Thank you, all, very much for the love. The buzz this story’s generated is incredible, especially since it appeared in a print anthology first and sometimes those doesn’t get as much exposure as online venues do.

Neil Gaiman and Saladin Ahmed tweeted it. Desi Writers Lounge called it “a brilliant short story”. Tor.com reviewer Mahvesh Murad (in an unofficial Tweet) called it “a great story about love in the time of drones in Pakistan.” Shirley Jackson Award winner and author of North American Lake Monsters Nathan Ballingrud called it “a powerful story from an exciting new writer. One to keep an eye on.” SFWA Grandmaster and Paris Review Interviewee Samuel R. Delany, when he first read it, said it was “an extraordinary story. It blew me away. I was crying like a baby at the end and I was very happy to be crying.”

And here’s what the excellent Ken Liu (Winner of the Nebula, the Hugo, and the World Fantasy Awards, and nominee for the Locus and Ted Sturgeon) said:

“A searing, powerful story that uses the language of science to articulate the enduring struggle for justice. The ending, especially, is at once inevitable and heartbreaking. Reminiscent of some of Ted Chiang’s earlier work in structure and tone, but with an overall vision that is unique to this author.”

Editor Michael Bailey has kindly given me permission to post the story online.

Go take a look and lemme know what you think. And if you like it, consider spreading the word about the story and the anthology Qualia Nous.

Cheers

(p.s. thank you Vince Haig whose incredible rendition of the story on Medium makes it far more readable and pleasing to the eye than the .pdf  I had uploaded. Vince is a tremendous writer and graphic designer whose services have been sought by, among other, Chizine Publications. If you need someone to do graphic designing for you, I can’t recommend him enough.)