Tower of Babylon (story)
| "Tower of Babylon" | |
|---|---|
| Short story by Ted Chiang | |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction novelette |
| Publication | |
| Published in | Omni |
| Publication type | Magazine |
| Publication date | November 1990 |
Tower of Babylon is a science fiction novelette published in 1990 by Ted Chiang. It won the 1991 Nebula Award for Best Novelette and was nominated for the 1991 Hugo Award for Best Novelette.[1] The story deals with what the world would have been like if the universe really matched the geocentric model of the old Babylonian cosmology, where the earth is in the centre of layers of celestial spheres.
Plot summary
The story follows a young miner from the town of Elam who ascends the tower of Babylon to help break through the vault of heaven. Along the way he sees many wonderous sights, uncovers mysteries of heaven and earth, and in the end finds them as inscrutable as ever.
Footnotes
Wikiquote has quotations related to Ted Chiang.