Hexagons (story)

"Hexagons" is a 2003 alternate history short story by American writer Robert Reed. It was first published in the magazine Asimov's Science Fiction.

Synopsis

In 1933 in a world where the Roman Empire never fell but converted to Christianity, and India, China, and the Aztec Republic became the world's dominant technological powers, twelve-year-old Samuel Dunlop watches as his father tries to run for office.

Reception

"Hexagons" was a finalist for the 2004 Hugo Award for Best Novelette.[1]

Io9 has noted that, unlike many stories in which the Roman Empire did not fall, "Hexagons" is not "explicitly dystopian".[2]

Tangent Online's Chris Markwyn considered it to be a "compelling" story that is "well-told but fairly conventional", and observed that the contraband history-simulator owned by Samuel's friend's grandfather "undercut" the story's ability to "assert its own reality"; Markwyn further noted that Reed's choice of villain — a "blue-eyed, small-mustached, table-pounding ultra-nationalist who blames his country's problems on the Jews", who is "obviously an analogue of a historical figure" — results in an emphasis on the "artificial, game-like nature of [Reed's] scenario", ultimately detracting from readers' suspension of disbelief.[3]

gollark: That would just allow per-*column* control, unless you scan them left and right really fast.
gollark: But I wanted per-pixel ionizing radiation control.
gollark: I wonder if you could build some kind of nanoscale X-ray emitter?
gollark: Unfortunately, most modern computer monitors cannot blast ionizing radiation into your eyes. Which is a shame.
gollark: They're just playing snippets though.

References
  1. 2004 Hugo Awards Archived 2011-05-07 at WebCite, at TheHugoAwards.org; retrieved June 14, 2018
  2. Great moments in alternate history: the non-fall of the Roman empire, by David Daw; published June 6, 2010; retrieved June 15, 2018
  3. Asimov's, July 2003, reviewed by Chris Markwyn; at Tangent Online; published July 11, 2003; retrieved June 14, 2018
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