THE TELL, by David Brin
The Paul Di Filippo Presents series
showcases modern masterpieces of
science fiction and fantasy selected by
acclaimed author and critic Paul Di Filippo.
You can read much of the human saga—a stark history of extravagant hopes and stunning defeats—on the face of any gambler... the same story told by Judean hills, where towns and villages gradually piled atop one another, layer after layer, each stratum spelling yet another tale of confidence and ambition that inevitably failed. Till someone else arrived to build upon that dust. An upward sedimentary process, mounting ever higher. Generations, separated by the babble of language and culture and centuries, but united by one aim—to reach Heaven by dint of hard work, hope, and pain.
“Here, we have trenched through
