Lightspeed #162, November 2023
“The CRISPR Cookbook (Chapter Two): A Guide to Biohacking Your Own Eggs into Weapons of Destruction, to Be Forcibly Implanted into One Patriarchist at a Time” by MKRNYILGLD
“A Review: The Reunion of the Survivors of Sigrún 7” by Lars Ahn
“Last Ritual of the Smoke Eaters” by Osahon Ize-Iyamu
“Confession #443 (Comments Open)” by Dominica Phetteplace
“A Record of Lost Time” by Regina Kanyu Wang
“Dr Seattle Opens His Heart” by Winston Turnage
“The Moment Before the Moment” by Martin Cahill
“Of Death Deserved We Will Not Die” by Bennett North
Reviewed by Mina
“The CRISPR Cookbook (Chapter Two): A Guide to Biohacking Your Own Eggs into Weapons of Destruction, to Be Forcibly Implanted into One Patriarchist at a Time” by MKRNYILGLD takes the form of a recipe-cum-experiment-cum-instruction manual. The length of the title already warns the reader that they are going to need patience to get to the end of this one. It’s not so much a story as a diatribe against a hypocritical patriarchy taking control over the bodies of others and over reproduction. It’s clearly pro-choice, i.e. being able to have birth control and abortions. This reviewer is pro-choice too but finds such an opaque revenge fantasy childish and not particularly helpful to the cause it espouses. Well-written but borderline unreadable.
“A Review: The Reunion of the Survivors of Sigrún 7” by Lars Ahn is written in the form of a film review. It tells the story of a documentary about the remaining crew members years after a reality show in space went wrong, ending with the mysterious death of its captain. The director locks the four former crew members in a room, with the holographic images of the crew members who are no longer alive in an attempt to force them to talk about the past. The crew members stand firm and do not break their vow of silence. The reviewer ponders on the fact that, whatever happened, it won public support for the space industry. A look at the brutal and often immoral methods used in reality shows and documentaries.
In “Last Ritual of the Smoke Eaters” by Osahon Ize-Iyamu, the protagonist must inhale their lover’s ashes, Joshua, a soldier who went away to fight dragons. In their grief, the protagonist remembers Joshua as he truly was, far from perfect. The protagonist is supposed to become Joshua’s new body, and they are held captive to prevent escape from their fate, but they fight possession. They always fundamentally disagreed with Joshua about fighting dragons because the humans were clearly the aggressor, not the dragons. In the end Joshua leaves their body, in smoke-dragon form. The protagonist escapes, refusing to submit not just to Joshua, but also to the weight of an unjust war. They will go to dragon territory and fight against the war as their own conscience dictates. A beautifully written story.
“Confession #443 (Comments Open)” by Dominica Phetteplace is the confession of a teenager. They and a group of friends accidentally caused a professor to fall off a hiking trail. Haunted by a hologram of the dead professor, they confess to their crime of violating the Good Samaritan Law. But the hologram claims to be sentient and fights for their right to be recognised as alive. If the AI wins, then the protagonist’s crime will be reduced to a misdemeanour. An intriguing look at being pursued by a hologram much as tailored advertising pursues us across the internet.
In “A Record of Lost Time” by Regina Kanyu Wang, the narrator tells us about FastForward. By telling the stories of others, an influencer, a percussionist, a CSR consultant and an ecotourism guide, the narrator tells us how FastForward was introduced onto the market, how it spread among white-collar workers and how it had unintended effects on the environment. Intended to simply speed up the user, its “time radioactivity” began to speed up the surrounding environment as well. The class system is now based on how fast or slow you are. The narrator wants to record events as entropy increases and the end of the universe draws closer. A parable about the acceleration of the pace of life and how consequences can catch up with us.
The flash fic “Dr Seattle Opens His Heart” by Winston Turnage looks at what living with a demi-god could be like. How it becomes a matter of life and death to not displease the tyrant. How the tyrant themselves will call their control-through-fear love.
“The Moment Before the Moment” by Martin Cahill starts with Azahn suddenly losing the purpose he trained his whole life for, acting as Foresight for his Empress. He ends up living with his uncle Shan, who is still mourning his dead wife, Mira. They bump into the former Empress, now just Uyla, in the market and Azahn saves her life. He feels empty at having done what he was trained for but his uncle promises: “We’ll figure it out, Azahn. There is a life out there for you. Value for who you are, not what you can do.” Azahn discovers he is suffering from depression so he goes to seek Yagadhan, the lion-headed guard he once bested, who tells him: “the world cares not for our plans and makes no change in its ever-forward course, despite the wishes of titans and tinkers alike.” No longer guardian of anything, Yagadhan sets off to travel the world and advises Azahn: “Life is never just one thing and if you’re having trouble seeing a future for yourself, then maybe you’re looking in the wrong places.” Azahn finally finds quiet joy in the baking of bread. He lovingly prepares a feast for his friends and family, his heart finally at peace. A gentle and uplifting tale about mental health.
In “Of Death Deserved We Will Not Die” by Bennett North, we see the survivors of a plague locked outside the city walls. The protagonist practices climbing the city walls: every day they get higher and one day they will get to the other side to open the gates. Short but with bite.