
In “Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom,” the ability to glimpse into alternate universes necessitates a radically new examination of the concepts of choice and free will. In “Exhalation,” an alien scientist makes a shocking discovery with ramifications that are literally universal. In “The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate,” a portal through time forces a fabric seller in ancient Baghdad to grapple with past mistakes and second chances. Ted Chiang tackles some of humanity’s oldest questions along with new quandaries only he could imagine. They are Ted Chiang at his best: profound, sympathetic, revelatory. Tackling some of humanity’s oldest questions along with new quandaries only he could imagine, these stories will change the way you think, feel, and see the world. Nine stunningly original, provocative, and poignant stories-two published for the very first time-all from the mind of the incomparable author of Stories of Your Life and Others.It is a story about cyborgs who live on a different planet and use mental lungs to breathe everyday. It’s a short story from his collection titled Exhalation: Stories.


Exhalation is a short story written by Ted Chiang.

By the time I was halfway through I was realizing that it is even better than Stories of Your Life and Others.

To say this is a magnum opus is an understatement. In “The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate,” a portal through time forces a fabric seller in ancient Baghdad to grapple with past mistakes and second chances. That’s the only way I can describe Ted Chiang’s Exhalation: Stories. In these nine stunningly original, provocative, and poignant stories, Ted Chiang tackles some of humanity’s oldest questions along with new quandaries only he could imagine. The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate Exhalation What's Expected of Us The Lifecycle of Software Objects Dacey's Patent Automatic Nanny The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling The Great Silence Omphalos Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom Story Notes Acknowledgments. And, each in its own way, the stories prove that complex and thoughtful. "THE UNIVERSE BEGAN AS AN ENORMOUS BREATH BEING HELD." What does it mean to be human alongside others that no one else has even imagined.
