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realizes that the
Founders deliberately kept this information from everyone else on the colony so that they could continue to hoard resources as the elite, and that they kill everyone who returns from missions to Earth so that they cannot tell anyone the truth. Furthermore, the cell cultures are needed by his planet's elites in order to maintain their immortality, not just for their survival. The story ends with him disabling the collective AI in his brain and resolving to return to his colony to start a revolution against the Founders.
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However, when he arrives there, he discovers that Earth is lush and beautiful, not the lifeless husk he was led to believe, and that he is far from the first of his kind to come there on a cell culture mission. He is surprised to see the diversity of Earth's population, including women, the disabled,
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An old man brings him to a museum and shows him what happened after the
Founders left the planet to form their colony: everyone left on Earth abandoned country borders and individual property, pooling all their resources and working together to prevent the planet's destruction. The protagonist
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in the story) was deemed inevitable. He, like all other lower-class people in the colony, has a synthetic body rather than skin, which is reserved for the colony's "Founders" and other elite. Aided by a collective AI implanted in his brain, he is sent on a mission to Tellus to retrieve
374:"Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror Book Review: The Year's Best Science Fiction, Vol 1: The Saga Anthology of Science Fiction 2020 by Edited by Jonathan Strahan. Saga, $ 17.99 trade paper (608p) ISBN 978-1-5344-4959-6"
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and the elderly, which his world does not tolerate. Fascinated by this and the altruism he experiences, instead of returning to his ship with the cells, he activates his "emergency skin," a layer of
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reviewer Emily
Connelly found that the brief story cleverly conveyed both alarm and curiosity as to how the thriving society story could sustain itself. She also praised the audio performance of
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The unnamed protagonist lives on an exoplanet colony that was founded when the collapse of life on Earth (called
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short fiction collection in
September 2019. The story was well received, and it was awarded a
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for immersing listeners in the story as if they were on the mission as well, giving it an
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Adrift Just Off the Islets of
Langerhans: Latitude 38° 54' N, Longitude 77° 00' 13" W
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395:"A Buoyant 2020 Audie Awards Celebrates 'The Only Plane in the Sky,' Stephen King"
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The Year’s Best
Science Fiction, Vol 1: The Saga Anthology of Science Fiction 2020
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354:"EMERGENCY SKIN by NK Jemisin Read by Jason Isaacs | Audiobook Review"
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called it a subversive story that "shatters all expectations".
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highlighted it as a standout of the "year's best" anthology.
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that form synthetic skin, and stays on Earth to learn more.
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444:"Announcing the Winners of the Inaugural Ignyte Awards!"
415:"2020 Hugo, Lodestar, and Astounding Awards Winners"
737:
189:cell cultures that his planet needs to survive.
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228:for the month. The story was later collected in
250:received the following awards and nominations:
1458:If at First You Don't Succeed, Try, Try Again
723:
502:
1543:Hugo Award for Best Novelette winning works
730:
716:
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1100:Buffalo Gals, Won't You Come Out Tonight
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1219:"We Will Drink a Fish Together..." by
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1392:The Girl-Thing Who Went Out for Sushi
1334:The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate
1122:Enter a Soldier. Later: Enter Another
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1414:The Day the World Turned Upside Down
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150:. The story was first published by
442:Tejada, Andrew (October 17, 2020).
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472:. Locus Science Fiction Foundation
14:
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687:Mass Effect: Andromeda Initiation
646:How Long 'til Black Future Month?
366:
345:
333:"EMERGENCY SKIN | Kirkus Reviews"
262:
352:Connelly, Emily (October 2019).
1420:, translated by Lia Belt (2015)
469:Science Fiction Awards Database
270:Audie Award for Science Fiction
1080:"Paladin of the Lost Hour" by
307:Locus Award for Best Novelette
1:
1548:Science fiction short stories
538:The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
393:Maher, John (March 3, 2020).
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282:Hugo Award for Best Novelette
1503:"The Space-Time Painter" by
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168:(for the audiobook), and an
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1496:"Bots of the Lost Ark" by
1489:"Two Truths and a Lie" by
1403:The Lady Astronaut of Mars
1268:Hell Is the Absence of God
1512:The Year Without Sunshine
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1372:"The Emperor of Mars" by
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824:"Earthman, Come Home" by
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16:Science-fiction novellete
793:Mimsy Were the Borogoves
1447:The Secret Life of Bots
1259:"Millennium Babies" by
1027:The Cloak and the Staff
528:The Inheritance Trilogy
175:
152:Amazon Original Stories
94:Amazon Original Stories
52:Audio read by
1553:Works by N. K. Jemisin
1381:Six Months, Three Days
1261:Kristine Kathryn Rusch
639:Non-Zero Probabilities
464:"N. K. Jemisin Awards"
1199:Think Like a Dinosaur
965:The Borderland of Sol
341:. September 16, 2019.
146:novelette written by
1407:Mary Robinette Kowal
1115:George Alec Effinger
1111:Schrödinger's Kitten
976:The Bicentennial Man
921:The Sharing of Flesh
910:Gonna Roll the Bones
848:Walter M. Miller Jr.
815:The Little Black Bag
1418:Thomas Olde Heuvelt
1385:Charlie Jane Anders
1243:James Patrick Kelly
1203:James Patrick Kelly
1166:The Nutcracker Coup
1009:George R. R. Martin
996:"Hunter's Moon" by
771:The Roads Must Roll
554:The Kingdom of Gods
546:The Broken Kingdoms
296:for Best Novelette
23:
1538:2019 short stories
1345:Shoggoths in Bloom
1177:Georgia on My Mind
877:The Big Front Yard
819:Cyril M. Kornbluth
775:Robert A. Heinlein
614:The City We Became
359:AudioFile Magazine
105:September 17, 2019
21:
1525:
1524:
1301:The Faery Handbag
1210:Bicycle Repairman
1188:The Martian Child
1181:Charles Sheffield
1126:Robert Silverberg
1104:Ursula K. Le Guin
1075:Octavia E. Butler
1038:Unicorn Variation
1031:Gordon R. Dickson
881:Clifford D. Simak
764:Clifford D. Simak
705:
704:
621:The World We Make
400:Publishers Weekly
379:Publishers Weekly
317:
316:
235:Publishers Weekly
135:
134:
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1436:The Tomato Thief
1354:"The Island" by
1323:The Djinn's Wife
1294:Michael Swanwick
1283:Michael Swanwick
855:Exploration Team
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680:The Shadowed Sun
673:The Killing Moon
584:The Obelisk Gate
576:The Fifth Season
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423:. August 1, 2020
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382:. July 13, 2020.
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1316:Peter S. Beagle
1290:Legions in Time
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899:The Last Castle
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859:Murray Leinster
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1473:N. K. Jemisin
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987:Eyes of Amber
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943:The Deathbird
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631:Short fiction
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592:The Stone Sky
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519:N. K. Jemisin
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476:September 30,
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427:September 30,
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1483:2021–present
1468:
1429:Hao Jingfang
1374:Allen Steele
1327:Ian McDonald
1221:Bill Johnson
1159:Isaac Asimov
1148:Mike Resnick
980:Isaac Asimov
914:Fritz Leiber
870:Fritz Leiber
866:The Big Time
786:Isaac Asimov
693:
685:
679:
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604:Great Cities
603:
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566:Broken Earth
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474:. Retrieved
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425:. Retrieved
420:Locus Online
418:
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336:
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294:Ignyte Award
247:
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222:Jason Isaacs
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170:Ignyte Award
155:
138:
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130:Ignyte Award
73:
56:Jason Isaacs
34:
18:
1396:Pat Cadigan
1356:Peter Watts
1170:Janet Kagan
1060:Blood Music
969:Larry Niven
826:James Blish
751:Retro Hugos
166:Audie Award
126:Audie Award
1532:Categories
1338:Ted Chiang
1312:Two Hearts
1305:Kelly Link
1272:Ted Chiang
1228:Taklamakan
1089:Permafrost
1071:Bloodchild
1049:Fire Watch
903:Jack Vance
782:Foundation
739:Hugo Award
695:Far Sector
320:References
311:Nominated
162:Hugo Award
122:Hugo Award
1366:2011–2020
1279:Slow Life
1253:2001–2010
1136:1991–2000
1064:Greg Bear
1019:1981–1990
1005:Sandkings
932:Goat Song
891:1967–1980
836:1955–1960
698:(2019–20)
517:Works by
246:In 2020,
242:Accolades
217:AudioFile
205:Reception
172:in 2020.
90:Publisher
33:Cover to
641:" (2009)
62:Language
1462:Zen Cho
1239:10 to 1
760:Rule 18
449:Tor.com
259:Result
195:nanites
157:Forward
74:Forward
65:English
1518:(2024)
1507:(2023)
1505:Hai Ya
1500:(2022)
1493:(2021)
1475:(2020)
1464:(2019)
1453:(2018)
1442:(2017)
1431:(2016)
1409:(2014)
1405:", by
1398:(2013)
1387:(2012)
1376:(2011)
1358:(2010)
1351:(2009)
1340:(2008)
1329:(2007)
1318:(2006)
1307:(2005)
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1234:(1999)
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993:(1978)
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927:(1969)
916:(1968)
905:(1967)
883:(1959)
872:(1958)
861:(1956)
850:(1955)
828:(1954)
821:(1951)
810:(1946)
799:(1944)
788:(1943)
777:(1941)
766:(1939)
690:(2017)
682:(2012)
676:(2012)
657:(2019)
649:(2018)
623:(2022)
617:(2020)
606:series
595:(2017)
587:(2016)
579:(2015)
568:series
557:(2011)
549:(2010)
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