Story of Your Life

Story of Your Life

Infobox short story
name = Story of Your Life
author = Ted Chiang
language = English
genre = Science fiction novella
published_in = Starlight 2
pub_date = 1998

"Story of Your Life" is a science fiction novella by Ted Chiang. It was the winner of the 2000 Nebula Award for Best Novella as well as the 1999 Sturgeon award. [ [http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/NomLit27.html#915-1998 LOCUS Index to SF Awards] ] The major themes explored by this tale are determinism, language and an interesting take on the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis.

Plot summary

Dr. Louise Banks is enlisted by the military to communicate with a race of radially-symmetrical aliens who initiated first contact with humanity. Woven through the story are remembrances of her daughter.

The heptapods have two distinct forms of language.Heptapod A is their spoken language which is described as having free word order and many levels of center-embedded clauses. Understanding Heptapod B, the written language of the aliens, is central to the plot.Unlike its spoken counterpart, Heptapod B has such complex structure that a single cannot be excluded without changing the entire meaning of a sentence. When writing in Heptapod B the writer knows how the sentence will end. The phenomenon of Heptapod B is explained by the alien's understanding of mathematics and Fermat's Theory of Least Time.Dr. Banks's understanding of the heptapods' writing system affects the way she perceives time and suggests a deterministic universe where free will is exercised by "not" affecting the outcome of events.

Awards

* Winner of the 2000 Nebula for Best Novella
* Winner of the 1999 Sturgeon award
* Short listed for the 1999 Tiptree award
* Ranked 10th on the 1999 Locus poll for best novella
* Nominated for the 1999 Hugo Award for Best Novella
* Nominated for the 1999 HOMer award for best novella

Footnotes

External links

* [http://bestsciencefictionstories.com/2008/03/12/story-of-your-life-by-ted-chiang/ Story of Your Life at BestScienceFictionStories.com] - short story reviews and resources.


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