Challenge 561

Overenhancement

In Morris Marshall’s “Isolated Cases,” in what ways does every character in the story experience isolation?
In Lawrence Weber’s “Monsters Among Us,” what makes trees sinister? In what way is the poem a nightmare image of Joyce Kilmer’s “Trees”? Can you think of a different title?
In Diana Corbitt’s “Night Games”:
1. What happens to the people that Ozro and Tyson feast upon? Do they become vampires, too? Does Smitty, for example, become a super-nightwatchman?
2. What might be Ozro’s real reason for making Tyson a vampire?
3. Is the story a Faustian-bargain tale about the effects of performance-enhancing drugs in professional sports?
In Ross Smeltzer’s “Dr. Quasdonovich’s Solution,” does Varazdin concoct the elixir from Dr. Quasdonovich’s recipe? Why would he do so, knowing it will only lead him to expose himself to a fatal dose of sunlight? What else might have happened to Varazdin?