Apex Publications discussion

It didn't hit me until I sat down to start this discussion just how perfect the title is for this story. A prison guard living alone in a trailer and forming a string of relationships with the inmates he's guarding would be considered a strange life by almost anyone asked. The life form growing within the convict's brain and controlling him is literally a strange form of life.

While I really enjoyed this story, how it ties into the overarching theme of faith is a little lost on me. The guard and the convict discuss their beliefs or lack of beliefs of God and demons, and once the convict reveals he's being controlled by the fungus he mentions their gods, but I felt like that was almost peripheral, rather than an important component to the story.

What do you think?

I'd have to agree that the theme of faith wasn't as strong in this one as many of the other stories. Perhaps this is why it was chosen, to show that faith can be subtle. While the theme is barely perceptible through the story, the end is what drives it home. The fact that the guard was miserable and hated life, but after his "change," it caused him to love again.