The Cookie Monster

2003 Hugo award winning novella by Vernor Vinge. Available online.
It was linked to on r/rational in 2014http://www.reddit.com/r/rational/comments/2e1ej5/the_cookie_monster_by_vernor_vinge/ and I was interested because I'd read Vinge's Rainbows End and had several other books on my list, but it was a bit long and waffly at the beginning for me to read until Ben Friesen commented that he loves it and someone else compared it to That Alien Message.
=Links and references=
Category:Science fiction books
Category:2000s books