The Blue, Beautiful World by Karen Lord

Author:Karen Lord [Lord, Karen]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Random House Worlds
Published: 2023-08-29T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

—

“Let’s have a quick review of the presentations.”

Jon had returned the VR hall to a neutral setting: boardroom table, seven chairs, and softly filtered light that fell mostly on him. It might have simply been a feature to highlight the speaker, or a kindness to allow the concealment of a blush or a tear among the listeners.

“Thiago and Kanoa, you two had the most straightforward and familiar civilizations, but that’s not to take away from the fact that your presentations were solid. Bay, you did a comprehensive overview of a fragmented and fallen empire. Above average work, presented with nuance and clarity. Well done. Yrsa, you highlighted a fascinating common data point in your focus on collective intelligence, but in doing so you neglected the overview, the background, the context—which is the entire point of this week’s assignment. And Dylan, both you and Yrsa missed an important overlap between the Lyrans and the Geminorans.

“You correctly noted that Alpha Lyrae does not have a single coherent government to represent the system. The planet which we have designated Lyra A is more compliant with galactic law and custom. Lyra B, a smaller planet with several colonies on asteroids and moons, is known for their cartels, which operate throughout the galaxy. They are much more of a wild card. You touched on that as well, and you did notice that they were implicated in isolated attacks on Geminoran cities.

“However, I have heard no mention of the fact that Lyra B now effectively controls the official capital of the Geminoran civilization, and that the Austrinians are supporting a rival city that is striving to win back full autonomy for the Geminoran people. Yrsa, you simply said that Beta Geminorum and Alpha Piscis Austrini are allied. Dylan, you spoke of Lyran-Geminoran cooperation without specifying which of the two Lyran blocs is represented in that alleged cooperation.

“The reality is far more complicated, and it has serious ramifications for Earth. At first I thought your group presentation was focused on identifying which civilizations would be supportive in a framework of mutual respect and which would impose a hierarchical relationship.”

He gave a very slight nod to Kanoa, Bay, and Thiago, and Kanoa felt the heaviness in his chest ease a little.

“But that theme was lost in later presentations, which was unfortunate. I do not mean to suggest that it was the only valid approach to the material, but it would have been a very valuable one.”

He sighed and spoke a little more gently. “It’s been a very long day. Full feedback will be available to you in a couple of days. Tomorrow afternoon, Charyssa will hold an orientation session for the next phase. The morning is free.”

“No advance preparation will be needed for the orientation session,” Charyssa added kindly.

As was now custom, the two instructors got up and left the group alone so they could have their own discussions.

“I apologize,” Dylan said formally, stiffly. “To everyone.”

Yrsa made a noise that was half chuckle, half choking sob.

“Let’s not do this,” Bay said hurriedly, heading off the drama.

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