For Want of a Nail (short story)
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"For Want of a Nail" is a 2010 science fiction short story by Mary Robinette Kowal. It was first published in Asimov's Science Fiction.
On a generation ship, attempts to repair an artificial intelligence lead to the revelation of a tragic secret.
Reception
"For Want of a Nail" won the 2011 Hugo Award for Best Short Story",[1] and was a finalist for the 2015 Seiun Award for Best Translated Story.[2]
Tangent Online called it "a true tragedy, where all of the characters being true to themselves and the needs of their environment are forced into awful situations and must see them through" and "meticulously, scrupulously horrifying".[3]