Story of Your Life

"Story of Your Life"
Author	Ted Chiang
Language	English
Genre(s)	Science fiction short story
Published in	Starlight 2
Publication date	1998

Illustration for "Story of your Life", by Hidenori Watanave for Hayakawa's S-F Magazine.

Story of Your Life is a science fiction short story by Ted Chiang. It was the winner of the 2000 Nebula Award for Best Novella as well as the 1999 Sturgeon award. The major themes explored by this tale are determinism, language, and an interesting take on the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis.

Plot summary

Dr. Louise Banks is enlisted by the military to communicate with a race of radially-symmetrical aliens who initiated first contact with humanity. Woven through the story are remembrances of her daughter.

The heptapods have two distinct forms of language. Heptapod A is their spoken language, which is described as having free word order and many levels of center-embedded clauses. Understanding Heptapod B, the written language of the aliens, is central to the plot. Unlike its spoken counterpart, Heptapod B has such complex structure that a single semagram cannot be excluded without changing the entire meaning of a sentence.

When writing in Heptapod B, the writer knows how the sentence will end. The phenomenon of Heptapod B is explained by the alien's understanding of mathematics and Fermat's Theory of Least Time.

Dr. Banks's understanding of the heptapods' writing system affects the way she perceives time and suggests a deterministic universe where free will is exercised by not affecting the outcome of events.

Awards

• Winner of the 2000 Nebula for Best Novella
• Winner of the 1999 Sturgeon award
• Short listed for the 1999 Tiptree award
• Ranked 10th on the 1999 Locus poll for best novella
• Nominated for the 1999 Hugo Award for Best Novella
• Nominated for the 1999 HOMer award for best novella

External links

• Story of Your Life at BestScienceFictionStories.com - short story reviews and resources.