A song for Laya

I have been studying their religion for six years. It is unlike anything in history, and there is no equivalent on the ancient earth, nor among any other species we have encountered. The union... is wrong to compare it to human sacrifices. The ancient earth religions offered one or two victims forcibly as sacrifices to please their gods, killing a few to gain mercy for millions, which usually met with objection from the few. As for the Eshkin, they do not do that. Greshka takes everyone, and they go to her of their own free will. They go to caves to be eaten by those parasites, alive, in the distant future, during the time when humans spread across the galaxy, traveling between stars and meeting various creatures from other worlds. A human settlement is established on a newly discovered planet inhabited by simple, peaceful people who still live in their primitive era for thousands of years, and all believe in one religion. The Eshkin welcome humans and allow them to live among them, but it quickly becomes clear that their religion involves a very strange kind of suicide, which they willingly and bravely accept at the end of their lives. This prompts the human leadership to summon investigators with extraordinary psychic abilities, Rob and Liana, to answer a very important question: why did humans themselves start adopting this mysterious space religion? These are the first songs George R. R. Martin wrote in 1973 and published the following year. At that time, they were the longest he had written, and also the work closest to his heart. The song "For Leah" won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story and came in second in the Lux Award poll. It was nominated for the "Bipoli" and "Gorter" awards.