Beyond Reality discussion

This thread will host discussion of the first of our March Nebula Nominees,
”Arvies” by Adam-Troy Castro. The story was originally published in the 8/10 issue of Lightspeed Magazine.

Wow.
Creepy. Terrifying.

Brilliantly conceptualized.

Oops. Didn't read the rules saying to wait until the 5th to comment. Sorry!

Karen wrote: "Wow.
Creepy. Terrifying.

Brilliantly conceptualized.

Oops. Didn't read the rules saying to wait until the 5th to comment. Sorry!"

I agree with your remarks (except for the apology); not sure what to make of this story or the society it describes

Karen - Don't worry about the "rules" regarding dates during the Nebula discussions. We are doing things a bit differently for this themed read. Discussions are open, so feel free to comment anytime!

I agree the story was both creepy and brilliant. I can't say I "liked" it, but I thought it was excellent.

Yes, it was a very discomfiting story, especially, I think, for a woman.

Thinking about being taken over by another person living inside of you is strange enough for any of us, and a device many other SF/F novels have employed, but then to have the other being decide to use your body just to give birth for the sake of the experience - bizarre.

The ultimate human hijacking?

The very detached, clinical, third-person voice it was written in made it even more chilling. Once again, brilliant use of this device by the author.

A scathing commentary on our throw-away society? pro-choice run amok? amorality? genetic engineering taken to extremes?

Wow, there's a lot of "stuff" crammed into this one little story!

Great choice, Candiss!!!

I very much liked the creepiness of the story, especially how the realizations of what was going on just creeped up on you.

The detached, third-person "reports" were effective, so I can't really complain about them too much. But maybe I think of this as a "'70's" device that has been overworked. It ended up being my least favorite part of the story because of that feeling of over-familiarity with the device, but I ended up liking the story a lot, so like I say, I can't complain.

I think this was a very clever and powerful story, mostly because my immediate and continued reaction to it is:

GROSS!!

And I mean that in an adult, this is truly disturbing and horrible way, not a child's toilet humour kind of way.

It started that way and it remained that way as I continued reading. Everything built into that and drew from that. It was awful in a very well orchestrated, carefully developed way.

Karen said:
A scathing commentary on our throw-away society? pro-choice run amok? amorality? genetic engineering taken to extremes?

I saw it as humanity's obsession with remaining young taken to the furthest extreme.

But mostly, GROSS.

LOL!

Yeah, but didn't you think it was GROSS, Kerry? ;-)

You know Karen, I think I did! :)

Does anyone have a comment on the significance of the term "arvie"? Is it some variation on another word that I've totally missed? Can anyone explain that one?

RV = recreational vehicle

Molly June is a recreational vehicle for Jennifer.

Thank you Karen. While I know the term, it isn't one we use here, so I didn't make the connection at all.

Creepy, right?

Wow! Creepy story indeed. It somehow felt more Harlan Ellison than the Harlan Ellison story did. They both had similar feel to me, with their dispassionate examinations of creation and life and self-aware story structures.


I thought this was a good quote, nestled in the middle:
"Life, true life, lasts only from the moment of conception to the moment of birth. Jennifer Axioma-Singh subscribes to this principle, and clings to it in the manner of any concerned citizen aware that the very foundations of her society depend on everybody continuing to believe it without question."

Wow.

I don't know that reading that story at eight months pregnant was the best idea, I'm really creeped out right now, and devastated at the thought of that poor abandoned child!

Shel wrote: "Wow.

I don't know that reading that story at eight months pregnant was the best idea, I'm really creeped out right now, and devastated at the thought of that poor abandoned child!"

Eight months already? Holy cow! Where does time go?

Tell me about it! My due date is five weeks from tomorrow :)

Shel wrote: "Tell me about it! My due date is five weeks from tomorrow :)"

The end goes by the slowest, so be prepared for a long five weeks! But then, of course, once it's over it will seem like it flew by, and then the baby is walking before you know it.. I have a 14 month old, I swear to god I it seems like just yesterday I was pregnant.. lol :)

And before you know it, your grandchildren are wanting the car keys! :D

Ahh I loved this. Its a fictionalization of something I have tried to say numourous times. I am a non practicing midwife. I stopped when I began my Cancer treatments. I will not be returning for many reasons.

Their is an atitude that evert woman who has become pregnant must give birth. Their are some women who for whatever reason are not pschologically capable. Th\

The view that a fetus has more rights than a mother was beautufully portrayed here.

Many of us who have been with these women have wondered if women ever get equal rights will they include equal rights with her fetus?

ICK!!! Horrifying. You shouldn't have read it, Shel!

Dawn wrote: "Shel wrote: "Tell me about it! My due date is five weeks from tomorrow :)"

The end goes by the slowest, so be prepared for a long five weeks! But then, of course, once it's over it will seem like..."

I agree about the last few weeks. They seem to last forever! My son is 16 years old 17 years old now, and it feels like I was just pregnant a short while ago. (Gah! See? Time flies so fleetly, I keep forgetting he's recently had a birthday. Don't even get me thinking on the fact that he'll be 18 soon.)

And Shel - I wish I'd known what was coming in this story. I feel like it almost needs a bit of a disclaimer warning in the first post (for Strong Emotional Impact) but then I suppose that means the author succeeded in his endeavor, eh?

Don't worry about it, Candiss :) I could have stopped reading as soon as I realized what it was about, but I got sucked in. And it didn't give me nightmares or anything, I got over it pretty quickly.

I just loved this story. So many issues and conflicting emotions here, totally what I love about a really well written short story. Such an original idea, but also non-judgmental in its tone, made me think of Brave New World in that respect. Terrifically powerful ending.
So far this gets my vote, hope the rest of the stories are up to this high standard.