Aurealis #166, November 2023
“Integrated Learning” by C H Pearce
“Cruel and Unusual” by Scott Steensma
“Reciprocity” by Azure Arther
Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf
Three stories involving encounters between humans and other beings appear in this issue.
The narrator of “Integrated Learning” by C H Pearce is a student who lives in a world strictly divided between the elite, who live at the top of a domed city, and the lower-class citizens, who dwell below. Only graduation with full honors allows one to join the upper-class citizens. Forced to work together on the assignment that will determine their fates, the narrator and a poor student certain to fail learn more about the fungoid aliens that made the world the way it is than they are supposed to know.
As this synopsis may suggest, the presence of the aliens is not revealed immediately, and comes as a jarring surprise. The story is primarily about the relationship between the two students, with the science fiction aspects of the story in the background. This seems like an odd choice of focus, given the shocking things the pair discover.
The aliens in “Cruel and Unusual” by Scott Steensma use human beings as voluntary test animals, in exchange for providing Earth with advanced technology. The tests are painless, and the subjects are healed after each session, but the procedures often involve grotesque bodily injury. The narrator is one such subject, who works with the aliens in order to make a living. Because he is so cooperative, they ask him to testify on their behalf when the state of California tries to ban this kind of testing. Unknown to him, the aliens have a hidden motive.
Once one gets past a gruesome opening scene, the story becomes an interesting account of someone making the best of a bad situation. The aliens and their relationship with the human race are intriguing. I found the way they secretly make use of the narrator’s testimony in the courtroom less than plausible.
In “Reciprocity” by Azure Arther, trees rebel against humanity, killing most of them and subjecting the survivors to an arboreal dictatorship. The humans are forced to deal with the bodies of the dead and avoid using anything made from trees. The trees even tell them who to marry. The plot deals with a pregnant woman and her husband, who has failed to obey the trees before, placing him in great danger.
Even if one accepts the premise, the behavior of the trees seems inconsistent. Ready to kill an uncooperative person at a moment’s notice, they can also be helpful. In addition to the main narrative, the text contains brief quotes about the rebellion of the trees. The concept is clear from the start, so these sections of exposition are not necessary.
Victoria Silverwolf lives in a house surrounded by trees.