This Is Not the Way Home (short story)
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| "This Is Not The Way Home" | |
|---|---|
| Short story by Greg Egan | |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction |
| Publication | |
| Published in | Mission Critical |
| Media type | |
| Publication date | 2019 |
"This Is Not the Way Home" is a science-fiction short story by Australian writer Greg Egan, first published in the anthology Mission Critical edited by Jonathan Straham in 2019. It describes a rescue mission from the moon using a sky hook in lunar orbit. The short story also appeared in the anthologies The Year’s Top Hard Science Fiction Stories 4 edited by Allan Kaster in 2020 and The Year’s Best Science Fiction Volume 1 edited by Jonathan Strahan in 2020 as well as the collection Sleep and the Soul in 2023.[1][2] This Is Not the Way Home is also the title of the second studio album by Australian indie rock band The Cruel Sea from 1991, which might have been the inspiration for the title.
Aisha, who since childhood had dreamed about becoming an astronaut, and her husband Gianni win a honeymoon on a Chinese moon base. While they are on the Moon, every contact with Earth breaks, with a conflict between the United States and China being suspected, which would mean no further mission rescuing them. Shuttles are not available for everyone and Gianni dies when the crew evacuates. Aisha, now stranded on the moon, becomes aware she is pregnant. She devises a plan to use a skyhook in lunar orbit to launch a vehicle back to Earth, and then gently sings for her baby.[3][4]