In the epistolary 'Exhalation', an alien scientist makes a shocking discovery with ramifications not just for his own people, but for all of reality. Optional reading: “ Story of Your Life,” which we already discussed in the last Salon, but has relevant themes.THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERFrom the acclaimed author of Stories of Your Life and Others - the basis for the Academy Award nominated film Arrival - comes a groundbreaking second collection of short fiction: nine stunningly original, provocative, and poignant stories.In 'The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate', a portal through time forces a fabric-seller in ancient Baghdad to grapple with past mistakes and the temptation of second chances. This book club is open to everyone, whether you’re interested in Ted Chiang’s work, tormented by the problem of free will, or simply fond of good science fiction stories.Īll stories are included in the book Exhalation. Is it the same, or did parallel you act differently? This means that you can always compare your behavior with that of a parallel you, in an almost identical universe. In “Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom,” Chiang imagines a new technology, called prisms, that allows limited communication between an infinity of parallel, divergent universes. What if the device to travel through time wasn’t a machine or vehicle, but a gate that links to a specific temporal distance? In this novelette, several people travel through such a gate to discover that they can’t change the past. “The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate” is a time travel story set in the Islamic Golden Age. The first story, “What’s Expected of Us,” is a very short exploration of what would happen if humanity discovered that free will didn’t exist, through the means of a small gadget called a Predictor. Are we the masters of our own choices? Is the universe deterministic? What happens if we make certain narrative assumptions about, for instance, time travel? This fourth session will delve into the idea of free will. Each monthly Salon focuses on two to three stories, united by a common theme. In this ii Book Club series, we discuss most of Chiang’s stories over the course of several months. With his clear, lucid prose, Chiang plays with fascinating ideas in a fresh and often uplifting way. Though he cannot be described as prolific - his entire published oeuvre since 1990 fits into just two books - he manages the rare feat of achieving consistent quality across his short stories. Ted Chiang ranks among the best living authors of science fiction. In Part 4, we discuss free will - is it a thing? How would the world change if free will were proven to exist, or not? Étienne Fortier-Dubois leads a series of thematic discussions on the work of science fiction author Ted Chiang.
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