The People of Sand and Slag by Paulo Bacigalupi « Biology in Science Fiction: Free Fiction

Future humans discover the last dog on Earth.

Title: The People of Sand and Slag

Author: Paulo Bacigalupi

Length: novelette

First Publication: Fantasy & Science Fiction, 2004

Awards: Hugo Nomination for Best Novelette 2005; Nebula Nomination for Best Novelette 2005

What the Story is About: In the distant future humans engineered to survive on an Earth where the environment has become lethal to normal humans and most other animals. In this toxic landscape an armed unit of post-humans discovers an unmodified dog and must decide what to do.

Down in the valley, something was running, flushed by the hunter. It slipped along a shallow creek, viscous with tailings acid. The ship herded it toward us. Nothing. No missile fire. No slag. Just the running creature. A mass of tangled hair. Quadrupedal. Splattered with mud.

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Rating: 5.0/5 (1 vote cast)

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