Short stories by John Chu
John Chu is a microprocessor architect by day, a writer, translator, and podcast narrator by night. His fiction has appeared or is forthcoming at Boston Review, Uncanny, Asimov's Science Fiction, Clarkesworld, and Tor.com among other venues. His translations have been published or is forthcoming at Clarkesworld, The Big Book of SF and other venues. His story "The Water That Falls on You from Nowhere" won the 2014 Hugo Award for Best Short Story.
Listing 4 stories.
A Chinese American girl is sent to repair the malfunctioning universe on the verge of breaking down. She learns that fixing the world may mean the demise of her comatose mother and must decide if she can fulfill her duties.
A grad student helps two unlikely lovers connect in a future state of a damaged world.
In the near future, the elements are attuned to the truth in one’s words: when one lies they are drenched in a sudden, chilling downpour; a half-truth brings about humidity; uttering a paradox results in an overpowering sense of dread, which relents only when one says an unequivocal truth; telling a powerful truth suffuses one with warmth and the sensation of a spring breeze. A young, gay, Chinese-American man navigates the coming out conversation with his immigrant parents while being honest throughout.
A cyborg soldier planning his escape from a government facility develops an unlikely connection with a human agent which might develop into something more.