Binti (novella)

Did You Know?

• Anyaugo Okorafor, the author's daughter, is credited in the acknowledgements for essentially coming up with the plot of this novella.
• The novella has two sequels: Binti: Home (released January 31, 2017) and Binti: The Night Masquerade (released January 2018).
• An omnibus edition of the three novellas includes an additional short story titled 'Binti: Sacred Fire', which serves as an interlude between Binti and Home.

Plot

Binti, a young Himba woman from Earth, becomes the first member of her people accepted to the prestigious intergalactic university Oomza Uni. She runs away from home and boards a transport ship, which is hijacked by the Meduse, a jellyfish-like alien species previously at war with the Khoush human ethnic group. After the Meduse kill all other passengers, Binti retreats to her quarters and discovers that her edan, an ancient piece of technology, allows direct communication with the Meduse, and that her otjize, a clay mixture from her homeland, heals the Meduse's tentacles. She befriends a young Meduse named Okwu and brokers a tentative truce that involves a profound physical transformation. Upon arrival at Oomza Uni, she negotiates a short-lived peace between the Meduse and humanity before beginning her studies.