Thanks to dormouse_in_tea, Peter Berman, and Yune Kyung Lee. Inspired by odd thoughts on stellar evolution and the quirky tabletop roleplaying game Puppetland by John Tynes (out of print, but was published in a twofer with Tynes’ metagame RPG Power Kill). Reprinted in The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy and Horror: 2015, ed. Paula Guran.