When We Fall

by Kameron Hurley

A fine foundling mechanic who meets a warship. What could possibly go wrong?

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories

16 pages, ebook

First published September 30, 2017

About the author

Kameron Hurley is the author of the upcoming science ficition thriller These Savage Stars (2026), The Light Brigade, and The Stars are Legion, as well as the award-winning God’s War Trilogy and The Worldbreaker Saga. Hurley has won the Hugo Award, Locus Award, Kitschy Award, and Sydney J. Bounds Award for Best Newcomer. She was a finalist for the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the Nebula Award, and the Gemmell Morningstar Award. Her short fiction has appeared in Popular Science Magazine, Lightspeed and numerous anthologies, and appears in two collections: Future Artifacts and Meet Me in the Future. Hurley has also written for The Atlantic, Writers Digest, Entertainment Weekly, The Village Voice, LA Weekly, Bitch Magazine, and Locus Magazine. Her most popular essays, including the viral hit "We Have Always Fought" are collected in The Geek Feminist Revolution. She posts regularly at KameronHurley.com. Get a short story from Kameron each month via: patreon.com/kameronhurley

Reviews

[Netanella · Rating 3 out of 5]

A strange short story about a mechanic who gets smooshed between the ship she's working on and a warship that falls down on top of her from the deck above. In the ensuing hours it takes for rescue to arrive, she bonds with the warship's AI. Very strange and very surreal, but I liked it.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Nothing logical or sane about life. We have only this, each other.”

A sensitive, introspective story about a spacer injured on the job. The stranger who talks her through the wait for rescue is a bit … different. Cool.

“We understood each other as only two people alone on the edge of annihilation can.”

Great voice and storytelling; the mechanics were a bit rough.

“You’re not real.” “I’m not human. I am very real.”

[Jon]

Listened via Escape Pod episode 611