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** CallBack: The story begins with the protagonist recounting his first toy golem that would march in a straight line, and how he could copy and edit the nomenclature inside it for different effects. In the finale, he manages to escape a hired assassin by writing out the same nomenclature to get a larger golem to hold a door shut, saving himself.
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** OurHomunculiAreDifferent
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** OurHomunculiAreDifferentOurHomunculiAreDifferent: All human beings are formed when a homunculus from a man's semen merges with a woman's ovum, gaining a soul and beginning to grow into a person. Each homunculus is also filled with infinitesimally smaller homunculi, recursively, to allow reproduction. Homunculi can be extracted and will grow in size but not sophistication if given proper nutrients. [[spoiler:Scientists discover that there is a limit to the number of recursions, threatening the extinction of humanity.]]
** RansackedRoom: The protagonists' office at the factory is wrecked by the Metalworkers Union that is threatened by his invention of a Golem that could replace them. This is both to intimidate him and to destroy any schematics or records he had about the golem.
** RansackedRoom: The protagonists' office at the factory is wrecked by the Metalworkers Union that is threatened by his invention of a Golem that could replace them. This is both to intimidate him and to destroy any schematics or records he had about the golem.
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** StarScraper: In a more literal sense than usual -- one of the stars actually crashed into the tower.
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** StarScraper: In a more literal sense than usual -- one of the stars actually crashed into the tower. It was about the size of a camel and made of iron. It was recovered and kept hidden in a temple on the ground.
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He is not related to the 1970s kung-fu star, Creator/DavidChiang.
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** AdultFear: A pretty interesting, if no less tragic, example. [[spoiler: Through learning Heptapod B, Louise end up being able to foresee the future, including the fact that her daughter, who is not even conceived yet, will die at the age of 25 in a rock climbing accident.]]
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** AdultFear: OutlivingOnesOffspring: A pretty interesting, if no less tragic, example. [[spoiler: Through learning Heptapod B, Louise end up being able to foresee the future, including the fact that her daughter, who is not even conceived yet, will die at the age of 25 in a rock climbing accident.]]
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** MundaneAfterlife: Heaven is very much like life, except that you live it in your eternal body, which is your mundane body fixed up. Hell is like Heaven, except that you spend your eternal afterlife knowing that you made the wrong choices, and will never get out.
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** MundaneAfterlife: Heaven is very much like life, life except that you live it in your eternal body, which is your mundane earthly body fixed up. Hell is like Heaven, except that you spend your eternal afterlife knowing that you made the wrong choices, and will never get out.
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*** There's an interesting borderline case in the story's references to the Victorian-era theory of catastrophism (the theory that Earth's geology was shaped by sudden, violent events such as major floods). This theory is no longer the scientific consensus in real life, but in-universe, catastrophism is presented as a theory that's still being disputed. So it's possible that catastrophism is true within the story, or that it's an in-universe example of FantasticScience that will (as in reality) eventually be discarded.
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*** There's an interesting borderline case in the story's references to the Victorian-era theory of catastrophism (the theory that Earth's geology was shaped by sudden, violent events such as major floods). This theory is no longer the scientific consensus in real life, but in-universe, catastrophism is presented as a theory an idea that's still being disputed.disputed, with characters uncertain about whether its claims are true. So it's possible that catastrophism is true within the story, or that it's an in-universe example of FantasticScience that will (as in reality) eventually be discarded.
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*** There's an interesting borderline case in the story's references to the Victorian-era theory of catastrophism (the theory that Earth's geology was shaped by sudden, violent events such as major floods). This theory is no longer the scientific consensus in real life, but in-universe, catastrophism is presented as a theory that's still being disputed. So it's possible that catastrophism is true within the story, or that it's an in-universe example of FantasticScience that will (as in reality) eventually be discarded.
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** FantasticScience: The study of the power of names, or "nomenclature", is a legitimate science, routinely employed to manufacture {{Golem}}s, and reproductive biology is based on preformationism (organisms develop from miniature versions of themselves).
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** FantasticScience: The study of the power of names, or "nomenclature", is a legitimate science, routinely employed to manufacture {{Golem}}s, and reproductive biology is based on preformationism (organisms develop from miniature versions of themselves). There are also nods to historical "scientific" beliefs that have been disproven in the real world but are true in this universe, such as maternal impressions (the belief that if a mother suffered emotional shocks during pregnancy, such as being frightened by an animal, the child would be born disabled), and there are background references to fantastical organisms (unicorns, elemental sprites, and mermaids, amongst others) existing in this world.
** InSpiteOfANail: despite the fact that nomenclature and the manufacture of golems or homunculi have a major role in this world's society, it is otherwise nearly identical to the real Victorian era.
** InSpiteOfANail: despite the fact that nomenclature and the manufacture of golems or homunculi have a major role in this world's society, it is otherwise nearly identical to the real Victorian era.
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** StarScraper: In a more literal sense than usual -- one of the stars actually crashed into the tower.
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** TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: The robots are powered by air pressure. The protagonist discovers that the air pressure in their enclosed world is slowly equalizing, meaning they are condemned to stop functioning eventually.
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** NeverWasThisUniverse: Some Biblical events such as TheGreatFlood happened, and Egypt and other Bronze Age civilizations exist as they did on our Earth, but this is a FlatWorld at the center of Babylonian cosmology.
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** ImpossiblyTallTower: It takes months to climb to the top of the tower, meaning it's in the ballpark of a hundred miles tall. Which makes it literally impossible, since it's built from clay brick.
** NeverWasThisUniverse: Some Biblical events such as TheGreatFlood happened, and Egypt and other Bronze Age civilizations exist as they did on our Earth, but this is a FlatWorld at the center of Babylonian cosmology.
** NeverWasThisUniverse: Some Biblical events such as TheGreatFlood happened, and Egypt and other Bronze Age civilizations exist as they did on our Earth, but this is a FlatWorld at the center of Babylonian cosmology.
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'''Ted Chiang''' (born 1967) is an American SpeculativeFiction writer. Among his works are the eight stories published as ''Stories of Your Life and Others'' and the novellette ''The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate''.\\
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'''Ted Chiang''' (born 1967) is an American SpeculativeFiction writer. Among his works are the eight stories published as ''Stories of Your Life and Others'' and the novellette ''The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate''.\\Gate''.
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** {{Deconstruction}}: Of UsefulNotes/{{Christianity}}.
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** OurAngelsAreDifferent: Angels appear occasionally over populated areas.
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** OurAngelsAreDifferent: Angels appear occasionally over populated areas.are completely inhuman [[EldritchAbomination Eldritch Abominations]] whose irruption in the mortal plane causes all kinds of upheavals.
** GodIsEvil: Or, in any case, he follows a BlueAndOrangeMorality.
** GodIsEvil: Or, in any case, he follows a BlueAndOrangeMorality.
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** AdultFear: A pretty interesting, if no less tragic, example. [[spoiler: Through learning Heptapod B, Louise end up being able to foresee the future, including the fact that her daughter, who is not even conceived yet, will die at the age of 25 in a rock climbing accident.]]
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** TwoLinesNoWaiting: The short story continually alternates between Louise's account of her attempts to communicate with the Heptapods [[spoiler: and vignettes of her yet unborn daughter's life, spanning from birth to her death at age 25.]]
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'''Ted Chiang''' (born 1967) is an American SpeculativeFiction writer. Among his works are the eight stories published as ''Stories of Your Life and Others'' and the novellette ''The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate''.
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'''Ted Chiang''' (born 1967) is an American SpeculativeFiction writer. Among his works are the eight stories published as ''Stories of Your Life and Others'' and the novellette ''The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate''.
Gate''.\\
The film ''Film/{{Arrival}}'' is based on his story "Story of Your Life."
The film ''Film/{{Arrival}}'' is based on his story "Story of Your Life."
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Adding Story of Your Life to entry, pre-empting the likely influx of entries that will follow in the wake of the upcoming movie adaptation.
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* ''Story of Your Life'':
** StarfishAliens: The Heptapods are described as looking like a "barrel suspended at the intersection of seven limbs...[they were] radially symmetric." They are also described to have two mouths, one on top of their bodies for talking and one on the underside for eating (and presumably for pooping).
** StarfishAliens: The Heptapods are described as looking like a "barrel suspended at the intersection of seven limbs...[they were] radially symmetric." They are also described to have two mouths, one on top of their bodies for talking and one on the underside for eating (and presumably for pooping).
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** NeverWasThisUniverse: Some Biblical events such as TheGreatFlood happened, and Egypt and other Bronze Age civilizations exist as they did On our Eartg, but this is a FlatWorld at the center of Babylonian cosmology.
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** NeverWasThisUniverse: Some Biblical events such as TheGreatFlood happened, and Egypt and other Bronze Age civilizations exist as they did On on our Eartg, Earth, but this is a FlatWorld at the center of Babylonian cosmology.
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** TheWallAroundTheWorld: The robots have nothing that can drill or otherwise pierce the chromium wall containing their world, so they have no way to discern if they're part of a larger universe or not.
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** NeverWasThisUniverse: Some Biblical events such as TheGreatFlood happened, but this is a FlatWorld at the center of Babylonian cosmology.
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** NeverWasThisUniverse: Some Biblical events such as TheGreatFlood happened, and Egypt and other Bronze Age civilizations exist as they did On our Eartg, but this is a FlatWorld at the center of Babylonian cosmology.
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** RidiculouslyHumanRobots: Completely mechanical robots powered by air pressure, but they have emotions and helping each other refill their artificial lungs is quite the social activity.
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** TheGreatFlood: It happened, and everyone is worried the tower may goad Yahweh into unleashing another one.
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** GiveMeASign: After the nasty business with TheGreatFlood. everyone's nervous because Yahweh hasn't indicated whether he approves of the tower or not. When the protagonist ends up back on the ground he realizes it was because mankind wasn't going anywhere.
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** GiveMeASign: After the nasty business with TheGreatFlood. TheGreatFlood, everyone's nervous because Yahweh hasn't indicated whether he approves of the tower or not. When the protagonist ends up back on the ground he realizes it was because mankind wasn't going anywhere.
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** NeverWasThisUniverse: Some Biblical events such as TheGreatFlood happened, but this is a FlatWorld at the center of Babylonian cosmology,
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** NeverWasThisUniverse: Some Biblical events such as TheGreatFlood happened, but this is a FlatWorld at the center of Babylonian cosmology,cosmology.
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** NeverWasThisUniverse: Some Biblical events such as TheGreatFlood happened, but this is a FlatWorld at the center of Babylonian cosmology,
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** ApocalypticLog: The end reveals the story was this, written to whomever discovers their dead civilization.
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** GiveMeASign: After the nasty business with TheGreatFlood. everyone's nervous because Yahweh hasn't indicated whether he approves of the tower or not. When the protagonist ends up back on the ground he realizes it was because mankind wasn't going anywhere.
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* ''Tower of Babylon''
** TowerOfBabel: It's a retelling in a universe that operates as the ancient Babylonians believed.
** WrapAround: When the protagonist becomes separated from the rest of the miners and climbs through a series of caves, he thinks he's ascending into heaven. He comes out on the ground a few miles from the tower's base.
** TowerOfBabel: It's a retelling in a universe that operates as the ancient Babylonians believed.
** WrapAround: When the protagonist becomes separated from the rest of the miners and climbs through a series of caves, he thinks he's ascending into heaven. He comes out on the ground a few miles from the tower's base.
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** GoodIsNotNice: There are support groups for people harmed by angel apparitions.
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** GoodIsNotNice: There are support groups for people harmed by angel apparitions.apparitions.
** MundaneAfterlife: Heaven is very much like life, except that you live it in your eternal body, which is your mundane body fixed up. Hell is like Heaven, except that you spend your eternal afterlife knowing that you made the wrong choices, and will never get out.
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** MundaneAfterlife: Heaven is very much like life, except that you live it in your eternal body, which is your mundane body fixed up. Hell is like Heaven, except that you spend your eternal afterlife knowing that you made the wrong choices, and will never get out.
----
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New, with examples
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'''Ted Chiang''' (born 1967) is an American SpeculativeFiction writer. Among his works are the eight stories published as ''Stories of Your Life and Others'' and the novellette ''The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate''.
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!!His works provide examples of:
* ''Seventy-Two Letters'':
** FantasticScience: The study of the power of names, or "nomenclature", is a legitimate science, routinely employed to manufacture {{Golem}}s, and reproductive biology is based on preformationism (organisms develop from miniature versions of themselves).
** NeverWasThisUniverse
** OurHomunculiAreDifferent
* ''Exhalation'':
** ConstructedWorld: The characters live in a universe consisting of a huge cavity filled with argon, with chromium walls.
* ''Hell Is the Absence of God'':
** OurAngelsAreDifferent: Angels appear occasionally over populated areas.
** GoodIsNotNice: There are support groups for people harmed by angel apparitions.
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!!His works provide examples of:
* ''Seventy-Two Letters'':
** FantasticScience: The study of the power of names, or "nomenclature", is a legitimate science, routinely employed to manufacture {{Golem}}s, and reproductive biology is based on preformationism (organisms develop from miniature versions of themselves).
** NeverWasThisUniverse
** OurHomunculiAreDifferent
* ''Exhalation'':
** ConstructedWorld: The characters live in a universe consisting of a huge cavity filled with argon, with chromium walls.
* ''Hell Is the Absence of God'':
** OurAngelsAreDifferent: Angels appear occasionally over populated areas.
** GoodIsNotNice: There are support groups for people harmed by angel apparitions.
