To Be Taught, If Fortunate

by Becky Chambers

A nicely written story about four astronauts (Ariadne, Chikondi, Elena and Jack) sent on a crowdfunded mission to explore four distant planets that are believed to be capable of sustaining life.

The journey is made possible through the use of a technology called torpor, which puts the astronauts into suspended animation. Once on the planets they are able to explore them thanks to another technology called somaforming which adapts the human body to the local environment.

They encounter four very different planets harbouring different types of life. Aecor is an ice world where they discover life underneath the ice. Mirabilis is abundant in colourful animal life. Opera is a waterworld on which they are unable to exit their lander due to squid like creatures covering the outside of the hull. Finally, Votum is a desert world, but with water and microbial life.

On that last planet they make one break through discovery. Unfortunately by then they have lost touch with Earth, having not received a message from them for many years. After sending their final report back to Earth, they enter torpor awaiting instructions. If they don't receive the instructions from Earth, they will remain in torpor forever, or until their spacecraft starts to malfunction.

All in all this was a very nicely written story, with lots of details to think about, such as what happens when you awake from torpor and that you might want some privacy at that point!

From 18.03.2026 to 25.03.2026