were just so many other parts that distracted. Some of it felt forced and other parts rushed. Not my favorite.
December 19, 2021
The most mind-blowing short story I have read this year, about the importance of memory and history in reckoning with ourselves as human beings, and the equally human impulse to surpress tragic memories and rewrite our histories.
Ken Liu confronts these themes directly by creating an alien race biologically compelled to shed their memories like layers of skin. They can do the same for human beings, and we have adopted their justice system, in which a whole person is never punished, only their worst thoughts, memories, and criminal impulses are excised. Most people have adapted to a peaceful co-existence with the aliens and adopted their method of forgetting, while those who oppose this lifestyle are labeled as xenophobes.
Joshua Rennon is a police officer assigned to a division that protects aliens, among them his spouse, from xenophobes. Two months previously, Joshua himself was reborn after doing something horrible, now completely excised from his memory. Or was it? While investigating a terrorist attack, he is troubled by jumbled flashbacks that point to forgotten traumas in his past.
Ken Liu expertly telegraphs his shattering twist in a way that keeps you breathlessly reading, because you vaguely know what's coming but don't know HOW or WHY it will occur.
The story strongly resonates with current debates over race relations, with some demanding an honest, clear-eyed reckoning with our racist past, while others claim it has no relevance in what they perceive as a colorblind society.
Ken Liu confronts these themes directly by creating an alien race biologically compelled to shed their memories like layers of skin. They can do the same for human beings, and we have adopted their justice system, in which a whole person is never punished, only their worst thoughts, memories, and criminal impulses are excised. Most people have adapted to a peaceful co-existence with the aliens and adopted their method of forgetting, while those who oppose this lifestyle are labeled as xenophobes.
Joshua Rennon is a police officer assigned to a division that protects aliens, among them his spouse, from xenophobes. Two months previously, Joshua himself was reborn after doing something horrible, now completely excised from his memory. Or was it? While investigating a terrorist attack, he is troubled by jumbled flashbacks that point to forgotten traumas in his past.
Ken Liu expertly telegraphs his shattering twist in a way that keeps you breathlessly reading, because you vaguely know what's coming but don't know HOW or WHY it will occur.
The story strongly resonates with current debates over race relations, with some demanding an honest, clear-eyed reckoning with our racist past, while others claim it has no relevance in what they perceive as a colorblind society.
May 13, 2020
"Reborn" is an alien-occupation thriller that brings together themes of colonization, identity, criminal justice, and power. As a metaphor on these themes, it's excellent: provocative, unsettling, and without easy answers. But as a science fiction exploration of a concept--in this case, an alien species who reject the idea that the self is continuous, and the present-self is culpable for things the past-self did--it leaves a lot of territory unexplored. This is a novelette, or a short story, so the scope of such an ambitious idea was bound to be limited.
It is probably best viewed through the lens of a colonial court, where the alien occupiers are trying to bring a more enlightened vision of justice to the colonized humans. Can a benevolent intent overcome the power dynamic? Is "benevolence" even valid when the cultures are so different? What's the difference between "sins of the ancestors" and "sins of the individual" when the individual still derives benefit from the actions of the ancestors? And can that same calculus be used when the person you were is compared to the person you are?
It is probably best viewed through the lens of a colonial court, where the alien occupiers are trying to bring a more enlightened vision of justice to the colonized humans. Can a benevolent intent overcome the power dynamic? Is "benevolence" even valid when the cultures are so different? What's the difference between "sins of the ancestors" and "sins of the individual" when the individual still derives benefit from the actions of the ancestors? And can that same calculus be used when the person you were is compared to the person you are?
December 12, 2018
Cuento publicado en Tor.com como parte de The Anderson Project, en el que diversos autores escribieron cuentos inspirándose en la ilustración de Richard Anderson. De todos los presentados publicaron 3, uno este de Ken Liu.
Yo he leído la traducción al español de cuentos para Algernon.
Me gusta mucho el juego entre personalidades múltiples, y como invitado a reflexionar sobre la importancia de los recuerdos. ¿Somos lo que recordamos?
Extraterrestres, policías y un futuro desarrollado en unas pocas páginas.
Yo he leído la traducción al español de cuentos para Algernon.
Me gusta mucho el juego entre personalidades múltiples, y como invitado a reflexionar sobre la importancia de los recuerdos. ¿Somos lo que recordamos?
Extraterrestres, policías y un futuro desarrollado en unas pocas páginas.
March 7, 2020
I read so many free short stories on tor.com recently and this is one of the outstanding ones, in my opinion at least. Although it reminds me of some movies I have seen in the past but I never get bored of this type of stories. the one the narrator is not that credible and everything that is being narrated is questionable.
June 10, 2017
Excellent! A number of interesting ideas about memory and identity explored in a short, if rather baroque alien conquest story.
March 3, 2018
Fascinating novelette which I much enjoyed.
July 17, 2016
Une vision assez terrifiante de la cohabitation avec une espèce extra terrestre qui n'exclue pas la violence mais s'exonère de sa responsabilité par un moyen particulier
Après Brisk Money ; une autre façon d'envisager l'influence des souvenirs conscients et inconscients sur notre comportement
Une question reste sans réponse : qu'est ce qui a amené ces extra terrestres sur Terre et pourquoi rester et partager avec les hommes ?
Je dirai que j'ai noté très sévèrement cette nouvelle (plutôt 2.5 *) mais j'avoue que tout au long de la lecture je me suis dit avoir lu ou vu partiellement ailleurs la plupart des évènements L'astuce de Ken Liu c'est d'avoir condensé tous ces thèmes en une nouvelle dense et bien construite
A rather terrifying vision of a cohabitation with a ET specie which does not excluded extreme violence but exempts itself from its responsibility
After Brisk Money; another way of envisaging the influence of the aware and unconscious memories on our behaviour A question stays without answer: what brought these ET on Earth and why do they stay and share with men ?
I shall say that I noted very severely this short story but I confess that throughout the reading I said to myself that I have read or saw partially somewhere else most of the events The trick(cleverness) of Ken Liu it is to have condensed all these topics in a well built short story but not, for me, a very original one
Après Brisk Money ; une autre façon d'envisager l'influence des souvenirs conscients et inconscients sur notre comportement
Une question reste sans réponse : qu'est ce qui a amené ces extra terrestres sur Terre et pourquoi rester et partager avec les hommes ?
Je dirai que j'ai noté très sévèrement cette nouvelle (plutôt 2.5 *) mais j'avoue que tout au long de la lecture je me suis dit avoir lu ou vu partiellement ailleurs la plupart des évènements L'astuce de Ken Liu c'est d'avoir condensé tous ces thèmes en une nouvelle dense et bien construite
A rather terrifying vision of a cohabitation with a ET specie which does not excluded extreme violence but exempts itself from its responsibility
After Brisk Money; another way of envisaging the influence of the aware and unconscious memories on our behaviour A question stays without answer: what brought these ET on Earth and why do they stay and share with men ?
I shall say that I noted very severely this short story but I confess that throughout the reading I said to myself that I have read or saw partially somewhere else most of the events The trick(cleverness) of Ken Liu it is to have condensed all these topics in a well built short story but not, for me, a very original one
December 25, 2015
This story had quite a bit going for it.
It delves into the compartmentalization of self, and the effect our past has on our present. The plot covers a crime scene investigation that leads to forgotten memories, and a rebellion. There's also aliens and tentacle sex, but that's not the major focus of the story.
I just...this one's me, not the story. I'm sorry, story, but I just couldn't take you seriously.
See, the aliens don't have human genders. They aren't male or female by nature, and as such they are referred to as "thir" and "thie".
And so help me, all I could think of was Yivo from the Futurama movie, The Beast with a Billion Backs.
"Well, I went to another Universe and fell in love with a giant octopus; and now I'm Pope of a new religion."
It's hard to take a story seriously when all your brain does is quote Futurama at you. >__>
It delves into the compartmentalization of self, and the effect our past has on our present. The plot covers a crime scene investigation that leads to forgotten memories, and a rebellion. There's also aliens and tentacle sex, but that's not the major focus of the story.
I just...this one's me, not the story. I'm sorry, story, but I just couldn't take you seriously.
See, the aliens don't have human genders. They aren't male or female by nature, and as such they are referred to as "thir" and "thie".
And so help me, all I could think of was Yivo from the Futurama movie, The Beast with a Billion Backs.
"Well, I went to another Universe and fell in love with a giant octopus; and now I'm Pope of a new religion."
It's hard to take a story seriously when all your brain does is quote Futurama at you. >__>
December 24, 2024
So I know I might sound repetitive, but I am in awe of Ken Liu as a storyteller.
Only he can weave such a powerful short story around memories, identity, resistance, and revolution.
This short story, 'Reborn,' set against the backdrop of an alien invasion, raises many philosophical questions about how humans are the sum of their memories.
It gives us a glimpse of what might happen if we—or aliens—somehow find a way to erase these memories and be reborn.
A key thematic point revolves around how memory shapes our identity and the ethical dilemmas surrounding the alteration or erasure of it.
Only he can weave such a powerful short story around memories, identity, resistance, and revolution.
This short story, 'Reborn,' set against the backdrop of an alien invasion, raises many philosophical questions about how humans are the sum of their memories.
It gives us a glimpse of what might happen if we—or aliens—somehow find a way to erase these memories and be reborn.
A key thematic point revolves around how memory shapes our identity and the ethical dilemmas surrounding the alteration or erasure of it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews