Exhalation

Another novella, the story is in the third person perspective and focuses on Nat, a recovering drug addict. Nat works for a company called SelfTalk, which buys, sells, and rents prisms, short for “Plaga inter world signaling mechanism” (273). Prisms are computer-like consoles that, when used for the first time, create a parallel timeline that the user is then able to communicate with. Prisms decay with use, with video messages taking more energy than text or audio. After enough use, communication between the two timelines ceases, “incommunicado forever after” (274). Older prisms that still have battery are particularly valuable, as they allow people to see even more differences between their life and the life of their “paraselves” (272).

Companies like SelfTalk aren’t thriving like they used to, as prisms have become affordable enough for most people to buy their own. To help keep the business running, Nat’s manager, Morrow, resorts to extortion and manipulation. He tricks a dying woman, Jessica Oehlsen, into believing she is sending the last of her money to her paraself (which isn’t possible). In reality, Morrow pockets the money.

When she’s not at work, Nat attends a support group for others with problematic prisms experiences.