Status Updates From Volatile Memory (The Volati...

I’m blown tf away

So….. this was like getting sucker punched immediately upon starting why is this so beautifully narrated

TLDR;

Thrilling, short read that through a sapphic space journey asks us not just what makes us human/woman but also what it means to choose yourself over your value to capitalism and how shared experiences can merge you with another in a way you never thought possible, if you always thought yourself alone

5*

+POV dropped me right into the story
+quick read, fast-paced
+ace rep!
+trans rep!
+fantastic audiobook, Sable in particular was brought from text to be an emotional powerhouse
+character backstory enough to learn and not change pace
-Their relationship was nuanced in a way I love, but it feels like it was written to be rooted for; I am rooting for their freedom not their love as of now ("-" is for intent not result)

The co-dependence/joint savior dynamics are awesome. I really enjoyed the emotional beats. Not just declarations of one-ness or desire for the other, but the feelings of wanting to not be seen as "other", to reclaim bodily autonomy, or choosing self over others which is not a viable train of thought in capitalism.

What makes us human is taken a step further to what makes us a woman? Trans, infertile, w/o body...

Sable is bordering obsessed? Her memories spilling over might make Wylla more susceptible to wanting to be fused as well. The key take away is Wylla consents to being one in the end, the journey to get there being nuanced and deep. Coercion, acceptance, survival, longing, understanding. It's awesome! I love a good sapphic romance and even more so a complex one, but I don't think it's love in the standard definition.

Idk if it was intended to be a pure romance to root for (I like it darker, anyway), but I can see a toxicity in the depths of their emotions/memories merging (corrupting?) of Wylla. Sable is without body but she is rageful, vengeful, bursting with emotion including sexual. Through Wylla’s choice to not discard her, and through Wylla’s body itself, she can carry out her wants, her desires for said revenge.

The two share in memories of loss of power of themselves to others in such a world

As is the nature of Sable/LyreBird, we have to ask ourselves what makes us human? An age-old question for sci-fi fans. If our memories can be transferred somewhere else and our corporeal body’s defunct, did we die? Are we still the same? Theseus?

Wow, fast-paced and emotional, this short but thrilling novella was a great experience. Wearing masks that take primary traits of the animal, Wylla wearing a Rabbit for hyper vigilance to possible threats, was a great way to get a look into her character before we even got to know her

Topics like identity, autonomy, and gender are in the foreground and how it relates to capitalism and a human’s worth in that scope

They find out the intent of the trials was to kill the subjects, sell the tech to the Marshall Syndicate, letting minds of dead soldiers control others via the mask

Sable mimics Fyster to the pursuers and Wylla engages jump drives and then boom they’re gone

Wylla wipes all traces of her existence on any record and they choose to vow to take down VisorForge. Together

She shot herself cuz he wouldn’t let her go, he would panic and dump her body to cover his tracks from the company, time to call scavengers

Fyster said she’s a sad sack that thinks it’s human, convinced the human outside that she was; despite that, she still wanted to kill him so she does

They take his ship and while still connected to his home system, dl as many files as they can, Wylla cleans mask of his flesh