There is a scene fairly early in Memoirs of a Synth: Gold Record where Brianna uses the sticky label from a beer bottle to preserve the memory molecules given to her by Y’reui, an aged Callibrini Queen. The story in those molecules is never revealed in the novel – it has no bearing on the events of Brianna and Jerrold’s first adventure – but the Alien Days anthology gave me a perfect opportunity to share the tale.
Told entirely from Y’reui’s chemical-memory point(s) of view, Where All Memories are One recalls the events of Brianna’s first encounter with the insectoid Callibrini – and the disastrous results of that meeting.
This was a difficult story to write, not only because the events themselves were so very painful, but also because of the sheer challenge of trying to present the thoughts and multiple points of view of the insectoid characters in a way that we mere humans could wrap our heads around.
I hope you enjoy it.
Tags: Brianna Rei, short stories, Space Opera, Synth
