Challenge 845

Just a Cigar

In Madi Giovina’s Crying in Public, are the tears really shed, and are the plants they nourish really botanical specimens? What allegory does the story make?
In Natan Dubovitsky’s Near Zero, Chapter 8:, in what way does the satire use the comic device “the world turned upside down”? In what ways is it realistic, thereby confirming the adage “It is very difficult to satirize a world that insists on satirizing itself”?
In Bill Kowaleski’s On Cygnus Prime do the Cygnians look anything like beings on Earth? Do they act like Earthlings? Would Earthlings find their “sales” plan practical or unconventional?
In Jeffrey Greene’s The Picker Boy, how has Ms. Leslie Newbridge’s contact with the picker boy affected her life? What inner conflict might her obsession represent?
In DL Shirey’s Magic Nation, how does the little boy seem to feel about his parents’ divorce? What does he do, mentally, in his final countdown?
In Andrew Newall’s The Fire Twin, is Yvonne’s guilt earned or unearned? If Vivienne knew what her sister feels, would Vivienne become a hydrokinetic?
In Nancy D. Bonazzoli’s Surrender, who or what is “you”? How might the image of “surrender” be interpreted: literally? ironically? sarcastically?