Ken Liu. Altogether Elsewhere, Vast Herds of Reindeer. (Fantasy & Science Fiction, May/June 2011).

In the far future, teen angst still prevails, as does homework, even if that homework takes place in a bedroom that is a multi-dimensional Klein bottle. Young Renee Tae-o Fayette, like all children of her generation has the world(s) at the tip of their fingers, as there is little that is not possible.

However, her mother is an anachonism, someone from before the Singularity, someone who believes that the touch of something real is to be cherished over a virtual life. And she has chosen a path that will take her a long, long way from her daughter. It’s a touching story, as the pair spend a final day together, a day that they will both cherish.