Ode to the Half-Broken

by Suzanne Palmer

Forty years after a cataclysm nearly ended the world, an aging robot named Be lives in isolation among the ruins of the former New York Botanical Gardens. When a mysterious attacker vandalizes Be and steals a leg, the robot is forced to leave its solitude. Accompanied by a sarcastic cyborg dog and a human mechanic with her own nightmares, Be embarks on a quest to recover the missing limb and uncover who is trying to reignite the old conflict. As the uneven recovery from the war unfolds, Be must confront a painful past, grapple with identity, and decide what kind of future they want in a world that is only half‑broken. The story explores resilience, hope, and the search for belonging in a post‑apocalyptic setting.