★★★★

Summary

The novella jumps around the globe, portraying several people fighting climate change – from an Innuit biogeochemists in the Arctic sea plugging Methane leaks to a Brazilian microclimate scientist witnessing astonishing graffitis to  a child in rural India following an anthropologist and fighting a tornado and a retirees battling fracking in Texas. They all are connected through Million Eyes, an experimental network that connects people virtually at critical moments when they need inspiration and support.

Review

It is difficult to find optimistic climatic SF works. The author creates one by showing how ordinary people take a share in rescuing the world. Sometimes, the vignettes get a bit transcendental or feel like magical realism. But they are always moving, set in interesting exotic locations, and full of believable characters:

“The days of the lone ranger were gone; this was the age of the million heroes.”

The gadget is inspiring insofar as it isn’t only a technological connector, it isn’t a power toy, but changes the world in a spiritual way.

Meta: ISFDB. First published September 2014 in Hieroglyph. I’ve read it in The Years Best SF #32.