Changes

Many of these stories spiral outwards from a revolutionary surge forward in technology that aims to improve things – a robot that helps out around the house, a device that uses time distortion to retard the physical aging ageing process. But despite these advances, this technology still cannot substitute human interaction and intimacy. In ''City of Silence,'' the protagonist finds himself wishing he could speak to a real person, sick of the robotic voice of the phone. Worse still, the replacement of technology in their lives leaves them feeling hollow. The titular story,''Invisible Planets'' plays with this idea beautifully, illustrating the sensation of connecting with another person by the description of an alien race that leave traces of their bodies inside each other upon contact, merging briefly into one.