Thanks for the nice comments. I had to stick to the prompt and wrap everything in a short story. I think I will visit this post-climate change world in the future to find out more about what happened during the change and how do the survivors (who have apparently centralised in the big cities, with possible population decline?) cope with all the changes.
It took me a long while to clock the post-climate apocalypse properly, because it feels as though we’re so close to that scenario in reality. It is incredibly believable. I thought the whole feel of the piece really reflected that distopia well, a kind of awkwardness as humans feel their way in a brave new world. I loved the ‘I’m off to Mars’ gut punch at the end. I like the uncomfortable ending.
I like the way you provide all the information within a single scene. The rift between the couple is understandable, but I did not see the Martian assignment coming! I thought when he met his granddaughter he might quit the job. Perhaps in this scenario that's not an option. Heartbreaking to meet them and leave again.
It is in his nature to go and discover new places and new lives, so what is a greater challenge... This is of course in the same universe as the story I wrote for last year's SWDS. Namely a post-climate disaster world with humans slowly reaching out from their cities where they spent the bad-weather years crowding together in a centralised location. The - unstated - assumption is that they decided to speed up colonisation so as not to go through the same exploitation pattern on Earth. Glad you liked the story and thanks for the comments.
I read only a little of the first SWDS series back in the height of the academic year. It's dizzying to think that a speculative future is less speculative every year. You do convey toward the end of the story the character's sense of mission to serve humanity rather than personal interests. That would be an excruciating choice.
Thanks for the nice comments. I had to stick to the prompt and wrap everything in a short story. I think I will visit this post-climate change world in the future to find out more about what happened during the change and how do the survivors (who have apparently centralised in the big cities, with possible population decline?) cope with all the changes.
It took me a long while to clock the post-climate apocalypse properly, because it feels as though we’re so close to that scenario in reality. It is incredibly believable. I thought the whole feel of the piece really reflected that distopia well, a kind of awkwardness as humans feel their way in a brave new world. I loved the ‘I’m off to Mars’ gut punch at the end. I like the uncomfortable ending.
I like the way you provide all the information within a single scene. The rift between the couple is understandable, but I did not see the Martian assignment coming! I thought when he met his granddaughter he might quit the job. Perhaps in this scenario that's not an option. Heartbreaking to meet them and leave again.
It is in his nature to go and discover new places and new lives, so what is a greater challenge... This is of course in the same universe as the story I wrote for last year's SWDS. Namely a post-climate disaster world with humans slowly reaching out from their cities where they spent the bad-weather years crowding together in a centralised location. The - unstated - assumption is that they decided to speed up colonisation so as not to go through the same exploitation pattern on Earth. Glad you liked the story and thanks for the comments.
I read only a little of the first SWDS series back in the height of the academic year. It's dizzying to think that a speculative future is less speculative every year. You do convey toward the end of the story the character's sense of mission to serve humanity rather than personal interests. That would be an excruciating choice.