As the Last I May Know
A Tor.com Original
Readers rate it 4.0 (23 on Hardcover)
26 pages · Released Nov 6, 2019 · Tor Books
Content report card
As the Last I May Know parent’s guide: what’s inside
Language
Sexual content
LGBTQ+ themes
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What it offers
Educational value
A note for parents
This Hugo Award–winning short story explores war, weapons of mass destruction, and child exploitation through a thoughtful speculative lens rather than graphic depiction. A 10-year-old protagonist is trained as a human missile launch code, facing the threat of being killed to access it, creating significant emotional weight and mature themes. The story's core message—that empathy and connection matter more than military dominance—is powerful and age-appropriate for mature readers, but the premise itself requires emotional readiness to grapple with.
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From the publisher
Winner of the Hugo Award for Best Short Story, S. L. Huang’s “As the Last I May Know” is a Tor.com original tale of alternate history. Nyma was raised by the Order Elders to be one of the President’s Carriers. Now she is ten years old and the nation is being ravaged by devastating war. It’s only a matter of time before... Winner of the Hugo Award for Best Short Story, S. L. Huang’s “As the Last I May Know” is a Tor.com original tale of alternate history. Nyma was raised by the Order Elders to be one of the President’s Carriers. Now she is ten years old and the nation is being ravaged by devastating war. It’s only a matter of time before she is required to fulfill her duty. For implanted in her body is a capsule containing operating codes to the country’s weapons of last resort—missiles capable of annihilating entire civilizations in a single blast. If the president is willing to execute an entire populace with the push of a button from a remote distance, he must first be willing to murder a child in order to access the devastating arsenal. But Nyma’s duty is not to sacrifice herself. She must develop an empathic bond with the president to remind him that the price of victory is too high to pay—for all of humanity... At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Shelved under
- Fiction
- Science fiction
- Fantasy
- Dystopian
- War
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ISBN 9781250241382 · Tor Books