Kimberly T’s Reviews > Stories of Your Life and Others > Status Update

“I concede his greater ingenuity. It bodes well for his endeavour. Pragmatism avails a saviour far more than aestheticism.

I wonder what he intends to do after he’s saved the world.”

That was sick!

“Reynolds plans to save the world, to protect it from itself. And his opinion of me is therefore unfavourable. I’ve shown no interest in the affairs of the external world and made interrogations for aiding the normals. Neither of us will be able to convert the other.”

Leon wants mind-computer links! Yikes.

What can’t I do?

(Did not expect this.. There’s another superhuman. Reynolds. Uh oh!)

This little episode has reinforced my opinion of the affairs of the world; I could detect clandestine plots everywhere.. but none of them would be interesting. I shall resume my studies.

(Nice, Leon’s uncovered that the CIA director let a bombing happen to have power and control over the CIA. And that’s blackmail! Kinda sucks he doesn’t care about humanity anymore though. Like individual people.)

The fastest way for me to make money is, oddly enough, gambling.

(Leon is now on the lam! What will become of him??)

It’s likely the CIA will wish to retain me as a subject…after that, they’ll get some volunteers from their ranks, starve their brains of oxygen, and treat them with hormone K. I certainly don’t wish to become a CIA resource…the best I can do is to downplay my skills and get this question wrong.

(Fuck the military industry btw lol. I forgot they’d want Leon.)

“Penetrating computer security is really quite dull; I can see how it might attract those who can’t resist a challenge to their cleverness, but it’s not intellectually aesthetic at all.”

Ooookay my guy. Look at all your neurons.

The earth is a CYLINDER???? He popped out on THE GROUND after being in the SKY? I forgot this was a time where we didn’t know the earth has another dimension / is round etc. this was a cool short story! I’m in, Ted Chiang, I am in.

“Yahweh had not asked men to build the tower or pierce the vault; the decision to build it belonged to men alone, and they would die in this endeavour just as they did in any of their earthbound tasks. Their righteousness could not save them from the consequences of their own deeds.”

Oh shit.

Wait now they’re on the level of the sun, and also the stars. Where’s the atmosphere???

“Now light of the day shone upward, which seemed unnatural to the utmost… the plant grew sideways and downward, bending to catch the sun’s rays.”