The Year's Top Hard Science Fiction Stories 7

An unabridged collection spotlighting the best hard science fiction stories and novellas published in 2022 by current and emerging masters of the genre, edited by Allan Kaster.The Lichens by Nina Allan - A 22nd century botanist asks a teacher in Scotland, at the time of Culloden, for help with her research.Beneath the Surface, a Womb of Ice by Deborah L. Davitt - A biochemist involved in the search for underground water on Mars finds refuge in the mechanics of science.A Stone's Throw by Gregory Feeley - Romance burns hot amidst the cold moons of Neptune.The Wine-Dark Deep by Sheila Finch - A cephalopod researcher discovers petroglyphs on the walls of a deep underwater cave.Cloudchaser by Tom Jolly - A collector of rare artifacts hides his valuables on darkworlds.The Ploughshare and the Storm by Gwyneth Jones - Post-humans find a time capsule on Europa.Nonstandard Candles by Yoon Ha Lee - A cartographer and her apprentice map the outer darkness of space.Timekeepers' Symphony by Ken Liu - The colonization of the cosmos transforms humanity's sense of time.Maryon's Gift by Paul McAuley - Set in the author's Jackaroo series, monks fight to keep a newly discovered pristine world free of humans.Goldie by Sean Monaghan - Scientists learn a lot about themselves while studying the ecosystems of an alien planet.The Abacus and the Infinite Vessel by Vikram Ramakrishnan - A scientist recalls the struggles of her and her mother after immigrating to Mars.I Give You the Moon by Justina Robson - A history student yearns for a dose of reality in an AR-immersed future.The Difference Between Love and Time by Catherynne M. Valente - A woman has a relationship with the space-time continuum that's a bit different than most of us.Critical Mass - An avant-garde artist, past his prime, discovers his works are being vandalized.Communion - A pilot is caught in a life and death struggle between his ship's AI and an alien microbe after crash landing on an ice moon.