Rosebud
A novella.
"The crew of the Rosebud are, currently, and by force of law, a balloon, a goth with a swagger stick, some sort of science aristocrat possibly, a ball of hands, and a swarm of insects."
Digitally speaking, that is.
The ship has assembled its crew of sentient artificial intelligences to discuss an unusual object picked up by its sensors.
They have no idea what this encounter will mean for the fate of all existence. Nor will they remember.
Paul Cornell
Paul Cornell is a writer of science fiction and fantasy in prose, comics and TV, one of only two people to be Hugo Award-nominated for all three media. He’s written Doctor Who for the BBC, Action Comics for DC, and Wolverine for Marvel. He’s won the BSFA Award for his short fiction, an Eagle Award for his comics, and shares in a Writer’s Guild Award for his television.
His latest urban fantasy novel is Who Killed Sherlock Holmes? from Tor. He lives in Gloucestershire with his wife and son.