Bridesicle

Will McIntosh’s Bridesicle is a science fiction story that is quite an enjoyable read; remarkably, it lacks the intense or depressing atmosphere that often pervades many works of the genre. However, for all its clever wit and humorous scenes, the story still addresses several important issues of today’s world, including the ways in which quality of life is affected by increased longevity of life, and how women are affected by abusive relationships.

When the reader first meets the main character of Bridesicle, Mira, she is just awakening from being cyronically frozen for sixty years. Mira is completely helpless—she cannot move her arms or legs, and can be sent back to sleep for decades with the flip of a switch. She is in a facility full of thousands of other frozen women who are desperately trying to win back their lives by enticing men as potential wives. One wrong word and the women could send the men off to the next candidate; thus, the women are forced to make promises to fulfill the men’s every wish so that the men will finance their restoration.

 For example, the first man to revive Mira is upset when she will not tell him all the intimate, sexual services that she would provide him were she revived, and he tells her: “Well…this costs quite a bit, and they charge by the minute. So I’ll say goodbye, and you can go back to being dead” (McIntosh 3). This man is willing to “kill” Mira even upon her first awakening because she will not comply with his wishes. Mira has no voice in this position; she can do nothing to prevent the man from flipping the switch. This situation is very similar to the relationships between abused women and their husbands or boyfriends. These women are forced to comply with their partner's wishes for fear of physical and mental harm, or even for fear of losing basic necessities such as food and shelter. Mira’s lack of limbs in this case represents some abused women’s helpless feelings and their inability to protest for fear of the consequences. The author thus enlightens the reader with empathy and understanding for those severely maltreated and physically harmed women who do not leave their abusive partners—these women feel so debilitated that it is virtually impossible for them to do so.

On a more literal note, as the average person's lifespan continues to increase drastically with each passing decade, McIntosh examines the quality of life for human beings who have extended their years on earth with the aid of technology. In the world of Bridesicle, people can survive even death through cryonic freezing. Humans can also live past their time through a process called hitching, in which a person about to die essentially hitches to the mind of another person--the two share this single brain until the host dies. The author questions these developments on many occasions. When a person is cryonically frozen, that person can lose his/her basic human rights, and is subject to the whim of those who still have their natural bodies. When an individual has a hitcher, that individual and the hitcher both lose all privacy; not even their thoughts are confidential. Mira herself had a hitcher (her mother), and found the experience so horrid that she actually killed herself to escape the hitcher. Furthermore, in the case of being cryonically frozen, Mira almost immediately questions the worth of the practice, asking “Whatever the reason, did she want to risk being taken out of circulation, or unplugged and buried? Would that be the worst thing?” (McIntosh 3). Mira’s situation is much like that of people who are paraplegics, in a coma, or other persons who face immense disabilities. The author seems to imply that, although the longevity of a person’s life is greatly extended, if the quality of life is greatly decreased, the technology or medicine should not always be used to keep these people alive. He perhaps even suggests that in today's world, far too many people live past their time because of scientific developments. 

To conclude my final blog post, although science fiction may seem all action, humor, drama or gloom, it almost always has a deeper message for the reader to take away from it. Whether it focuses on wars, human rights, sexuality, social hierarchies, or the progression of technology, each work encourages the reader to consider the relevant issues of the time. And, if the reader recognizes the author’s message for what it is, he/she will, with hope, leave the story questioning standards, enlightened on certain issues, or more aware of the fears shared by the individuals whom inhabit this small, lonely planet called Earth. 

Story of Your Life

One word that is repeated quite often within Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang is the word “you” (or “your”). The main character, Louise Banks, addresses her deceased daughter with this pronoun intermittently throughout the story while recounting her tale of working as a translator for the government and communicating with alien life-forms called “heptapods” that have landed on earth. Banks even begins the story using the word "you" while speaking to her deceased daughter, immediately indicating to the reader that her daughter’s life and death are important features of the story, although it is not immediately clear to the reader in what ways.

The moments when the main character addresses her daughter complicate the time frame of the story and thereby pique the reader’s interest. For example, in the opening paragraph Louise states “Your father is about to ask me the question…We came out onto the patio…then I told your dad I wanted to dance…now we’re slow dancing…Right now your dad and I have been married for two years…when we move you’ll still be too young to remember…” (117). The verbs in this sentence switch from present to future tense, making it seem as if Louise is watching a film or looking back on her life in some other form and is explaining to her unborn daughter the past events replaying in her mind. The reader can also clearly see because of these sections in the story that the author has more information to reveal concerning Louise’s daughter, and is thereby encouraged to continue reading.

The segments when Louise uses the pronouns “you” or “your” to address her daughter often parallel the fantastical incidents regarding the heptapods that Louise divulges to the reader. For example, while speaking to her daughter, Louise communicates an event that will occur when her daughter is sixteen. “Don’t worry Mom…We’ll do it so that he won’t know. Roxie, you ask me about what the weather will be like tonight. Then I’ll say what I think of Mom’s date” (130). Her daughter spoke of Louise’s date using phrases that implied something different from what she was saying, as if Louise's daughter was speaking an entirely different language with her mother and friend. On a similar note, Louise then informs the reader of her encounters with the heptapods and of the moment when she realized that the written and spoken form of the heptapods’ language were basically two separate languages. The normality of the first anecdote makes the descriptions of the encounters with the alien life forms seem more real. Because Louise divulges experiences that the reader can relate to, her accounts of the heptapods are much more believable.  

Therefore, word “you” (or “your”) is a central motif in Story of Your Life. The moments when the main character uses this word are moments when she reveals something personal about her own life that give a deeper meaning to her interactions with the heptapods. Furthermore, the sections when this word is used also work to keep the reader interested in the plot as Louise reveals certain pieces of information about her life that clue in on a larger story not fully been revealed. 

Bloodchild

Upon my initial reading of Bloodchild by Octavia Butler I had several ideas of what the author was attempting to address with her story. I believed, and still do believe, that the plot explores the ethics and complexities of abusive relationships, and that as the story progresses the reader discovers the extreme lengths that human beings will go to in order to survive. However, after discussion in class, I also found that the plot examines several other issues as well.

Butler presents the odd relationship between Terrans and Tlics as if it were between a victim and an abuser, or a master and a slave. The Terrans at times feel loving towards the Tlics, and at other times they are resentful towards them and fear them. In many ways, their relationship resembles such situations when the victim suffers from Stockholm syndrome and becomes strongly attached to the abuser out of fear. In these instances, the abuser constantly manipulates the emotions of the victim in order to strengthen the victim’s dependency on the abuser. The Tlic T’Gatoi is shown to behave in a similar way with Gan, playing with his emotions so that he will not take his or her life and will remain in the relationship.

“’For my children’s lives?’ She would say something like that. She knew how to manipulate people…”(24).

Terrans continue to stay with the Tilcs, even though most of the Terrans know that they will have to endure horrible, unnatural experiences if they become hosts for the Tlic. The story touches on the greed and selfishness that human beings can display in order to preserve or better their own lives.  Many humans comply with being host animals in order to receive eggs that will greatly extend the length of their lives, and some even consider sacrificing family members in order to avoid being chosen to host the Tlic’s spawn.

“‘Shall I go to Xuan Hoa?’ ‘Yes!’ Hoa wanted it. Let her have it” (25).

After discussion in class, I learned that the story does not simply focus on the relationship between human beings and the Tlic. In fact, the story also considers the relationship between men, women and birth. Butler creates a world in which men “give birth” to Tlic. This birth is painful and bloody, much in the way that women endure horribly painful, and at times bloody, births. There is a very real chance that the hosts in Bloodchild will die birthing the larva of the Tilc, referencing the thousands of women that have died during childbirth in real life. In the story, it is often not even the choice of the men to host these creatures, yet they are forced to anyway, much like women in all societies have been forced by men for years to carry children without any choice in the mater. In fact, the process of implanting the larva in the men is a very sexual process, and could almost be equated to rape.

“The small amount of fluid that came into me with her egg relaxed me as completely as a sterile egg would have, so that I could remember the rifle in my hands and my feelings of fear and revulsion, anger and despair” (29).

The story Bloodchild appears to address many issues with its plot; however, I believe that ultimately it focuses on those sorts of relationships between beings that result in the suppression of rights, abuse, or some other form of degradation. Not only are the Tlics manipulative, but they also force some human beings to give birth to their larva, in a manner that rapes the host of his (or her) rights. Therefore, with Bloodchild, Octavia Butler draws attention to the ways that abuse and injustice can manifest in relationships, whether it be through bribing and manipulation or sheer physical advantage. The author displays that science fiction does not address only the questions concerning race and sexuality that might have emerged during the civil rights movements or the cultural revolution as we have read in many other stories in the class, but it can also even address the problems that have occurred and will continue to occur in domestic relationships and between people who have been held under the power of another person against their will. 

A Book, According to Its Cover (and Quotes)

 The Lathe of Heaven includes many elements that work to entice and gain the reader's interest, beginning with the outer cover that Scribner (a publishing company) has applied to Ursula K. Le Guin's novel. However, beneath it's initial attractiveness, this cover suggests many things about the content of the novel. The title, in thin, white, rectangular script, is set on a gradient background that shifts from a deep navy blue to a light orange color from top to bottom respectively. On the cover, white cotton clouds float intermittently while bluish-green sea turtles swim languorously through the sky. The title—which in essence means the “maker” of heaven or the "producer" of a "world"—works with this illustration on the front of the novel to suggest that the plot concerns the construction of new realities. The sky appears normal, with its average-looking clouds and either a sunrise or a sunset producing a spectacular array of colors throughout it; however, the reader knows that it is not a normal sky at all when discerning that sea turtles take the place of birds in this illustration. Thus, the reality of this novel, while similar to a normal reality, has certain distinct, fundamental differences, and based on the title, the reader can safely assume that the novel concerns the object that produces these differences.

Designed by Kyoko Watanabe 

At the beginning of each chapter, the author has provided quotations of varying length for the reader to mull over before reading the following text. These quotations are interesting and thought provoking; they too seem to give clues about the content of the novel, foreshadowing both immediate occurrences and occurrences to come later on. At the beginning of chapter one, a quote from Chuang Tse is given.

“Confucius and you are both dreams, and I who say you are dreams am a dream myself. This is a paradox. Tomorrow a wise man may explain it; that tomorrow will not be for ten thousand generations”.

            This quote is applicable not only to the first chapter, but to the entire plot of The Lathe of Heaven. In chapter one, an account of a jellyfish and of the protagonist George Orr—who is recovering from the effects of lack of sleep and strong drugs—is given, and it is difficult to determine which events are the production of George’s mind and which are real—if any. This confusion is later amplified and projected on nearly all parts of Orr’s life, as his dreams create new realities on so many occasions that he has trouble determining which of the memories he has apply to the current reality he is situated in. On page 107 George has reconstructed reality to the point that he even exclaims “This isn’t real….There is nothing left. Nothing but dreams”, seeming to echo the quote the author provided at the beginning of the first chapter.

The Chuang Tse quote is also applicable to Haber, who attempts to control and harness the power of George’s dreams, but fails utterly. Haber believes so much in his own capabilities and “wisdom” that he doesn’t realize that man should not attempt to change reality, because not only is it not man’s place to change the world—which man is a part of, not the commander of—but because he does not fully understand the ways in which George’s dreams or his mind works. In fact, George’s mind is perhaps impossible to understand or control—the things that Haber suggests that George change while George dreams come out of George’s mind twisted and distorted. George exclaims to Haber on page 88, “Look: if you ask me to dream again, what will you get? Maybe a totally insane world, the product of an insane mind.” George realizes that Haber is not “wise” to the workings of George’s mind and that Haber cannot control it, even if Haber does not realize this, just as Chuang Tse stated that a "wise man" capable of explaining reality/dreams may never be found. 

            Scribner, the publisher of this novel, publishes mostly “mainstream” fiction, and might perhaps be using the engaging cover of the novel to sell more copies of this science-fiction work, just as the author might be using these quotes to do the same. However, the cover page and the quotes that the publisher and author use on and within the novel are not only meant to spark the reader’s interest. They foreshadow major occurrences within the novel while giving the events of the text a certain relevancy as the reader realizes that the issues of the novel are not limited to the characters within it, but to actual human beings in the history of mankind as well. 

Interview with a Critic:

Going Beyond Binary Disposition of 0/1: Rethinking the Question of Technology by Gyu Han Kang 

          There is no information included in the article “Going beyond binary Disposition of 0/1: Rethinking the Question of Technology” about its author Gyu Han Kang. The copyright date is also missing; however, through further searching it can be discovered that this particular article was published in 2009, well after Philip K. Dick wrote Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Because it was written so recently, the author is able to utilize many articles concerning noted SciFi literature as well as other media sources –such as the film adaptation of Andriods—to support his argument. The title of the journal in which this article was published is Midwest Quarterly; this title gives little indication about the average reader of the journal. However, as the title lacks a reference to any scientific or technological theme, it is likely primarily a general literary journal, rather than a science fiction one.

            Gyu Han Kang begins the article by stating that technology is one of the most important developments of mankind and that it is and will forever more be inseparable from mankind’s history. For this reason, the topic of technology in literary works must be explored. The author explains that in most science fiction novels, technology is described as either something inherently evil that will lead to the downfall of mankind, or as something that can be used to achieve once unimaginable goals. He argues that, rather than viewing technology in either extreme, instead it should be viewed as neither good nor evil. Technology should be seen as something much too complex to be pinned down in such categories. His evidence for this argument includes analyzing the complex relationship between man and technology—specifically concerning cyborgs/androids and mankind. As technology becomes more advanced, the differences between man and machine can no longer be pinpointed, and the question arises if there is any difference between the two at all. The author repeatedly makes the point that in science fiction works machines seem to gain humanity as technology progresses, while humans seem to lose their humanity, increasing the difficulty of categorizing technology as “good” or “evil”.  I, the reader, developed many questions while reading this argument.

            Why do human beings lose their humanity in these SciFi works?  What are the processes and reasons by which these results come about, and could the machines’ more human-like behavior be the product of not having to undergo these experiences?

 It often seems as if humans undergo horrible tragedy (such as Philip K. Dick's "World War Terminus") in science fiction literature, and that this is the cause of their loss of humanity. The machines, however, usually do not undergo this tragedy; they are created by humans in accordance to an old model of humanity that these human beings can no longer apply to themselves, after the tragedies that they have been through. Another, related question also arose during my reading of this article.

Are the definitions of humanity and inhumanity the same in each of the works described in this article, or do they vary? If they do vary, in what ways are they different?

If the definition of what it is to be human varies from setting to setting, perhaps this could be evidence that "humanity" is constructed and influenced by culture, events in history, etc. Perhaps the human-like machines of one science fiction novel would not be considered very human-like at all in another SciFi work and vice versa, suggesting that “humanity” is not a fixed definition.

If these questions were addressed by the author, his discussion of the relationship between technology, mankind, and being classified as “human” would become even more complex, adding more layers to his analysis of technology in literature and providing more evidence that technology is neither an extremely good nor acutely evil development in mankind’s history.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?: A Social Commentary

The characters in Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? are greatly concerned with what other members of society think of them. An obsession with material objects plagues most characters, and creating the illusion of wealth and intelligence for themselves is foremost on their minds. By establishing these values and placing these concerns in his characters, Dick is likely alluding to his own society’s infatuation with possessions and social status.

In Androids, owning an animal shows that one is wealthy, as most animals in the world died after a World War and nuclear bombing. Rick, one of the protagonists of the story, even owns an electric sheep in order to keep up his appearance as an important member of society. The man is extremely jealous of his neighbor’s horse, and the promise of an owl nearly causes him to take a bribe and violate the rules of his job. In fact, the characters of this society are so preoccupied with the acquisition of these status-raising items that a magazine released every month containing the prices of every animal known to man is a household item. Those citizens who own the rarest or the largest number of animals are the most powerful and wealthy. This society seems to mirror that of the author’s in the 1960’s, during which time owning the newest car, television set, or household appliance was a primary concern of many families—a concern that can still easily be found in people today. 

“‘A lot of people have two animals, even three, four, and like in the case of Fred Washburn…even five…’ The man’s eyes glazed over, imagining such possessions; he drifted by degrees into a trance.” 

These characters are also exceedingly fearful of being labeled “special”. In Androids, people who have below-average intelligence are deemed inferior by society, and become outcasts. J.R., another protagonist in Androids who was determined to be “special” when he was much younger, is extremely worried that others will discover his label, and therefore goes to great lengths to hide his own supposed stupidity around others. He is invariably troubled that his words or actions will divulge his secrets. Even commercials on television bombard the citizens remaining on Earth, implying that said citizens should be extremely worried of being labeled a “special”, and that the only way to end this worry is to move to a colony.  In this manner, Dick references his own society’s obsession with public opinion—an obsession so intense that people will go to extreme measures in order to keep up their own appearance in the public eye.  

“‘Back on Earth, Mrs. Klugman, in the old days, did you also worry about finding yourself classified, ahem, as a special?’ ‘Oh, my husband and myself worried ourselves nearly to death.’”

Introduction to Essay 1

Okay, I admit, I have not changed the introduction at all....but I think it's a little short, so I might...who knows?

•         In the short story No Woman Born by C.L. Moore, an actress named Deirdre loses every portion of her physical body apart from her brain to the ravages of a theater fire. To replace the flesh that once enraptured the world, a scientist named Maltzer creates a golden, robotic body to house Deirdre’s denuded brain. Deirdre’s humanity from this point forward is an eminent topic in the minds of Maltzer and Deirdre’s manager Harris. They believe that her position as a human being is unsound, as the actress has only the mind and not the flesh to keep her grounded in the human race. However, in order to allay any fears about her human state, Deirdre inadvertently reveals another fundamental component in society’s definition of humanity: the performance of normalcy.