Challenge 483

A Man by Any Other Name

1. In Margaret Karmazin’s “Watch Over Me,” why is it necessary that “Dave” be a robot — actually an android — rather than a man?

2. In David A. DiPesa’s The Calling of Cadence Saenger,” at what point can the reader reasonably surmise that that Cadence is a ghost and that Trevor is embalming her body?

3. In James Graham’s “The Jubilee Transmissions”:

   1. What is the main difference in form between the conventional television broadcasts and the special ones that the narrator talks about?
   2. Do the television broadcasts or the narrator have an identifiably partisan political viewpoint?
   3. Who might take exception to the story in the year 2012, and why?

4. In Charles C. Cole’s “The Koenig Incident”:

   1. What are the consequences of the guard’s carelessness in the laboratory? How does it affect the experiment? What do the accident and other references in the story imply about the development of advanced technology?
   2. At the end, members of the media burst into the conference room. The event seems implausible; what significance might it have?

5. In Edward Reubens’ “The Bruce Mansion,” The narration is standard for a “haunted house” story, but the two boys often talk in late 20th-century teenage jargon. What might be the purpose of the contrasting levels of language? Deliberate anachronism to modernize the setting? Humor? As a reader, how do you perceive its effect?

6. In Aleksandr Smechov’s DFW, the Night Before the Morning He Hangs Himself,” who is DFW, and why might whoever it is hang himself?

Responses welcome!

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