Steering the Waters
Monday, July 7th
The motor wouldn't start so I had to row to school today. Normally I'd take that to be a bad sign for the rest of the day, but as it turned out, today was incredible:
I saw Larissa for the first time.
I picked out straight away that she was a rud, like me. You can always tell ruds — they're perfect. And Larissa was perfect. She had really thick blonde hair. Her skin was smooth and didn't have the faintest mark even though she wasn't wearing any make-up. Her teeth were the whitest I've ever seen. She was tall and stood with her shoulders back, and her legs were unbelievably long. I couldn't stop looking at her.
The motor wouldn't start so I had to row to school today. Normally I'd take that to be a bad sign for the rest of the day, but as it turned out, today was incredible:
I saw Larissa for the first time.
I picked out straight away that she was a rud, like me. You can always tell ruds — they're perfect. And Larissa was perfect. She had really thick blonde hair. Her skin was smooth and didn't have the faintest mark even though she wasn't wearing any make-up. Her teeth were the whitest I've ever seen. She was tall and stood with her shoulders back, and her legs were unbelievably long. I couldn't stop looking at her.
Afterword to "Steering the Waters"
Picture this: you are sitting in a room holding a book in your hands. Suddenly your heart starts to race and your face becomes hot. The room fades around you, and you feel yourself being sucked into the book.
And there you are — in another world, a fantastic and strange world where everyday rules no longer apply. You know you're only reading a book, but you also know the time has changed and the place has changed.
That's what I've felt from some science fiction stories — and I've never felt that from a real-life story or a thriller or a romance. I enjoy reading these too, but they're never more than just stories — I don't get sucked into the book.
Science fiction is different.
That's why I write science fiction. I want others to see what I've seen, to feel what I've felt. In "Steering the Waters" I wanted you to feel what it is like to live in an Australia where most of the land is covered in water. I wanted you to feel what it is like to have been genetically engineered to be perfect.
Science fiction is different.
And if you don't understand what I'm saying, then you just haven't yet found the right science fiction story for you. Keep trying ... you will. And when you do, your heart will start to race, and your face will grow hot and the room will start to fade...
And there you are — in another world, a fantastic and strange world where everyday rules no longer apply. You know you're only reading a book, but you also know the time has changed and the place has changed.
That's what I've felt from some science fiction stories — and I've never felt that from a real-life story or a thriller or a romance. I enjoy reading these too, but they're never more than just stories — I don't get sucked into the book.
Science fiction is different.
That's why I write science fiction. I want others to see what I've seen, to feel what I've felt. In "Steering the Waters" I wanted you to feel what it is like to live in an Australia where most of the land is covered in water. I wanted you to feel what it is like to have been genetically engineered to be perfect.
Science fiction is different.
And if you don't understand what I'm saying, then you just haven't yet found the right science fiction story for you. Keep trying ... you will. And when you do, your heart will start to race, and your face will grow hot and the room will start to fade...
Publication History
"Steering the Waters" was first published in the Young Adult anthology, The Patternmaker.