Challenge 302

Altering States

What science fiction films are alluded to in Thomas Lee Joseph Smith’s “Sit-Ups of the Space Marines”? In what way is the title an image of the story’s moral?
Writing about writing is one of the most thankless topics there are. Why? And yet... How do the perspectives in John Stocks’ “Altered States” show how it’s done?
Research question about Anna Ruiz’ “Hatshepsut”: Apparently, Hatshepsut was a real person. Who was she?
What other endings or what other premise might you give to R. Scott McCoy’s “The Morning After”? In what way might it be similar to Bill Bowler’s apparently very different “Broken Parts”?
How does Mary King’s “Coming Back” resemble Chris Ward’s “A Thousand Lives of Flies”? How does it differ? What is the implied moral in Mary King’s “open” ending?
In Noel Denvir’s “Distant Star,” what is the difference between music on the planet Macol and on Earth? What observation does guitarist Jim Daly make that supports the Macolians’ esthetic perspective?
What similes are used in Travis Moore’s “Elevator”? What is their effect?
In Emanuele Petter’s “Grassona,” why might Tommaso find Alice attractive?
In Slawomir Rapala’s “Heritage,” what does Iskald bring to Aezubah and to the Estate of Lyon other than his name and his battle experience?
Comprehensive question: In what way does this entire issue illustrate the Canadian author Tom King’s philosophy that “Stories are what we are and all we have”?