The Great Ship is an ancient vessel as large as Uranus and found drifting empty between the galaxies. But humans claimed it as their own, and now it's crowded with alien species. Perhaps the most spectacular of all are the winged giants known as the Best. Beautiful and ancient entities, they are on a journey to a new world, and that is when a married couple happen to meet them -- one step in an increasingly harrowing story.
"'This is what the Best will do the determined few,' said Perri.
"And he told her.
"Astonishment. Quee Lee expected and received exactly that. But she hoped for shock. Sharp, defining jolts of disgust. And revulsion too. Assuming that the pressure of words would trigger harsh emotions, she was prepared to set her hand across Perri's busy mouth, begging for silence, needing a moment or a day to regain her composure or innocence or whatever it was that her husband had just stolen from her.
"But those reactions were missing.
"'For the Best, food is everything,' he began.
"And everything else followed from those simple words."
Robert Reed is the author of hundreds of published stories, quite a few novels, and millions of words that have never seen sunshine. Reed is best known for his Great Ship stories, and he won a Hugo in 2007 for his novella, "A Billion Eves."
Genre: Science Fiction
"'This is what the Best will do the determined few,' said Perri.
"And he told her.
"Astonishment. Quee Lee expected and received exactly that. But she hoped for shock. Sharp, defining jolts of disgust. And revulsion too. Assuming that the pressure of words would trigger harsh emotions, she was prepared to set her hand across Perri's busy mouth, begging for silence, needing a moment or a day to regain her composure or innocence or whatever it was that her husband had just stolen from her.
"But those reactions were missing.
"'For the Best, food is everything,' he began.
"And everything else followed from those simple words."
Robert Reed is the author of hundreds of published stories, quite a few novels, and millions of words that have never seen sunshine. Reed is best known for his Great Ship stories, and he won a Hugo in 2007 for his novella, "A Billion Eves."
Genre: Science Fiction
Used availability for Robert Reed's Best, Last, Only