Reading Passage Prize vol 1
Part 3
Spoilers ahead.
“Underwater” by Charles Wing-Uexkull – 1st Place Essay
This piece was deserving of its 1st-place finish. As I began to read it, I thought that it was going to be straight history of German submarine warfare in WWII, but it was largely an exploration of the author’s own developing interest in the subject. He writes of the books he read and his obsession to learn more about the men who captained the U-boats during the direst parts of the war. The narrative is well balanced and engaging on both fronts: the historical events and the author’s personal interest in them. I related to the author’s conflict between his commitment to his established field of study, English literature, and the unrelated topic that had captured his attention, in this case, military history. A relevant passage: “I was supposed to be writing a dissertation about theories of history in Renaissance English poetry, but instead I was memorizing warship silhouettes, comparing types of torpedoes, and tabulating the efficiency of various kinds of anti-aircraft weapons.” However, the truly outstanding aspects of the piece are the historical sketches. The opening story of U-47 is captivating and sets a high bar for the rest of the story. I highly recommend this piece.
“The Paul Bunyan of Mars” by Some Guy – 2nd Place Fiction
A folklorist from Earth visits a Martian settlement to learn more about the planet’s superhuman/deity savior from the mouth of one of his android creations.
This was by far my favorite story in the collection. It contains some standard hard sci-fi elements such as Mars colonization, AI, genetic enhancement, androids, etc, but it does not get bogged down in the dystopian. Yes, AI had taken over Earth and killed many humans, but the superintelligent leaders of the Martian Renaissance have saved Earth and humanity. The events briefly described or merely alluded to would make for excellent stories themselves, but this story treats them as simple background for the deeper discussion of the nature of humanity and the nature of God.
I was skeptical of the narrative within a narrative format of the folklorist interviewing an android, but it paid off. The format and subject matter combined reminded me of Dan Simmons’ Hyperion, my current favorite sci-fi novel. The story is well paced, intelligent, spiritual, and excellent overall. I have no idea who the author, Some Guy, is or what else he’s written. I really want to read more.
“The Yuppies Take Tuscon” by Kino Fray – 3rd Place Essay
Kino Fray’s is a familiar story: a Western town is overrun and forever altered by new arrivals with big bags of cash. In this instance, it’s Tuscon. In the larger current trend, it’s the Mountain West. Ultimately, it’s America. It’s a depressing story of how local cultures, cultivated over decades and centuries of relative isolation, are being subsumed by the bland consumerist monoculture. It’s painful to dwell on.
“Fuck Off Emma” by Archon of Graceland
This poem is a response to Emma Lazarus’ poem that is mounted on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. It even maintains the structure and rhyme scheme of the original. The vision is of an America that wants the best the world has to offer, not those who view it as a mere economic zone. So far, the poets have provided most of the vital energy of the collection.
“Give me your great, your wise, your talented, yearning to freely shout eternal truths that hide in noble lies.”
“The Way God Made Me” by Petey Panzram
One of the shorter stories in the collection, this one is about a compulsively violent man who seeks to harness his destructive fantasies using an AI-enabled sex doll. The man comes to love the doll as she develops a personality and enjoys the abusive sexual relationship. He comes to the point where he feels like he needs to let her go to live her own life, only to run into her years later and find that the violent sexual fantasies she has make her feel like a monster.
The story was well told, if grim. It’s like “The Gift of the Magi” for a degenerate age.