To Be Taught, If Fortunate

 To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers, 153 pages.

In this near-ish future version of Earth space travel has evolved to the point that instead of changing distant planets astronauts change themselves instead. A mission of four astronauts is sent to explore four terrestrial bodies orbiting a distant star, a round trip that the reality of physics assures will last longer than the lifespan of anyone they know on Earth. These astronauts, in a big twist on the genre, are not setting out to colonize distant worlds, but rather to observe and learn as much as possible while effecting the things they touch as little as possible. This novella is a long exploration of scientific discovery.

Much like Chambers' other novella that I read, A Psalm for the Wild-Built, this novella feels more like an idea than a story. It's a great idea, which makes this interesting reading, but it somehow doesn't feel quite complete. Still, the setting is super interesting, as are the questions it asks about science, ethics, and the nature of community. I need to get around to reading one of Chambers' full novels to see if this is universal for their style or just a common product of novellas.