Ascending - James Alan Gardner [0]
ASCENDING
This one is to all the gang
from Clarion West ’89:
I’m a lousy correspondent,
but I still remember.
CONTENTS
A WORD ABOUT OAR
1 WHEREIN I AM NOT DEAD AFTER ALL
2 WHEREIN I BECOME AN IMPORTANT WITNESS
3 WHEREIN I AM SWALLOWED BY A LARGE CREATURE
4 WHEREIN I TERRIFY A GIANT
5 WHEREIN I BECOME A STAR PILOT
6 WHEREIN I DEFEAT THE ENTIRE HUMAN NAVY
7 WHEREIN I AM OFFERED A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL
8 WHEREIN I CANNOT FIND A GOOD PLACE TO BE
9 WHEREIN I LEARN ABOUT OUR ENEMIES
10 WHEREIN I EXPERIENCE GREAT FRUSTRATION
11 WHEREIN I MAKE FIRST CONTACT WITH THE HUMAN RACE
12 WHEREIN I GATHER CRUCIAL INFORMATION
13 WHEREIN I AM THOROUGHLY EXAMINED
14 WHEREIN I PREPARE FOR FAME
15 WHEREIN I TAKE CHARGE OF OPENING DOORS
16 WHEREIN I ACQUIRE NEW FAMILY
17 WHEREIN I AM SWALLOWED BY DARKNESS
18 WHEREIN I AM BRIEFLY UNCONSCIOUS
19 WHEREIN I ENCOUNTER MORE ALIENS…AND THEY ARE NOT NICE
20 WHEREIN I FEEL SORRY FOR FISH
21 WHEREIN I MAKE A VAIN ATTEMPT TO BECOME A RECORDING STAR
22 WHEREIN I BATTLE THE ENEMY WITH PRECIOUS METALS
23 WHEREIN I CONFRONT UNPLEASANT TRUTHS
24 WHEREIN I EXPLORE THE ENEMY’S LAIR
25 WHEREIN I FACE THE FOE
26 WHEREIN I FACE THE GREATEST RISK OF ALL
EPILOGUE: BECAUSE I HAVE ALWAYS WISHED TO COMPOSE ONE
EOS SPOTLIGHT
JAMES ALAN GARDNER
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
PRAISE
OTHER BOOKS BY JAMES ALAN GARDNER
COPYRIGHT
ABOUT THE PUBLISHER
A WORD ABOUT OAR
Oar, the narrator of this story, first appeared in the novel Expendable. At the end of that book, she was left for dead after she grabbed an enemy and plunged with him from a window on the eightieth floor of a building.
To human eyes, Oar is as clear and transparent as glass. Although she actually has bones, muscles, and an assortment of internal organs, these were bioengineered to be indiscernible when humans look through her skin.
Oar’s ancestors were humans themselves, born on Earth around 2000 b.c. At that time, a collection of Homo sapiens were removed by aliens to the planet Melaquin, where the aliens gave these people a new home. The aliens didn’t explain why they did this, but they built the humans beautiful glass cities with self-repairing robotic systems designed to provide all the comforts of life.
The aliens gave these humans one additional gift: the people’s children were born as strong, intelligent glasslike humanoids who never grew old or sick, and who were tough enough to withstand damage that would kill normal flesh and blood. Only later did it become apparent that these glass offspring had a flaw: although their bodies could survive for millennia, their minds were not so long-lasting. Around the age of fifty, these people succumbed to so-called “Tired Brains”—they lost interest in all aspects of existence, often just lying down and never bothering to get up again. They could still stir themselves if something remarkable happened, but for the most part, they remained catatonic down through the centuries.
Glass parents continued to have glass children, but in decreasing numbers. The population declined in cities, towns, and villages all over Melaquin—gradual extinction from pure ennui. By the time of the events in Expendable (the Earth year 2452 A.D.), almost the entire species had fallen into apathetic hibernation. Only a few were still young enough to have active brains.
In Expendable, Oar was forty-five…on the verge of her race’s customary “senility.”
Now she’s four years older.
1
WHEREIN I AM NOT DEAD AFTER ALL
My Story
This is my story, the Story of Oar. It is a wonderful story. I was in another story once, but it was not so wonderful, as I died in the end. That was very most sad indeed. But it turns out I am not such a one as stays dead forever, especially when I only fell eighty floors to the pavement. I am made of sterner stuff than that.
Actually, I am made of glass: clear, see-through glass. I am therefore extremely beautiful…more beautiful than you, but you should not feel bad about that, because you cannot help being opaque. People who are