Mandala (novella)

Bear, Greg. "Mandala." New Dimensions: Science Fiction: Number 8. Robert Silverberg, ed. NYC: Harper & Row, 1978. Collected in Bear's The Wind from a Burning Woman. See Internet Speculative Fiction Database for other collections.[1] Audiobook: Narrated by George Guidall and Christina Moore. "Published by Recorded Books. [...P]ackaged and distributed by Blackstone Audio," (c) 1992.

See for figuratively living, definitely highly mechanized (cybernetic) cities, with cyborgs, robots, automatic extensions of the City, plus aging of the City and its reorganization — and some movement by a City. Important story for the relationships between cities and their human inhabitants (with one end of the curve, so to speak, cities' expelling humans as sinful and unworthy), and with injuries to and healing of the human body. Significantly, there is a central theme of sin viewed expressly theologically and full humanity perhaps (or not) related to reproductive capacity.

Cf. and contrast cities in MORTAL ENGINES (film), "The Caves of Steel," K. S. Robinson's 2312 (the city of Terminator), Bear's own Eon; additionally DARK CITY, and THE THIRTEENTH FLOOR.

"Mandala" put into Bear's bibliographical context, context of the Bear's Strength of Stones collection of "Mandala," "Resurrection," and "The Revenant" — and briefly discussed in a post on Strength of Stones on the blog site Potpourri of Science Fiction Literature, 6 Nov. 2013, as of September 2022, available at link, here.[2]

RDE, finishing, 12Sep22; 1Oct22