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asher553THE LITTLE GODDESS, Ian McDonald, 2005; in 'The Very Best of the Best' by Gardner Dozois, 2019. The introduction in the anthology describes the story as being set in "a future India" which is partially correct. In fact, the story begins and ends in the narrator's native Nepal; the cultural differences between this tradition-bound mountain kingdom and its larger, fast-paced neighbor are significant in the near-future world of the story. The tale is character-based SF in the best tradition, with the narrator's character taking charge of her own life using the available technology.
The present tale appears to be part of a larger fictional world envisioned by McDonald. Here, futuristic sci-fi and exotic (to the Western reader) elements co-exist with mundane details like the narrator's past trauma (the death of her uncle) and persistent schizophrenia.
The story ends at a literal crossroads between the old and the new. In the end, she chooses the mundane over the grandiose, and we see that the emphasis in the story title is on the word "little": "Ours shall be a little divinity, of small miracles and everyday wonders. ... I shall be a little goddess."
The present tale appears to be part of a larger fictional world envisioned by McDonald. Here, futuristic sci-fi and exotic (to the Western reader) elements co-exist with mundane details like the narrator's past trauma (the death of her uncle) and persistent schizophrenia.
The story ends at a literal crossroads between the old and the new. In the end, she chooses the mundane over the grandiose, and we see that the emphasis in the story title is on the word "little": "Ours shall be a little divinity, of small miracles and everyday wonders. ... I shall be a little goddess."
