Challenge 467

Into the Wild Blue Yonder

1. In Rebecca Lu Kiernan’s “Supernumb,” what might suggest that the “you” in the poem is not emotionally numb but malicious and spiteful?

2. In Richard Ong’s “A Need for Speed,” what would be needed to make it a real-life replay of Sari Friedman’s and Julia Cheng’s “Climbing the Air”?

3. In John W. Steele’s “Harvest Dawn”:

   1. Why might one think that Juan is not as simple a peasant as he claims to be?
   2. The apparition seems to bring peace on earth, but in exchange for what?

4. In Charles C. Cole’s “A Long Way Home”:

   1. Does the narrator have a name?
   2. Why might one surmise that the neighbors of the narrator and his brother, Cobb, are not very friendly?

5. In Faith H. Goble’s “Birdland”:

   1. What happens to Michael at the end? Do he and Eden still have a chance with each other?
   2. What motivates the crass space-alien media broadcasters? Why do they bother to come to Earth anyway? What’s in it for them?
   3. What other ending might the story have?

6. In Alex Jenks’ “Tipsy Tapsy”:

   1. What is Tipsy Tapsy? If she is a supernatural manifestation of conscience, why would she advise against suicide in one case and provoke it in another?
   2. Or is she — judging by her long teeth — a demon of some sort?

Responses welcome!

Copyright © 2012 by Bewildering Stories
What is a Bewildering Stories Challenge?