Challenge 872

Snowbound

In Charles C. Cole’s Polysapien Spacemen: the Rightly Stuffed: What section of Space Colonies: the Dark Side does the story ironically illustrate?
In Meg Smith’s The Unborn Family:
1. Is the “unborn family” one that might have spoken Gaelic?
2. What might the “doll in the trash” represent?
In Jack Bragen’s The Reputation of the Wedge Warriors:
1. What are the Wedge Warriors? Who is the narrator? Does the narrator have a name?
2. Why do the Wedge Warriors engage the narrator to perform a mission for which he is unqualified? Why does he accept? Why is he sent on a “suicide mission”?
3. The narrator is supposed to destroy seven military satellites. For what purpose?
4. The military satellites are remarkably undefended. Could they not be taken out more easily by missiles?
5. What clues might suggest that the story is actually a chapter excerpted from a larger work?
In Robert Walton’s Moroni:
1. Does the ending overstep Bewildering Stories’ “dead narrator” guideline?
2. “Moroni” is the name of the iconic angel of the LDS (Mormon) church. Does the supernatural character in the story expressly represent any particular sect?
3. Moroni claims to be one of a group of similar entities. What seems to be their purpose?
4. The being says, “We harm you.” How does it justify its contacting this particular mountain climber? Or is it engaging in a friendly pre-death conversation?
5. What information about the future does Moroni give the mountain climber? Could he follow up on it, if he lived?
6. How much matter is really needed to produce a “fusion reaction”?

Responses welcome!