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The Deepest Rift
In the deepest canyon in the inhabited worlds, giant mantas soar through the air and leave patterned structures behind. A team of sapiologists seek to prove that these delicate filaments are true language, not just bee's dance. But time has run out, and their reckoning is upon them. Will they prove that their research is valid, or will they be scattered to the corners of the galaxy?
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
27 pages, ebook
First published June 24, 2015
14 people are currently reading
139 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
February 24, 2016
I really liked one of Ruthanna Emrys' short stories on Tor, "Seven Commentaries on an Imperfect Land: A Tor.Com Original," so I searched out and read her other Tor short. This one I didn't like nearly as well. A team of four scientists (in a group romance) is stationed on another world, trying to puzzle out whether the alien inhabitants, which look like flying mantas, are using odd wire sculptures as their method of communication. Their careers and their relationship are on the line. The protagonist is a deaf woman, but the most interesting character to me was the AI robot that had a dead scientist's personality and knowledge downloaded into it.
Particularly with the ambiguous ending, this just didn't all come together for me in the way I'd hoped. Full review to come, after it's posted on www.FantasyLiterature.com.
Free online at http://www.tor.com/2015/06/24/the-dee....
Particularly with the ambiguous ending, this just didn't all come together for me in the way I'd hoped. Full review to come, after it's posted on www.FantasyLiterature.com.
Free online at http://www.tor.com/2015/06/24/the-dee....
March 3, 2016
Really liked this, and wanted to know what happens next!
July 7, 2015
Good, original idea.
Well developed despite off-putting first-person, present tense presentation.
A good read.
Well developed despite off-putting first-person, present tense presentation.
A good read.
June 30, 2015
A very cool story set on an alien world with a team working to prove the there is language and sentience on the part of the giant mantas that fly in the deep canyon. The four research students have formed a close relationship that they do not want to give up, and the story is as much about their relationship as it is their research. I enjoyed the story very much, and will look for more work by this author.
October 5, 2015
First thought: Giant mantas that fly on an alien planet... I'm sold!
But, this was sooo much more than that. Beautiful story !
I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.
But, this was sooo much more than that. Beautiful story !
I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.
January 28, 2018
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June 28, 2015
Language is interesting.
June 30, 2015
Linguistics, AI, and alien worlds. Very nice.
July 24, 2015
'The Deepest Rift' marries science fiction speculation on language and consciousness with a warm emotional core. Ruthanna Emrys is rapidly becoming one of my favorite writers.
Read
March 13, 2016Featured in our Short Fiction column: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
February 5, 2019
This week, I've been devouring everything of Ruthanna Emrys' I can get my hands on, and this absolutely didn't disappoint. Its only flaw is that I could have read an entire novel about Star-Eye and their team.
This short story manages to pack a lot of delightful ingredients into a brief span: a Deaf narrator with complex emotions about their cochlear implant; a polyamorous, racially diverse research team, an AI proctor with a yearning for more scientific leash; the inhuman nuances of alien communication.
I frequently joke that if I were born in another time, I'd like to be a xenolinguist, or scientist specializing in the study of alien language. I'm always a sucker for stories about xenolinguistics and the questions it poses about communication, sapience, and the place of humanity in the wider universe.
Like mantas drifting through fog, this story was ephemerally wonderful. Quick note: If you happen to read this on Tor, which is where I found it, don't read the comments.
I CANNOT EMPHASIZE HOW EXCITED I AM ABOUT THE DEAF NARRATOR.
This short story manages to pack a lot of delightful ingredients into a brief span: a Deaf narrator with complex emotions about their cochlear implant; a polyamorous, racially diverse research team, an AI proctor with a yearning for more scientific leash; the inhuman nuances of alien communication.
I frequently joke that if I were born in another time, I'd like to be a xenolinguist, or scientist specializing in the study of alien language. I'm always a sucker for stories about xenolinguistics and the questions it poses about communication, sapience, and the place of humanity in the wider universe.
Like mantas drifting through fog, this story was ephemerally wonderful. Quick note: If you happen to read this on Tor, which is where I found it, don't read the comments.
I CANNOT EMPHASIZE HOW EXCITED I AM ABOUT THE DEAF NARRATOR.
July 17, 2022
A fun little sci-fi novella about how to determine the nature of sentience and communication . . .
A fun little sci-fi novella about researchers in an alien world attempting to determine if an alien species of lifeform has true communication and sentience - and how would another species be able to tell?
A fun little sci-fi novella about researchers in an alien world attempting to determine if an alien species of lifeform has true communication and sentience - and how would another species be able to tell?
August 1, 2018
I don't know that I'm completely sold on the open ending of this one but the setting and story was so engaging and strong that I really am not bothered by the ending. I would love to read more of this world and team.
November 10, 2025
Scientists race to prove that an alien race is sentient, but time is against them.
This is a great story, where Emrys really asks us what it is that makes our lives valuable.
This is a great story, where Emrys really asks us what it is that makes our lives valuable.
May 30, 2017
I found that I wasn't as fond of this short story as I'd been of Ruthanna Emrys' other works. It was quite good, and I'd have been curious to hear more about the outcome of the group's research, but it seemed too much like a standard puzzle story and not enough like an exploration of the characters to match up with her other books. (Not that I don't like a good puzzle story, but they don't tend to have the same magical feeling to them that her writing about characters' religions has had.)
On a different side note, I found this story very reminiscent of the novel Still River by Hal Clement. I wonder if Emrys is familiar with it, and if it was a conscious inspiration?
On a different side note, I found this story very reminiscent of the novel Still River by Hal Clement. I wonder if Emrys is familiar with it, and if it was a conscious inspiration?
February 21, 2016
An adroitly written novel, with some remarkable characters (the AI steals the show, and it is, by far, the most intriguing and interesting part of the story), great world building, an interesting plot, and a just OK ending.
In the deepest canyon in the inhabited worlds, giant mantas soar through the air and leave patterned structures behind. A team of sapiologists seek to prove that these delicate filaments are true language, not just bee's dance. But time has run out, and their reckoning is upon them. Will they prove that their research is valid, or will they be scattered to the corners of the galaxy?
In the deepest canyon in the inhabited worlds, giant mantas soar through the air and leave patterned structures behind. A team of sapiologists seek to prove that these delicate filaments are true language, not just bee's dance. But time has run out, and their reckoning is upon them. Will they prove that their research is valid, or will they be scattered to the corners of the galaxy?
October 11, 2015
The story was really good with sophisticated writing style similar to 'The Litany of Earth'. I like how the love relationship between the four mingles easily and naturally with that of their hypotheses about the mantas 'language'.
There's a lot of scientific terms and philosophical questions that left me wondering about us, about humans.
The reason why I've rated it four stars: I couldn't very well understand the plot at the beginning. It left me confused and I kept going back to check on the wordings/sentences and their meaning.
There's a lot of scientific terms and philosophical questions that left me wondering about us, about humans.
The reason why I've rated it four stars: I couldn't very well understand the plot at the beginning. It left me confused and I kept going back to check on the wordings/sentences and their meaning.
December 20, 2015
Peculiar story about scientists trying to get an extension for their project on studying an alien species and their language. As a researcher, I could relate to the ethical issue of faking data because of the deadlines and an outcome uncertainty. The ending of the story was left open, and somewhat unsatisfactory.
January 26, 2016
Another beautiful story by Emrys. I wish it was longer; I want to know what happens next!
It's a lovely tale of a close-knit research group who fears they may be shut down for failing to show that the alien life they are studying is sentient.
It's a lovely tale of a close-knit research group who fears they may be shut down for failing to show that the alien life they are studying is sentient.
November 7, 2017
Beautiful and intriguing
This story caught my interest immediately. A small and distant planet, four friends/researchers, what will they find? I want to know more. This story ender too soon!
This story caught my interest immediately. A small and distant planet, four friends/researchers, what will they find? I want to know more. This story ender too soon!
August 10, 2017
בינוני כזה. חסר פואנטה
November 5, 2017
Enjoyable short story, as much about the intricacies of relationships as about determining if a particular species is sentient or not. Highly recommended.
November 2, 2018
Such a good short story about research and life. Read this in an afternoon while sitting in Davenport, IA. It made me go find the Winter Tide prequel. Just a delightful chain of Ruthanna Emrys stories.
February 28, 2026
I loved this a lot, I wish we had a whole book with these characters. I really liked the protagonist PoV. It was interesting to see how the focus was on other senses than just sight. Really beautiful.
“I’m more than my name. And more, even, than my love for all of you.”
“I’m more than my name. And more, even, than my love for all of you.”
May 18, 2018
Too short! Lucious. Left me wanting more.
September 10, 2020
So interesting and beautiful, both the writing and the ideas. Short, but so much to think about. And lovely how deafness and polyamory were normalized.
May 25, 2023
I like this. Short and sweet with the add science content. I liked the writing and how digestible it was. I will read more from Ms. Emrys.
December 19, 2024
Gorgeous little short story about first contact and learning languages and connecting with each other.
March 5, 2019
One of, if not the, best SciFi short stories I have read!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews