Rebecca Among the Stars

Whakataukī Among the Stars: Volume II   Some stories begin with a bang. Others begin with a murmur, a crack in the wall, a warning light nobody has quite got round to fixing, and a machine cheerfully insisting that everything remains well within acceptable parameters while smoke curls out of something expensive. Today, I’m delighted to launch Volume II of Whakataukī Among the Stars . Like every book in the series, it can be read as part of the numbered collection or enjoyed entirely on its own as a standalone volume. Each book belongs to the larger series, but each also opens its own door. Which is only fair, really. The universe has never shown much interest in waiting until people are emotionally prepared. This second collection brings together 16 science-fiction stories shaped by Māori whakataukī, each one presented with its translation and meaning. But these are not included as decoration, nor as a pleasant bit of embroidery pinned to the edge of the page where nobody...

The Great Galactic Bun Fight Proverb: Too many cooks spoil the broth. Meaning: When too many people all try to take charge,  the whole thing turns into a disaster with seasoning. On the interstellar supply ship Saint Marigold , breakfast was not a meal. It was a campaign. The ship carried freight, machinery, mail, spare hull plates, one diplomatic parcel no one was allowed to touch, and a crew of three hundred and twelve people who became less like civilized beings and more like wolves in socks if not fed by 0700. The galley, naturally, was where hope went to be burned, buttered, and shouted over. Chief Cook Della Pike ruled it with a wooden spoon she claimed had once knocked sense into a pirate. No one knew if this was true. No one wanted to test it. Della believed in order, timing, sharp knives, and buns that rose properly instead of slumping about like they had bad news from home. Her assistant, Jori Venn, believed cooking was art, art required risk, and ...

A short story inspired by the whakataukī (proverb): “Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini.” My strength is not that of an individual, but that of the collective. I’ve always loved this whakataukī because it carries such a deep truth. We like to imagine strength as something solitary — one brave person, one clever idea, one hero standing alone. But real strength rarely works that way. Real strength is shared. It is built out of family, community, sacrifice, and the steady hands that hold us up when the world shakes. This little sci-fi story grew out of that idea.

What Has Stayed With You? Lately, I’ve been sitting with a feeling I don’t think writers ever quite get used to. Gratitude. Over the past two weeks, more than 400 people have read the blog posts I’ve been sharing about Whakataukī Among the Stars and the stories behind it. That may not sound enormous to the outside world, but to me it feels deeply meaningful. Every read is a person who stopped for a moment, opened a post, and stepped into the world I’ve been building. In a time when everyone is rushed and pulled in a hundred directions, that is no small thing. So first, thank you. Thank you for reading. Thank you for being curious. Thank you for taking the time to engage with these story spotlights, these ideas, these futures shaped by whakataukī and imagination. Writing is often such a solitary thing. You spend hours, days, months alone with an idea, hoping that when you finally send it out into the world, it will find someone. Lately, it feels as though these stories have been...

Closing the Circle on Whakataukī Among the Stars: Volume I And a First Glimpse of Volume II   Over the past little while, I’ve been sharing Story Spotlights from Whakataukī Among the Stars: Volume I — each one opening a door into a different story, a different whakataukī, a different future shaped by old truths that still know how to speak. Now that those spotlights are complete, I wanted to write one final post for the book as a whole.  Because while each story stands on its own, Volume I was never only meant to be read as a collection of separate pieces. It was built as a conversation — between proverb and future, between pressure and character, between the worlds we imagine and the values we carry into them. These stories ask what happens when human beings meet hardship, memory, technology, grief, love, duty, absurdity, and each other under strange stars. And again and again, the answer is this: what matters most is not the machinery, nor the spectacle, nor ...

Some stories arrive solemnly. Some arrive carrying tools, a clipboard, a kettle, and at least three infrastructure problems before breakfast. Ministry of Excellent Ideas is firmly in the second category. It begins with the whakataukī: “Piki kau ake te whakāro pai, hauhake tōnu iho.” Translation: When a good thought arises, harvest it at once. Meaning: When a worthwhile idea appears — something that could help, heal, build, or guide — capture it and act on it while it’s fresh. I love this proverb because it is both wise and brisk. It does not say, “Have a lovely thought and admire it from a tasteful distance.” It does not say, “Form a subcommittee and revisit in six months once everyone has exhausted themselves producing minutes.” It says: when the good idea comes, act on it. That felt like fertile ground for a science-fiction story. In Ministry of Excellent Ideas , we meet Sibylla Te Awanui , leader of the Kōwhai Settlement on Aoraki-2 — though “leader” here mostly means ...