Maybe Sci-Fi Can Make Us All Empathize With Fungi

"The Great Silence," a story written by science fiction author Ted Chiang and artists Allora & Calzadilla, ponders the question of why humans are so obsessed with the idea of communicating with aliens at the same time that we show such vast indifference to endangered species like parrots, which are perfectly capable of communication. The story achieves much of its emotional impact by being told from the point of view of a parrot. Author Karen Joy Fowler recently selected "The Great Silence" for inclusion in The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2016, which she co-edited with John Joseph Adams. She says the story struck her in particular because of the extensive research into animal intelligence that she did to write her 2013 novel We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves. "I really was the perfect reader for it," Fowler says in Episode 224 of the Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast.