He offered an explanation, speaking of his search for tiny pores in the skin of reality, like the holes that worms bore into wood, and how upon finding one he was able to expand and stretch it the way a glassblower turns a dollop of molten glass into a long-necked pipe, and how he then allowed time to flow like water at one mouth while causing it to thicken like syrup at the other. I confess I did not really understand his words and cannot testify to their truth.
-- Narrator / Fuwaad (“The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate”)

Importance: This passage demonstrates how Chiang uses different language and imagery to reflect setting and genre. “The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate” is still a science fiction story, but it is also set in a past that does not have the same concepts of science and technology as the modern reader. The elaborate metaphorical language produces a very clear picture of...