Diabolical Plots #122, April 2025

“The Unfactory” by Derrick Boden

“The Octopus Dreams of Personhood” by Hannah Yang

Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf

The narrator of “The Unfactory” by Derrick Boden works for the mysterious company named in the title by making buildings, animals, and even people disappear and vanish from memory, as if they never existed. A look into the notebook carried by a supervisor leads to the climax.

The author captures the feeling of loss the narrator experiences while performing this strange task. I may be asking for too much plot logic in a story with a surrealistic premise, but I had to wonder why the narrator accepts this job, since it requires such a sacrifice.

In “The Octopus Dreams of Personhood” by Hannah Yang, the cephalopod mentioned in the title enters a woman’s apartment, asking to borrow her body. She agrees, and the octopus occupies her body for increasing lengths of time. The situation leads to a final transformation.

The premise appears to be used to convey the woman’s disappointment with her life. Unable to find a job or a romantic relationship, she seems to prefer experiencing blackouts during the time the octopus uses her body. The premise is intriguing, but I found the conclusion less engaging.

Victoria Silverwolf often forgets things.