Challenge 664

Bottled Up

1. In Bruce Pavalon’s Space Girl Blues:

   1. Is Nikoli real or a figment of Aaron’s delusion?
   2. Likewise, is Anini wholly or partly real, or is she a figment overlaid on the original shopkeeper at Schroeter’s?
   3. What kind of mental disorder does the story portray?
   4. Does the story overstep Bewildering Stories’ guideline about plots that end with “But it was all a dream” or the equivalent?

2. In Mike Acker’s “Hearts and Minds,” is the poem sad, humorous, or both at once? How might the “heart” be incorporated into “Speedways to Literary Oblivion”?

3. In Simon Hole’s “Hot Hand”:

   1. Who or what might Parker be?
   2. Why might Parker be content to play low-stakes poker rather than use his “dragon” in potentially more lucrative ventures?

4. In Susan Bass Marcus’ “An Arm and a Leg”:

   1. Is the narrator male or female?
   2. What seems to be the only precaution against the plague aside from vaccination?
   3. Why might the housemates have had doubts earlier about Fit-Rite’s vaccine?

5. In Dan Korgan’s “Earlier Snows”:

   1. Who is the only character in the story to have a name? Who is Mrs. Carter: the narrator or Charla? Why might the other characters not have names?
   2. Who was the last person to visit the narrator? When?
   3. When the daughter last come to visit?

Responses welcome!