Science Fiction: The Short Stuff discussion

What SF works of 39,999 words or less do you think the group might enjoy the most? Please feel free to nominate one, or perhaps even two, for November. Please nominate by October 15. I want to run the polls mid-month. Thanks!

For my first nomination I choose Lost Legacy by Robert A. Heinlein. This is not the best known of Heinlein's 56 short stories (59 if you add in the three Heinlein didn't want to take credit for--long story). However, the synopsis of this time travel story fascinates me, and it does feature a character named Ambrose Bierce, an author I have been reading recently.

Unfortunately, there is only one way I am aware of to acquire this story, and that is by buying a paper copy of the Heinlein collection that features it. The story is not available via eBook, to my knowledge. And the text can't be found anywhere over the Internet. Heinlein's estate has made certain of that, which, of course, they have every right to do.

The good news is that Heinlein's story collection is super cheap via the used book market. Copies for under $6, including tax and shipping, are ubiquitous. It's not even that expensive if you want to contribute to the Heinlein estate by purchasing a new copy. The collection is Assignment in Eternity. Contained within are two novellas, of which "Lost Legacy" is one, and two novelettes.

My second nomination is Né łe! by Darcie Little Badger, a short story (5,166 words) that is not difficult to acquire. The main characters are a Navajo interplanetary ship's captain and a Lipan Apache veterinarian accompanying 40 chihuahuas on their way to forever homes on Mars.

The author has been publishing since 2014. Her first two (of three so far) novels won awards. If this short story, an example of indigenous futurism (see the Wikipedia article for more information) has won awards, I could not find a reference. The Science Fiction Encyclopedia has a really good entry on this author, which I hope explains why I think her work worth our attention: https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/lit....

The text of the story is free at Darcie Little Badger's website. So you could copy and paste it, email it to your Kindle email address, or just read it there. It's also available in an eBook (or paper) anthology that may be of interest for its other stories too: Love Beyond Body, Space & Time: An Indigenous LGBT Sci-Fi Anthology. The other really interesting anthology with more famous authors and containing this story is Far Out.

I'll nominate By the Waters of Babylon by Stephen Vincent Benét.

Rosemarie wrote: "I'll nominate By the Waters of Babylon by Stephen Vincent Benét."

Another classical suggestion. I love it!

I will only be taking nominations for two more days, through October 15.