Translation State

by Ann Leckie

“You have only small and seemingly pointless choices available to you. But if there is anything I have been trying to teach you, it is that small actions can have larger consequences. If one has only small choices available, one must be patient, and canny.” I thought of a tiny black seed sprouting into a red, round, sharp-flavored radish. “I will say this one thing more,” said Teacher. “When you have decided what you want, remember that what one will not acknowledge is what one cannot properly control.” I thought about that. I thought about that for a long time.

He had just said he didn’t want the bio mech but he would match with one because of how I felt. That was new, that was strange, that someone cared how I felt about anything.