* * *
She stayed home, curling up on the bare floor and falling into a deep well-earned slumber. Hours later, her empty stomach woke her. It was dark, so she brought forth her glow to light the room. She stretched and went outside to the backyard. Movenpick was in the tree looking down at her. She climbed up to join him. When she looked out over the shea tree farm she was met with an eerie sight. She gasped, clutching the tree’s trunk so she didn’t fall.
In the night, the view was like a galaxy of green stars. They shined from the base of almost all the trees. All except the base of hers, because her seed had been crushed. No one had spent time in the trees as she did. Had that been why the seed was offered to her? Or was it solely because of her “sky words”? What would these grow into? And now that LifeGen had entrenched itself in Wulugu, were they going to harvest them? International corporate-level remote control.
“That would be bad,” she muttered.
And so she brought forth her light. When she did, all the seeds glowing in the soil brightened. She pushed her light to grow brighter. The seeds brightened some more. Then some more.
Then even brighter. And this time, she did it on purpose.
ALSO BY NNEDI OKORAFOR
THE BINTI SERIES
Binti
Binti: Home
Binti: The Night Masquerade
THE AKATA SERIES
Akata Witch
Akata Warrior
Lagoon
Who Fears Death
The Book of Phoenix
Kabu Kabu
The Shadow Speaker
Ikenga
Broken Places & Outer Spaces
(nonfiction)
CHILDREN’S BOOKS
Chicken in the Kitchen
Long Juju Man
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
NNEDI OKORAFOR, born to Igbo Nigerian parents in Cincinnati, Ohio, is an author of fantasy and science fiction for both adults and younger readers. Her Tordotcom novella Binti won the 2015 Hugo and Nebula Awards; her children’s book Long Juju Man won the 2007–08 Macmillan Writer’s Prize for Africa; and her adult novel Who Fears Death was a Tiptree Honor Book. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Chapter 1. Sankofa
Chapter 2. Starwriter
Chapter 3. Moonrise
Chapter 4. Goddess of Travel
Chapter 5. The Road
Chapter 6. The Red Couch and Eye Patch
Chapter 7. Robotown
Chapter 8. Everything Happens in the Market
Chapter 9. Death
Chapter 10. New Year
Also by Nnedi Okorafor
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
REMOTE CONTROL
Copyright © 2020 by Nnedi Okorafor
All rights reserved.
Cover art by Greg Ruth
Cover design by Christine Foltzer
Edited by Lee Harris
A Tordotcom Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates
120 Broadway
New York, NY 10271
www.tor.com
Tor® is a registered trademark of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC.
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-1-250-77280-0 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-250-77279-4 (ebook)
eISBN 9781250772794
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First Edition: January 2021