This audio version of Ted Chiang's short story The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gare was first premiered on the SF fan podcast Star Ship Sofa (www.starshipsofa.com) in March, 2008. We are re-presenting the story on Uvula Audio in order to get a bit more exposure for this fine classic SF tale. The story is a gracefully told lesson about accepting fate—or, as better suits this medieval Arabian setting, the will of Allah. A Baghdad merchant discovers an alchemical device that can send a traveler back in time 20 years. Despite the alchemist's warning that "what is made cannot be unmade," and three illustrative tales about others' attempts to alter the past, the merchant is determined to return to an earlier time to save his long-dead wife. Half lyrical Arabian Nights legend and half old school cautionary SF tale, this skillfully written story and its theme of insurmountable fate may comfort as many readers as it makes uncomfortable.

The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate by Ted Chiang

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Rated PG

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