Haunting sf story podcast: "Edward Bear and the Very Long Walk"

This week's story on the science fiction podcast Escape Pod is "Edward Bear and the Very Long Walk," a haunting Ken Scholes tale about an animatronic AI Winnie the Pooh toy aboard a doomed, pandemic-wracked survival ship, tasked with saving the human race.

“Do you know what’s happened to the children?”

Edward swallowed. Suddenly, he wanted to cry. “Yes. They’re…sleeping?”

He hoped and hoped and hoped and hoped, grimacing as he did. He looked around.

Makeshift beds lined the room. Small hands gripped blankets, small eyes stared at the ceiling.

“No.” The boy frowned. “They’ve died.”

“Because of Something Very Bad?”

“Yes. And I need you to be a Very Brave Bear. Can you do that?”

Link, Subscribe to podcast feed

[#1 posted by Jeff , February 25, 2008 4:27 AM]

Charming bed-time story for the damned. I don't suggest reading this one to any children.

[#2 posted by madjo , February 25, 2008 4:36 AM]

It had me to tears at the end of it.
Silly old bear.

[#3 posted by Bolero , February 25, 2008 6:16 AM]

I am a 20 year old male college student. I love fire, things that go boom, and machine that propel projectiles long distances at very fast speeds.

I am not ashamed to say that there were tears in my eyes at the end of this story.

[#4 posted by Nora Rocket , February 25, 2008 6:47 AM]

This hits all my go-buttons: apocalypse, inexorable creeping doom, semi-sentient stuffed animals...can't wait to download chez moi and get teary-eyed in the corner!

[#5 posted by Church , February 25, 2008 7:11 AM]

Fantastic story. If your eyes aren't at least misty by the end, you need to check your house for the pod.

[#6 posted by grey not grey , February 25, 2008 7:13 AM]

For those of you that prefer to read than be read to, I found a text version on revolutionsf.com .

The site has link issues, so here are the 3 sections as direct links:

http://www.revolutionsf.com/article.php?id=3249
http://www.revolutionsf.com/article.php?id=3249&page=2
http://www.revolutionsf.com/article.php?id=3249&page=3

[#7 posted by Adam C , February 25, 2008 8:40 AM]

I love this story.

[#8 posted by cellocgw , February 25, 2008 9:44 AM]

I'm going to claim unintentional plagiarism: Howard Waldrop, "Heirs of the Perisphere" .

[#9 posted by Seedouble , February 25, 2008 4:55 PM]

ATTENTION MODS/WHOEVER: Subscribe to podcast link only links to a GIF. Delete this message when done?

[#10 posted by Coaster , February 25, 2008 5:08 PM]

I am glad I only read the story. Hearing it out loud may have been too sad.

I love this story. A VERY Brave Bear.

[#11 posted by Talebones , February 25, 2008 7:54 PM]

I loved this story when I first bought it for TALEBONES in 2001. That bear keeps walking, and Ken keeps getting more and more (deserved) kudos for it. He's landed a beautiful multi-book deal with TOR. This guy is going more places than Edward Bear himself!

"Edward Bear" will be in print form again at the end of this year in Ken's first story collection entitled Last Flights, Long Walks, and Other Journeys (Fairwood Press).