Challenge 888

Living Assistance

1. In John W. Steele’s The Force Within: At what point does Reggie begin injecting himself? What drug might he be using?

2. In Guillaume Boisset’s The Orinoco Mille-Feuille Trials:

   1. What does “Orinoco” refer to?
   2. Is André opposed to all mechanical devices in pastry-making?
   3. Can André be said to have a tragic flaw? If so, what might it be?

3. In James Rumpel’s The Instancy Effect:

   1. In hindsight, was Julie deliberately inviting trouble in the opening scene or was she merely discounting any danger?
   2. For what fault in Julie’s childhood does her achievement addiction seem to be compensating?
   3. What does the concept of “neural enhancements” imply for all performance arts, including sports?

4. In Robert Wenson’s The Way the Cat Pounces:

   1. To what extent does Rackman’s defeating the space aliens depend on sheer luck?
   2. What is the function of Rackman’s engaging the space aliens in single combat rather than ordering Lilly to pounce as soon as the space aliens’ hostile intentions become known?

5. In Charles C. Cole’s The Habiliments of Home:

   1. Why might the title use the rare word “habiliments”?
   2. In Sinclair Lewis’s Arrowsmith (1925), an affianced couple visiting relatives in North Dakota are made to sleep in separate bedrooms with a guard posted in the corridor between them. What cultural difference do the two stories depict?

6. In Ann Christine Tabaka’s Life Melting, the verses “[Life] seeping between crevices / where no light shines” raise at least two questions: What are the “crevices”? Is the association with the idiomatic expression “where the sun don’t shine” intentional or inadvertent humor? In either case, why is the association comical?

Responses welcome!

Copyright © January 25, 2021 by Bewildering Stories
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