Challenge 738

Incalculable

1. In Kevin Stadt’s “Beneath the Cloud”:

   1. What seems to be the function of the memory “cloud”? Why is it considered vitally important?
   2. At what point does Audrey cease to calculate time and emotional states in ultra-precise quantities? Why does she shift from one mode of perception to another?
   3. What is the significance of the concluding scene, where Audrey sees a young deer? How does Audrey’s perception of the deer change during the scene?
   4. As an android with artificial intelligence, Audrey is the ultimate “reasoner,” guided by law and logic. What does she learn from Dr. Cook?

2. In Edward Ahern’s “The Good Fairy”:

   1. Why might Laila not resemble a stereotypical “good fairy”?
   2. What three wishes might Bartholomew ask for?
   3. Why does Bartholomew decline Laila’s offer?

3. In Gary Clifton’s “Hindsight’s Perfection ”:

   1. Of the five main characters in the showdown scene, which is the only one to emerge unscathed?
   2. McCoy is surprised to find he has not fired his pistol. Who shoots Grifford? What is the function of choosing that character to bring an end to the standoff and begin the dénouement?

4. In Oonah V. Joslin’s “An Ode to “It”:

   1. What makes the line “the omega of Brexit” humorous?
   2. Where does the poem use “it” as a personal pronoun? As an impersonal pronoun?
   3. Could the poem have an equivalent in other Germanic languages? Why is it impossible in the Romance languages?

5. In Morris J. Marshall’s “The Truth Revealed,” what does the reference to Strickland imply about the real extent of Carla’s and DBC Financial’s illicit operations?

6. In Herb Kauderer’s “Mid-Night Ghosts,” how might the poem be seen as more optimistic than pessimistic?

7. In Roy Dorman’s “Death in the French Quarter,” how does the plot sidestep Bewildering Stories’ “dead narrators” guideline?

Responses welcome!

Copyright © November 13, 2017 by Bewildering Stories
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