| | We fired up the roundtable, and wow did this story spark some good discussions! To recap, for December we picked Charlie Jane Anders’ “The Fermi Paradox is Our Business Model,” diving into alien economics, humanity’s stubborn refusal to go extinct, and…tentacles? From debating whether humans could be just as bad as the fictional Falshi to how quickly we would get fired if we worked for a similar extraterrestrial corporation, our discussion went places. You’ll find the highlights from the roundtable below, along with the discussion questions and other science fiction recommendations. Be sure to vote for January’s story before the year is up! As always, thanks for reading along with us and hit us up on socials to let us know your thoughts about this month’s pick! — Kenna & Ian | | | | This Month's Short Story, | |  | In Anders’ story, the galaxy isn’t empty — it’s just efficient. An alien species called the Falshi seeds life on countless worlds, then waits millions of years for civilizations to arise, burn through their resources, and wipe themselves out in a phase politely labeled “Closure.” That’s when the Falshi swoop in and collect the neatly processed metals and fuels, skipping all the messy mining themselves. Two Falshi, Jon and Toku, wake from long stasis expecting Earth to be just another closed-out account. Instead, they find that humanity has survived its own nuclear catastrophe inside a massive megastructure — and the humans are very interested in talking to the people who built their universe as a business venture. As negotiations unfold, the story turns into a tense, witty argument about exploitation, optimism, and what happens when a supposedly doomed species refuses to play its assigned role. Disclaimer: All stories linked through this club are hosted on their original publishers’ websites. We do not reproduce or host the stories ourselves. Links are provided solely for readers’ convenience and discussion purposes. Copyright and all rights remain with the original authors and publishers. | | | Because half the fun of reading isn't just turning the pages, it's what happens when we start talking about them. So below are a few questions to think about while you're reading the story. We'll also be walking through a few of these in our wrap up newsletter on this story. - If you discovered that humanity only exists because a more powerful species expected us to self-destruct for their profit, would that make you more hopeful about our future—or less?
- How does turning the Fermi paradox into a profit scheme change the way you think about that classic question, “Where is everybody?”
- Which Earth species do you think would make the best (or funniest) addition to the chaos in this story (and you can’t pick pigeons)?
- If you were hired by the alien bureaucracy depicted in the story, how would you navigate this situation and how quickly would you get fired?
We’ll be revisiting some of these questions in our end-of-month wrap-up — and we’re excited to see your answers in the comments and on socials! | | | | Vote For Next Month's Story | | | Here are January's options | Be sure to vote before the end of the month! | | | If You Like That Story, Try This Book! | | | | In THE BIG BOOK OF SCIENCE FICTION, literary power couple Ann and Jeff VanderMeer transport readers from Mars to Mechanopolis, planet Earth to parts unknown. | | | | In the vein of Alice Hoffman and Charlie Jane Anders's own All the Birds in the Sky comes a novel full of love, disaster, and magic. | | | | Mind transfers, nanotech, and robotic innovations take center stage in this visionary 2026 book. | | | | Space.com Staff Speak Sci-Fi | | | Space staff members Ian Stokes, Brett Tingley, Anthony Wood and Kenna Hughes-Castleberry explore "The Fermi Paradox is Our Business Model" and dive into why humans may not be as good as we think, the flaws of capitalism and who would get fired first from an alien corporation. | | | | It's one of the 21st century's best sci-fi shows. If only "The Expanse" had found the audience it deserved. | | | Kara Zor-El goes galactic for this wild teaser set to Blondie's '80s anthem, 'Call Me'. | | | | Stay up-to-date on all things space science, news, and entertainment by subscribing to our newsletters. | | | | | | | | | Future US LLC © | | Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY, 10036 | | | |
