Three Cups of Grief, by Starlight [short story]

Aliette de Bodard was born in the United States, and grew up in France. She studied computer science and applied mathematics at Ecole Polytchnique, one of France's top engineering schools. She began writing fiction to distract herself from her classwork, and completed two novels before finishing her studies. She is a system engineer and writer of show more speculative fiction. Her works include the Obsidian and Blood trilogy and The House of Shattered Wings. Her short fiction has received two Nebula Awards, a Locus Award, and a British Science Fiction Award. (Bowker Author Biography) show less