Challenge 367

Tuning to the Music of the Spheres

1. In Harry Lang’s “Beneath the Ice”:

   1. Why might the spaceship’s computer be named “Mr. Machine”?
   2. In what way is “Beneath the Ice” a morality play about the early 21st-century Zeitgeist?

2. In Thomas Lee Joseph Smith’s “How Old Is Tomorrow?”:

   1. How much does the story depend on the reader’s being familiar with the Terminator film series?
   2. Mary is recruited as a technical consultant. What is she supposed to help with, exactly? And how does the visitor arrive on the scene?
   3. What are the elements of humor in the story?

3. In Catfish Russ’s “Sweet Chariot”:

   1. How does the story resemble the author’s “A Morsel Off the Spit,” in issue 350?
   2. The scene-setting and descriptions are realistic. How do you feel about the intrusion of science fiction into Thaddeus’ story of escape? In what way is it not the same as in “A Morsel Off the Spit”?

4. Why is Neila Mezynski’s “Me and Clint” mostly backstory rather than a dramatization?

Responses welcome!

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