by David Brin
Pavlos looked at her. Somehow she had made her appearance softer. She must have taken the time to comb and braid her hair properly. In her hand, the basket throbbed with the healthy kicking of a hundred thousand newly sparked, undyed threads. She cradled the basket, smiling happily.
"Why that day, in particular?" Pavlos asked.
Her smile widened.
"Because today's events made it clear to me that the One still exists, and has finally intervened again. I decided, therefore, to make peace.
"On that day, an emissary will come through the Gateway. It will be only for a visit," she soothed. "So you needn't fear any more meddling.
"I merely want you here so that Prometheus can see how big, strong, and handsome his many times grandson has grown.
Pavlos was astonished to find himself blushing. He looked down at his feet while, a few meters away, Lachesis worked her pedals and wove her bobbins. The fresh air carried sounds of a new pattern forming.
THE END
AUTHOR'S NOTES
My short stories tend to be very unlike my novellas, which, in turn, have a different flavor than my long, generally complex novels.
The short pieces -- when they are not Analog tales about technical gimmickry -- are often attempts to express an epiphany... a hanging note that rings in the reader's mind after the story is put down, resonating in the sound of the language itself. Bradbury does this so very well. James Joyce was a great master. I dare try my hand at their art without needing to believe I can ever match them.
The novelette (7,500 to 17,500 words) and the novella (17,500 to 40,000 words) fill the span between short works of fiction and novels, a treasured zone allowing richer expression of character and setting without requiring the vast complexity or filler material of a novel. I love the novella form.
My novellas tend to deal with myth, or contain mythic elements. This is not hard to see in "The Loom of Thessaly," but it was also true for the first two portions of my book, The Postman, which appeared as separate novellas in Asimov's SF Magazine, in 1982 and 1984. Comprising together the first half of the novel, they are the reason why The Postman has a more mythic tone than my other full-length works.
If science fiction has been kind to the short story, it has saved the novella. The vast majority of the tales of this length professionally published in the U.S. appear in the SF magazines and anthologies.
"The Loom of Thessaly" has always been one of my favorite pieces -- despite the horrible pun that it features, near the end. I am one of those who believe that there is such a thing as progress... that we are slowly getting better. One way we do this is by sympathizing with those who lived in the past, who struggled in almost total darkness toward the dim glow of dawn, to bring us where we are.
About the Author
David Brin is a physicist, futurist, and science fiction author. His books include The Postman, Startide Rising, Earth, The Uplift War and Kiln People. His nonfiction book, The Transparent Society: Will Technology Force Us to Choose Between Freedom and Privacy? won the Freedom of Speech Award of the American Library Association.
Website: http://www.davidbrin.com/
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