★★★★
The last woman and the last man want to “stay on this Earth and do human things,” while all others have been uploaded by a mysterious “River” which grants eternal life among the stars. They fail.
Review
Tiptree’s last great story offers the choice between having a life full of sex and suffering, or escape to a sexless, disembodied life. Staying on Earth seems to be the braver choice. The novella cites lots of Keats and Yeats, resembling the mood of the story.
I liked the story very much with its bittersweet character.
Meta: ISFDB. First published 1980 in Interfaces. I read it in the collection Her Smoke Rose Up Forever.
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