Could it be that the simple joys of our time, like watching the sky in the early morning, might become completely alien in the future? Could a simple walk outside, at any hour of the day, eventually seem strange or unusual? And is it possible that what once felt natural, could become unfamiliar and unnatural? These questions are explored in Azza Sultan’s fascinating short story, The Sky Room (translated by Raphael Cohen), included in the anthology, Egypt +100: Stories from a Century after Tahrir (2024), published by Comma Press. The collection presents a series of science fiction tales that envision life in Egypt a hundred years from now, blending the boundaries between reality and fiction. The story is told through a series of conversations between a daughter and her father, interlaced with her memories of their past discussions about nature. In a world where even casual outings are heavily regulated and artificial technology dominates, she clings to the stories of her father’s love for the natural world — the artistic patterns of the clouds, the hues of the sea, and the simple pleasure of walking barefoot on the ground. Time…
