Hi, I'm Levar Burton and this is Levar Burton Read.

In every episode I hand pick a different piece of short fiction and I read it to you.

Only thing these stories have in common is that I love them and I hope you will too.

And today I have another really fun live reading for you.

This time it is a story by Nisi Shaw that we recorded in Seattle.

Now Nisi Shaw writes deep and richly imagined science fiction and fantasy novels and short

stories that are rooted in her desire to make our world a more just place to live.

She has said that her latest novel Ever Fair is about longing for perfection and living

with the impossibility of achieving it.

It's an alternate history for the Congo and an amazing read.

Her writing has been nominated for a Nebula Award.

She's won the James Tiptree Junior Award and heads up.

If you stay tuned after the story ends, you'll get to hear some of my onstage conversation

with Nisi.

Like our other live episodes, I was lucky enough to have live musical accompaniment in Seattle

our musician for this episode is the great Gretchen Janover.

She joined me on stage using her electric cello and a loop sampler to build layers of sound.

The story we've performed together is entitled Black Betty.

It speaks on friendship and race and language.

And I'm not going to give too much away but perhaps it will help you to know that our

main character, Betty, is not human.

So without further ado, if you're ready, let's take a deep breath.

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