Clarkesworld “Twenty-Four Hours” by H. H. Pak
“Artistic Encounters of a Monumental Nature” by S. B. Divya
“Himalia” by Carrie Vaughn
“Off Track” by Luc Diamant
“Our Chatbots Said ‘I Love You,’ Shall We Meet?” by Caroline M. Yoachim
“The Reflection of Sand” by Tan Gang
“Bodies” by Cat McMahan
Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf
Five short stories and two novelettes appear in this issue.
In “Twenty-Four Hours” by H. H. Pak, a woman serving in the military returns home to visit her mother for a day. During the course of their time together, the reader learns the true nature of their relationship.
I have deliberately avoided mentioning the story’s speculative content, because it is not revealed until the middle of the text, and it supplies most of the work’s impact. (Astute readers may be able to pick up a few subtle clues early in the story.) This bittersweet slice-of-life tale has great emotional power and psychological insight into its characters.
“Artistic Encounters of a Monumental Nature” by S. B. Divya features a street artist and her companions. They plan to illegally paint images on natural formations in a national park as a form of environmental protest. (The images are temporary and cause no harm to the area.) This scheme goes awry when an exact duplicate of the Washington Monument appears in the park, then vanishes when the group paints an image on it. Similar events occur around the world, eventually leading the artist to an encounter with those responsible for the bizarre happenings.
Almost any reader of science fiction will be able to predict what is behind the weird occurrences. I found the initial premise intriguing, and hoped that it would lead to something more original.
Certain plot elements strain credibility. For example, the activists foolishly carry their cell phones with them when they sneak up to the duplicate Washington Monument to paint it, allowing the authorities to track them down immediately. The level of security around the object is unbelievably lax as well, with nothing more than a fence and an easily evaded guard protecting it.
The title of the novelette “Himalia” by Carrie Vaughn refers to a moon of Jupiter. The narrator returns to that satellite, where she grew up but left as a young adult. The moon’s research facility is to be abandoned very soon, as it has proved to be of little value. A childhood friend, who never left the place, hides herself in a secondary part of the facility and destroys the tunnel leading to the location. The narrator has to journey across the moon’s surface to find her old friend before everyone else leaves forever.
Written in a clear, realistic style, the story creates a believable portrait of an advanced era in space exploration. The situation is suspenseful, and flashbacks add depth to the characters. It may be a matter of taste as to whether the conclusion is fully satisfactory; some readers may find it too ambiguous.
Barely over two thousand words long, “Off Track” by Luc Diamant is a lighthearted piece in which a schoolgirl protests against the policy that prevents a boy with a bionic leg from participating in competitive sports. She does this with a device that creates a miniature climate around herself, so that she carries her own rainstorm with her wherever she goes. This leads to chaos in the classroom and on the field, particularly when other students join the protest.
Written in the form of letters and excepts from a school newspaper, this comic tale is best described as cute. There may be some satiric intent, but if so it is very gentle. The author seems to approve of the young protester, but some readers may sympathize more with the exasperated school officials and see the girl as something of a brat.
In “Our Chatbots Said ‘I Love You,’ Shall We Meet?” by Caroline M. Yoachim, a dating service matches people by having simulated versions of their clients, created by artificial intelligence analysis of real online messages, engage in a large number of conversations. The story deals with a woman’s indecision as to whether she should meet the person selected for her by the service. (The title pretty much sums up the plot.)
The premise is certainly very plausible, given the current level of artificial intelligence. The author emphasizes this point by having the woman engage in online conversations with simulations of her mother and daughter.
There isn’t much else to the story than the basic concept. Some readers may agree with the main character’s sister (and her simulation) and wish that she would make up her mind already.
“The Reflection of Sand” by Tan Gang, translated from Chinese by Emily Jin, is the issue’s longest and most complex story. The Mogao Caves (a World Heritage Site, containing an immense number of ancient Buddhist artworks, artifacts, and manuscripts) is transported from its location near the city of Dunhuang to other places along the old Silk Road. It eventually winds up on the Moon. Meanwhile, a project to duplicate the consciousnesses of those about to die, and simulate Dunhuang as well, leads to far-reaching consequences.
There is much more to this story than I have indicated. The author displays a vast, sweeping imagination. There may be too many speculative concepts for a novelette, requiring a great deal of expository dialogue. The transportation of the Mogao Caves, essentially an entire mountain, to the Moon is very difficult to accept as remotely possible. It would also help readers who are not familiar with this important World Heritage Site to do some research before diving into the story.
The main characters in “Bodies” by Cat McMahan work at a facility that produces clones of a particular kind of genetically engineered chicken. It is probably not giving away too much to reveal that they are clones themselves, treated as something less than human, as this is predictable early in the story. It is also not hard to foresee that they are subject to being taken away from their miserable, low-paying jobs to be used as a source of organs for transplantation.
As can be seen, the plot uses familiar concepts from tales of human cloning. Despite a lack of originality, the story is well written, with memorable characters. This is the author’s first professional publication, and it is certainly a promising debut.
Victoria Silverwolf didn’t know Jupiter had a moon named Himalia until she read this issue.