The Long Game

I'm not entirely sure I understood this story. 

The story illustrates a being who discovers its race once lived much longer before the arrival of humans and a new dust that changed the species' lifecycle. This being makes a deal with the humans that will extend its personal lifecycle in exchange for providing the humans what they want, the growth of more plants they like to harvest. Still, this being is determined to teach the next generations to read and write and to understand DNA so they can learn to take control of their own lives and make lives better for themselves without depending on the humans.

This story feels hopeless and hopeful at the same time. There is a sense of not giving up despite the odds. The hope that life in generations future, long after one is gone is a fight with fighting, a life worth living. Even if one never sees the rewards. I wonder if Leckie is trying to help us learn to consider “The Long Game”. To learn to value this world and the life that will live here long after we're gone. 

Note that the book has made me think, I like it better!