First impressions review: Waiting on a Bright Moon, by Neon Yang

 

This is a lovely short story that, being told in second person, puts you in the shoes of Xin, an ansible on an off-world colony. The term “ansible” was first coined by Ursula Le Guin in ‘The Left Hand of Darkness’ to describe a device that allows for instantaneous communication between planets; one radio-like end stays anchored, while the other travels, and they remain mysteriously linked. The word has been adopted by other authors since, but this is the first time I’ve seen ansibles be people…and, naturally, treating people as if they are machines causes problems!

Fittingly, given the queerness of the story in which the term originated, these ansibles are women who are in love with one another – though, of course, to do their job they must be separated. However, we learn as the tale goes on that the belief that this is the only type of person who can do this job is false. To me, that means there is likely an element of government control at play; control of deviance and control of an important “technology”. The connection is made through song. I wish I read Chinese characters, as the song lyrics are untranslated; You can still follow the story perfectly well without them, but other reviews suggest they add an extra layer.

At the start of the story, Xin’s life gets disrupted by a dead body arriving through the portal she controls the day before the imperial executioner is set to arrive to deal with a traitor. She expects to get reprimanded by the “starmage” in charge of security, but the woman, Officer Ouyang, is unexpectedly gentle, even giving her three weeks off to deal with the shock. The execution, though, is brutal to witness. The technique is probably based on the Chinese punishment of lingchi (“death by a thousand cuts”), but the technology used sounds very similar to the alien tech used to threaten the protagonist of ‘In the Vanisher’s Palace’ ¹. The execution is of course meant to be a deterrent to rebellion, but – as is often the case with government brutality – it has the opposite effect on Xin. Between seeing that, and learning that her beloved Ren was “disposed of” like a defective microwave after letting that body through, she is more than ready to rebel. But will the rebels be any better at letting her and her new lover just live their lives freely?   

1. It should be noted that the link says those given this sentence were often either killed beforehand or given a bunch of opium, making lingchi less cruel than it is often portrayed in Western media, or than these sci-fi versions suggest. At least, there would be far less screaming!

 

            The romance in this story builds quite naturally, considering the short page count! Partly that is because the author does a good job conveying that the characters involved have known each other for much longer than the short span that encompasses the main story. But it is also because of the subtly sensual details that emerge well before the issue of romantic feelings even comes up directly:

“Her gift flares and pushes a wave of calm through you, warmth spreading from your wrist towards the heart. Everything grows heavy. Your breathing slows and the world thickens to honey.”

Or, slightly later:

“The starmage cracks a rambutan in her mouth. Its soft thick hairs curl around her lips as she sucks in the collected juices. ‘I’ve put you on three weeks’ leave,’ she says. You are halfway through a lychee, its slippery flavour delicate on your tongue, wetness running over your knuckles and down to your elbow in a thin line. You swallow.”

Yup, OK, sold! I’m on board for this…

 

Overall recommendation:  If you like tales that blend sci-fi and fantasy (think classic Star Wars), and especially if you are hungry for new cultural perspectives and/or Sapphic love…well, this story is available for free on the Tor website, so there is no reason not to check it out!