"Tantie Merle and the Farmhand 4200" is a 2023 science fiction short story by Trinidadian author R. S. A. Garcia. It was first published in Uncanny Magazine.
Synopsis An elderly Trinidadian woman is given a robotic farmhand made of nanotechnology, with unexpected results — including that it is repeatedly eaten by her goat.
Reception "Tantie Merle and the Farmhand 4200" won the Nebula Award for Best Short Story of 2023Tantie Merle and the Farmhand 4200, at Science Fiction Writers of America; retrieved November 9, 2024 and the 2024 Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award.Garcia Wins 2024 Sturgeon Award, at Locus Online; posted September 9, 2024; retrieved November 9, 2024
Origin Garcia has described the story as having been inspired by an online conversation about how goats will eat anything.Interview: R.S.A. Garcia, by Caroline M. Yoachim; in Uncanny Magazine issue 53; retrieved November 9, 2024
References
External links Text of the story, at Uncanny Magazine