"Aurora in Four Voices" is a short science fiction novella written by Catherine Asaro

Catherine Asaro

Catherine Asaro is an American science fiction and fantasy author. She is best known for her books about the Ruby Dynasty, called the Saga of the Skolian Empire.- Biography :...

 and published in December 1998. It is part of the Skolian Empire series

Saga of the Skolian Empire

The Saga of the Skolian Empire, informally called the Skolian Saga or Tales of the Ruby Dynasty, is a series of science fiction novels, novelettes and novellas by Catherine Asaro, revolving around characters from an interstellar empire known as the Skolian Empire and their power struggle with the...

 and was originally published in Analog Science Fiction and Fact

Analog Science Fiction and Fact

Analog Science Fiction and Fact is an American science fiction magazine. As of 2011, it is the longest running continuously published magazine of that genre...

. It is also available free online at Analog magazine's website.

It won the 1999 HOMer Award for Best Novella from the SF and Fantasy forum on CompuServe

CompuServe

CompuServe was the first major commercial online service in the United States. It dominated the field during the 1980s and remained a major player through the mid-1990s, when it was sidelined by the rise of services such as AOL with monthly subscriptions rather than hourly rates...

, the Analytical Laboratory (AnLab) Award for Best Novella from the readers of Analog Science Fiction and Fact

Analog Science Fiction and Fact

Analog Science Fiction and Fact is an American science fiction magazine. As of 2011, it is the longest running continuously published magazine of that genre...

, and the Sapphire Award for Best Science Fiction Romance Short Fiction for 2000 from the Science Fiction Romance Newsletter. It was also nominated for the 1999 Hugo Award for Best Novella

Hugo Award for Best Novella

The Hugo Awards are given every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...

 and Nebula Award for Best Novella

Nebula Award for Best Novella

Winners of the Nebula Award for Best Novella. The stated year is that of publication; awards are given in the following year.-Winners and other nominees:-External links:**...

, the 2000 Seiun Award

Seiun Award

The is a Japanese science fiction award for the best science fiction published in Japan during the preceding year, as voted by attendees of the Japan Science Fiction Convention. "Seiun" is the Japanese word for "nebula", but the award is not related to the American Nebula Award. It was named after...

 for best overseas short fiction by the attendees of the Japan Science Fiction Convention

Nihon SF Taikai

The is an annual science fiction convention held in Japan. Each of these conventions is officially the , but they are more popularly known by the official nicknames given to them based on their locations, e.g. TOKON or DAICON .Each year the Nihon SF Taikai attracts between 1,000 and 1,500 science...

, and placed sixth for the 1999 Locus Award for Best Novella.

Plot

On the planet Ansatz, Jato, a man imprisoned on false charges, and Soz, a powerful fighter meet and embark on a mission for freedom. This mission not only leads them away from Crankenshaft and his control over Jato, but also leads them close to one another.

Characters

• Jato Stormson, the protagonist, grew up on a farm on the planet Sandstorm. After traveling to the planet Ansatz in hopes of performing a Trade with a Dreamer, he became a prisoner in the perpetually dark city Nightingale. Asaro describes him as having dark hair, a “...husky build and rugged good looks...”.

• Soz appears in other of Catherine Asaro's Skolian Empire works. In “Aurora in Four Voices” she is an ISC soldier with rank Imperial Messenger, Secondary Class. Her body has been modified with mechanics giving her advanced speed and strength. She arrived on Ansatz with her own spaceship, which Jato hopes to be smuggled off the planet aboard.

• Granite Crankenshaft is a Dreamer of Nightingale, whose art is “...known across a thousand star systems” and is “...a genius among geniuses...”. Crankenshaft framed Jato for murder in order to keep him in Nightingale, so that Crakenshaft could use him as a model for his masterpiece.