After the Animal Flesh Beings

by Brian Evenson

A post-human civilization of synthetic beings, fixated on the concept of children, grapples with the meaning of life…after life ceases to exist.

Genres: Short Stories, Science Fiction, Horror, Fiction, Dystopia, Post Apocalyptic, Speculative Fiction

23 pages, ebook

First published June 21, 2023

About the author

Brian Evenson is an American academic and writer of both literary fiction and popular fiction, some of the latter being published under B. K. Evenson.

Reviews

[s.penkevich [hiatus-will return-miss you all] · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brian Evenson is a master of unease. Through finely crafted tone he can send a shiver down your spine or instill anxiety through atmosphere alone, often leaving his short tales to haunt you long after you’ve resurfaced from his distressed domains. A literary horror author at heart, Evenson often transports us to sci-fi futures, such as in his newest tale, After the Animal Flesh Beings, examining a post-human future that grapples with the meaning of life even in a world where “life” as we know it has ceased to be. Blasting melancholy through this wasteland of robotic beings scrounging for a purpose under a dying god, Evenson delivers five linked stories that build a portrait of this somber society through cautionary tales that read much like futuristic fables about the “children” the beings have their god craft for them. Evenson is at the height of his skills here, using his glimpses to allow our imaginations to imply a much larger society and navigating us through their muted despair while also building towards some truly haunting moments and images that are sure to linger.

‘There are those who believe we were once those animal flesh beings but that, as more and more gleaming children were made, we became such deft mimics as to become gleaming beings ourselves, so as to better resemble our children, so as to blend in.’

I really love this lugubrious landscape of robots digging in wreckage for parts that their god will construct into children. There is this sense of resignation to them, that the best is behind them—the people of animal flesh, presumably humans, have finally made the planet inhabitable and taken off into space where there is a fleeting hope they will return someday—and they are trapped in a state of slow decay where even their god is beginning to crumble before them. It can be assumed these beings are some sort of AI with robotic innards, and while they can not actually continue their species, they try to inject some purpose by creating sad children to give them something to care for.

‘Our children do not speak, and cannot hear. They can see, usually, and often do respond to gestures. They can be taught simple tasks. They move and walk, but with little of the fluidity with which an adult is imbued. Having been snatched back from the embrace of death, they move jerkily, as if in spasms. Nor do they live nearly as long as we do. Many generations of children we have created might well pass away before we succumb to death ourselves.’

It’s all rather unsettling, but best are the few horror stories they tell, such as one of a sort of child serial killer robot removing part for his own dark purposes, or a rather fairy tale deal made with strict conditions and consequences. The pervasive sadness and wasteland atmosphere makes for a rather haunting tone and reminded me a bit of the video game Stray. This is one that sticks with you.

‘Why did these animal flesh beings make us? Did they think of us as their children, despite our being made of a different substance entirely? Did they have another purpose for us?’

Evenson is always a sure bet for the eerie and After the Animal Flesh Beings certainly delivers. If you’d like, you can read it in full here. I’ve enjoyed how his recent works have a big theme of climate crisis, which we see hitned at here, and are becoming more and more sci-fi infused. Here’s hoping for another full collection coming soon.

4.5/5

‘It was, we are almost certain, the only merciful thing.’

[Lukasz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creepy, haunting, and sad. I expect nothing less from Evenson. Free to read on the Tor.com website.

[Fiona Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the times before god, in the times before time began, rumor has it that the animal flesh beings who used to inhabit the lost city built large structures in which hundreds of our children could be made at once, piece after piece, child after child. It was, so it is said, much faster. It is rumored that we are those children.

Why did these animal flesh beings make us? Did they think of us as their children, despite our being made of a different substance entirely? Did they have another purpose for us?

With their records mostly decayed or unreadable, we can only speculate.

Loved this - I haven't read one of Tor's shorts this year yet, and Brian Evenson did an excellent job of reminding me how much I'm missing out on. Melancholy but beautiful, and free to read here: https://www.tor.com/2023/06/21/after-...

[Netanella · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the times before god, in the times before time began, rumor has it that the animal flesh beings who used to inhabit the lost city built large structures in which hundreds of our children could be made at once, piece after piece, child after child. It was, so it is said, much faster. It is rumored that we are those children.

Creepy set of five shorts set in a future post-apocalyptic world inhabited by the remnants of AI. Brian Evenson is always a master of creating an uneasy, creepy feeling.

[Lizzie S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fabulous and haunting.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

“After the Animal Flesh Beings” by Brian Evenson.

I don’t believe ALL of humanity’s stories, both fiction and otherwise, would be lost to where the AI/robots we created wouldn’t know ANYthing about us.

2, both meh and depressing, stars.

[himbeerbuch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Made my brain tingle

[Adam G · Rating 5 out of 5]

A top notch piece of post-apocalyptica with robots and their religion. Highly recommended.

[Nathaniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sparse and oddly beautiful

[kazzo · Rating 4 out of 5]

An eerie dystopia about a post-human world where seemingly unfeeling robots are given "children" by an unknown god. It jumps between several narratives, ending with the end of their god.

For a short story it is hauntingly executed. Loved this one and wish it was longer - introducing an interesting take on a world with robotic entities it has immense potential.

My favourite is about a robotic woman who pleeded with the god for a child, who allowed her it on the condition that she did not look at it:

'It looked at her and she realized she had been wrong, that this was not a lifeless thing after all. Just because it was a doll did not also mean it was not a child. It was, she realized, somehow both. It was both alive and not alive. Her god had both tricked her and given her what she wanted, all at once.
When the doll that was also her child gazed upon her, she felt her eyes drip from their sockets. She no longer needed the strip of cloth to not see.'

[Nickolas · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the strangest stories I’ve ever read. It’s made up of 5 micro stories that make it into a connected short story. I went into this completely blind and was completely confused after reading the first two micro stories. I didn’t even read the description of the story, which may have helped. With that said, I’m glad I read it blind and had to piece together just what the hell was going on.

This is writing drawing outside the lines. I really like how non conventional and strange it is and will look into books by Brian Evenson. If you want a mass paperback convention, read Andy Weir, if you want something original and strange, read Brian Evenson.

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

A race of synthetic beings with legends of the animal flesh beings that came before them are obsessed with making children.

This is such a sad series of squib stories. Our successors are as plagued with problems as we are. Nothing has been learned. A work of bleakness, but very cleverly written.

[Chanel Chapters]

Playing House: creepy robot edition.

3.5⭐️

[Lucas Chance · Rating 5 out of 5]

a bleak parable

Evenson is without a doubt a master of the weird tale. I love how he has recently gotten more into science fiction which I am happy about because his BK Evenson work for the Alien and Dead Space franchises are so excellent. I love this one especially because it has the feel of a series of connected folk tales that disturb but also feel remote and mythical.

[The Litt Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Beth N · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mournful, unsettlingly pretty series of vignettes about a post-human world as remembered by decaying robots.

This short story is told with sorrow and empathy and leaves us with many questions that we can be content not knowing the answer to.

[Clarence Wolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

This very short story is set on a post-apocalyptic Earth abandoned by humans and populated by synthetic beings who were left behind. With little information about why they were created and abandoned, their culture is made up entirely of myth and superstition and it quickly becomes clear that their civilization is withering away. I loved so many things about this story; where to start? It is told in five brief, eerie episodes that somehow manage to convey an impression of the entire, tragic history - and longing for a better future that will never come - of this society of slowly corroding robots. The overriding motif of the story is of a damaged "God" that fashions synthetic children from metals torn from the Earth, though these children are barely functional and don't live long. Evenson's reputation as a teller of macabre tales especially shines in the one vignette about a human character. The author's effective use of a collective narrative voice punctuates the overall grimness of the tale. Truly exceptional science fiction.

[Fatima · Rating 3 out of 5]

What does it mean to be a non-human who inhabits the Earth after the end of humans? What makes a life worth it? To these synthetic beings the answer is children. Unfortunately, just as they don’t know how to human, they also don’t know how to care for the children they create. In this piece it is clear that the mechanical executions at society and culture fail, because these beings are removed of humanity. They try to save themselves and make life worth it through parentage, but they do not know how to do it.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A series of short vignettes in a very far flung future. I like how the origin of the robots isn't clear. They could have been AI or uploaded human intelligence. There are some pretty disturbing moments. The image of the malformed child at the end of chapter 2. And Oherdluq comes across as super creepy if you think it was an uploaded consciousness.

[Kam Yung Soh · Rating 3 out of 5]

A set of short fiction, set in a time in a far future where humans have become mythical in a world populated by mechanical beings. The beings are 'haunted' by the idea that humans might have had children and, via the workings of a 'god', set out to recreate children, as well as tell stories (disturbing stories) about how children might come into being or how humans might have treated children.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Accessed at: https://reactormag.com/after-the-anim...

TW: Suicide; abandonment of a disabled child

A moving, if horrifying, look at a future were only robots remain - with enough left-over human emotion to desire children, but without the knowledge to made new robots for themselves. The writing feels almost like a fairytale or fable.

4 Stars

[Brigit (Cosy.horror.corner) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't expect these types of short stories to represent that gorgeous book cover. I think it just went in a slightly different direction than I was hoping. I was hoping for really twisted, really dark and desolate tales, but they seemed just a bit mythological and dry. I'm sure other readers will find their own unique perception.

[Larry Cooney Jr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing as always

One of if not my current favorite author out there. Literally the only thing wrong with this collection is how quickly I read it. This could easily be a full novel and I do hope Mr Evenson thinks about writing just that one day.

[Thomasin Propson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why, yes, you can feel sorry for robots of the future and their difficulties reproducing. And yes, you can be creeped-out by a weird, murderous robot killer sort. And, yes, you can be sad that this is the future; it feels like the real honest future?

[Kas Marek · Rating 4 out of 5]

I REALLY want a full book in this world. This was so interesting and I have too many questions. Post-apolcoyptic robots, all their faults in trying to recreate a form of humanity with a failing God. Love this concept so much.

[Barry · Rating 2 out of 5]

An odd little story. It is actually a 2.5 * for me but I just couldn't get into it.

[S̶e̶a̶n̶ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked some of the ideas behind these better than their execution.

[Sevi · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Why did these animal flesh beings make us? Did they think of us as their children, despite our being made of a different substance entirely? Did they have another purpose for us?"

[Benjamin DeHaan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Creepy AI SF, my kind of end of the world story. More of this please.

[Roland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vignettes from a weirdly lifeless future.