Need help find the title/author of that story

[nw3097]

I read this years ago in a collection of best science fiction stories.

I vaguely remember that the story is told by a mother to her daughter in the form of a letter (or letters). The mother works (as a linguist if I remember right) in a project that involves understanding some aliens, who do not share our conception of time. To the aliens life is static, all things happen at the same time, or something like that. At some point the author also talks about how light travels in air and water in such a way that it minimizes the amount of time it takes from A (in the air) to B (in the water).

I was intrigued by the alternative perception of time in that story, and wanted to read it again. Thank you for your help.

 

[Venusian Broon]

Hi nw3097,

some aliens, who do not share our conception of time. To the aliens life is static, all things happen at the same time, or something like that.

These aliens sound suspiciously like the Tralfamadorians that appear in Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five who exist in all times simultaneously.

But that's a novel and the protagonist is a man.

However Vonnegut used the Tralfamadorians in a number of other works - therefore perhaps he penned a short story with them.

Sorry I can't nail it for you!

 

[nw3097]

Hi Venusian Broon,

Thanks for your help. Kurt Vonnegut did not ring a bell. The author's first name is probably Tim, and last name sounds like a Chinese name. Of course it's possible that I mixed the name up with some other author in the same collection.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

With those clues, I think the story you are describing is "Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang.

Story of Your Life - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dr. Louise Banks is enlisted by the military to communicate with a race of radially symmetrical aliens who initiated first contact with humanity. Woven through the story are remembrances of her daughter.

The heptapods have two distinct forms of language. Heptapod A is their spoken language, which is described as having free word order and many levels of center-embedded clauses. Understanding Heptapod B, the written language of the aliens, is central to the plot. Unlike its spoken counterpart, Heptapod B has such complex structure that a single semagram cannot be excluded without changing the entire meaning of a sentence.

When writing in Heptapod B, the writer knows how the sentence will end. The phenomenon of Heptapod B is explained by the alien's understanding of mathematics and Fermat's principle of least time.

Dr. Banks's understanding of the heptapods' writing system affects the way she perceives time and suggests a deterministic universe where free will is exercised by not affecting the outcome of events.

 

[nw3097]

Victoria Silverwolf,

That's it. Ted Chiang's "Story of Your Life" is what I'm looking for. Thanks!