I was so sure I was going to give this 4 stars but the more I thought about the more I just... was astonished. This is the first time a short story has truly impressed me. It's such a shame it is a short story because the concept and way of telling it was genius and the ending has my mind reeling with possibilities and imagination. NK Jemisin is a genius and once I finish this collection my first reads of 2025 is going to have to be to finish the Broken Earth trilogy