Diabolical Plots #108, February 2024

“BUDDY RAYMOND’S NO-BULLSHIT GUIDE TO DRONE HUNTING” by Gillian Secord

“The Geist and/in/as the Boltzmann Brain” by M. J. Pettit

Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf

Both of the stories in this issue are basically one-character works, but in very different ways. They take the reader from a dystopian near future to unimaginable distances in space and time.

“BUDDY RAYMOND’S NO-BULLSHIT GUIDE TO DRONE HUNTING” by Gillian Secord takes the form of an illegal pamphlet. The setting is Canada, at a time not far in the future when it has been conquered by the United States, in order to obtain its water. The pamphlet tells the intended reader how to safely destroy the American drones that keep an eye on the occupied nation. Reading between the lines, one can find out why the author of the pamphlet has a vendetta against the drones.

The author successfully captures the informal, slightly vulgar style of the fictional creator of the pamphlet. The way in which the narrator’s true motive is revealed is subtle and effective. The premise that the USA would invade its friendly neighbor to the north is provocative, to say the least, and some readers may find it less than plausible.

The last two words in the title of “The Geist and/in/as the Boltzmann Brain” by M. J. Pettit refer to a real thought experiment. The idea is that, given the immensity of time and space, the random movement of particles could create a human brain, complete with false memories. This occurs on multiple occasions over gigantic amounts of time, as brains bearing the simulated memories of a particular person come into being and vanish throughout the universe. The brains are aware of the situation, and yet feel as if they are really the person in question. What happens to one of the brains suggests an end to this cycle of creation and destruction.

As may be evident, this is more of an intellectual exercise than a work of fiction. An attempt at emotional appeal appears in the form of the brains’ memories of a lover. However, given the fact that these brains are not really all the same person, and that the memories may be entirely fictional, this fails to touch the reader’s heart. The author shows great imagination, even if the premise is hard to swallow.

Victoria Silverwolf would like to point out that the title of the first story does, indeed, appear in all capitals.