Challenge 626

Bite, Then Run

1. In Patrick S. Baker’s “Top Hand,” what business models currently existing on Earth might enable Whitaker and the space alien to become magnates in an interstellar mega-corporation?

2. In Channie Greenberg’s The Perils of Dr. Laura Whitfield:

   1. How would the story change if the “lobsters” were human beings on Earth rather than space aliens?

   2. Why might readers suspect that the story is “keyed,” i.e. that its characters represent real people?

3. In Richard Ong’s “The Gun-Blazing Marionettes of Blue Haven”:

   1. In the “war game,” the marionettes shoot paint balls or the equivalent. Why does the cavalry use live ammunition?

   2. At the end, Donovan is revealed as having deliberately caused the landslide that killed Mary Jo’s parents. Why is he a mass murderer? Does he save Mary Jo out of remorse? If so, why?

4. In David Cleden’s “Snitch”:

   1. Since Adrian seems to have infested the entire environment with surveillance devices, how long might he reasonably need to sort through the massive amounts of information they transmit? What other entities, e.g. trees, birds, might Adrian use to search for Saluka?

   2. With what does Saluka infect Adrian when she bites him?

   3. Saluka knows that the environment is full of devices seeking her whereabouts and reporting back to Adrian. In light of the ending, when she is finally caught, what other strategy might she have used than running away?

5. In Oonah V. Joslin’s “Meandering Through Monet’s Garden at Giverny”:

   1. The poem is carefully structured. How might it take the form of a “meander”?

   2. In the line “How many hours did you spend forming those flowers,” whom is the poet addressing: Monet or Esme?

Responses welcome!

Copyright © July 6, 2015 by Bewildering Stories
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