Clarkesworld #187, April 2022
“Doc Luckless and the Stationmistress” by Thoraiya Dyer
“Dream Factory” by Greg Egan
“An Expression of Silence” by Beth Goder
“The Carrion Droid, Zoe, and a Small Flame” by Parker Ragland
“Two Spacesuits” by Leonard Richardson
“Hanuman the Monkey King” by Pan Haitian
“An Urge To Create Honey” by Martin Cahill
Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf
This issue offers five short stories and two novelettes, set here and now, the very near future, or the far reaches of time and space.
The two characters named in the title of “Doc Luckless and the Stationmistress” by Thoraiya Dyer live on a watery planet under the iron rule of authoritarian fanatics. The oppressors tolerate both because of their professions; he is the only physician on the planet, and she takes care of the teleportation station that allows people to travel to other worlds. (The fanatics have sabotaged the device so that no one can arrive through it from anywhere else.)
The doctor has dreams where he is a dying scorpion-like alien, of the kind he failed to help on another planet. The teleportation device offers him a chance to redeem his previous failure. At the same time, he is able to help the stationmistress when disease blinds her.
Although the above synopsis is fairly long, it fails to capture the remarkable complexity found in a short story of average length. I have failed to mention, for example, the ecologies of the water planet or the world of the scorpion aliens, which may be the most interesting parts of the narrative.
The apparent mental connection between the aliens and the doctor when he is dreaming remains unexplained, and seems like pure fantasy in a work that is otherwise standard science fiction. I also had to wonder why the fanatics allow the teleportation device to operate as a one-way escape plan for their victims, other than the fact that it is convenient for the plot.
In “Dream Factory” by Greg Egan, brain implants prevent pet cats from chasing their natural prey, and allow their owners to have them perform tricks. The protagonists disapprove of this distortion of their normal behavior. They develop technology that offers viewers a visual analogy for what the cats experience in their dreams. This encourages owners to stop changing their innate natures, but also leads to more brain implants. The protagonists have to figure out a way to sabotage the unintended consequences of their own invention, without being discovered.
The author creates unusually plausible speculative technology, while also demonstrating a profound understanding of the cultural impact of social media. Subtle hints of a near future when today’s disturbing trends have continued in an all too believable way add a sense of authenticity to a story that will appeal to many, whether or not they are ailurophiles.
“An Expression of Silence” by Beth Goder involves a human space explorer and an alien entity whose body and mind consist of many of the living organisms on its native world. The alien offers a portion of its mind to the human, hoping to have it accompany her throughout the cosmos, but difficulty in communication between the two very different beings leads to a narrowly avoided tragedy. Eventually, the woman discovers a way to give the alien what it wants.
Like other stories in this issue, this tale of first contact provides a fascinating vision of alien life. The theme of failure of understanding is an important one, although some aspects of it in the plot may be hard to accept. It seems odd, for example, that the alien knows the woman is an individual being, but thinks her fellow crewmembers are merely parts of her.
In “The Carrion Droid, Zoe, and a Small Flame” by Parker Ragland, a robot who tends to trees grown from the interred bodies of the deceased meets a woman who treats it like a human friend. The robot, who is programmed to experience emotions, accepts a token from the woman that gives it new insight into the meaning of human relationships.
This synopsis makes the story sound like a sentimental tearjerker, which is true to some extent. However, there is also a fair amount of light humor, in the form of the woman’s behavior and the robot’s failure to understand it. All in all, this modest work is better appreciated for its depiction of the two main characters rather than for its minimal plot.
The adult narrator of “Two Spacesuits” by Leonard Richardson discovers that his parents are acting in strange ways. Father is building an underground structure, while Mother searches for YouTube videos using symbols not found in any language. Each one asks the son to investigate the other’s odd behavior, but they both avoid discussing their eccentric activities. The solution to these twin mysteries involves a classic theme of science fiction.
Without descending into farce, the plot is definitely played for comedy, sometimes slightly bawdy. A parody of typical titles for YouTube videos is particularly amusing. This is hardly the most profound story ever written, but readers looking for a smile will appreciate the rather sweet ending.
“Hanuman the Monkey King” by Pan Haitian, translated from Chinese by Emily Jin, takes place in a city from which starships are launched. There is a broad divide between the rich and the poor, with powerful lords and ladies ruling over their underlings, even killing homeless children for acts of petty theft. Aliens that the humans call monkeys arrive and are treated no better. The narrator, one of a gang of youngsters who survive as pickpockets, takes in one of the aliens, who promises her a much brighter future.
This account of the haves and the have-nots has an imaginative background, more intricate that I have indicated. Its theme of the oppressed rebelling against their masters will strike some readers as overly blatant, and may possibly reflect the political culture of its nation of origin. The manner in which the title character arrives in the nick of time to set things right strains credibility, like the cavalry showing up at the climax of a clichéd Western movie.
“An Urge To Create Honey” by Martin Cahill is narrated in second person by bee-like aliens addressing a human who has been partially changed into one of their own kind. The intent is to share the aliens’ group mind with the humans, in order to end the conflict between the two species. An encounter with the hybrid being’s daughter, who is near death, leads to a further transformation.
The premise is an interesting one, and the apian extraterrestrials are portrayed in an intriguing manner. Readers may find their biology too similar to bees to be fully believable. The subplot of the dying daughter will strike some as excessively melodramatic.
Victoria Silverwolf is an ailurophile.