Song in a minor Key

Song in a minor key

In this short theres little to more than a single moment. It feels like the space outlaw Northwest Smith is taking a break. It seems like a tiny character study about what this man really wants, to go back to his past. We see the contrast of the green earth and clovers put next to the thought of killing a man. For some reason this made me think about the concept of an outlaw, expat, or anyone who has to leave their home in a forceful way. We see a lot of this in sci fi, a character that’s in a planet that’s not theirs. Or a character who’s planet is destroyed. It seems like getting kicked out is a part of sci fi. We can see this in some of the most recent star wars movies.

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Fragments of a hologram rose

This story is more of a conglomeration of moments than a regular narrative, it weaves together a spirit of memory and the contrast between reality and recordings. The tone of the story is very peculiar. The main character has just gone through a breakup, his girlfriend just left him and he finds a hologram rose, a postcard and an “Apparent Sensory Perception” tape. He breaks the postcard into pieces and then watches the tape, which has mostly been wiped out. This little short story reminded me a lot of Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless mind. Mainly because we are living the memories of Parker, but through a more lens-y kind of view, instead of being there as a character. The whole memory erasing is very similar a concept, it made me realize how some parts of that movie might fall into some sci fi genre codes. This part particularly stuck with me “Thinking: We're each other's fragments, and was it always this way? That instant of a European trip, deserted in the gray sea of wip

The Hobbit

My oh my do I love reading Tolkien, his writing has a sense of whimsy and wonder I don't really find in other fantasy works. We talk a lot about the hero's journey, but not enough about what happens before. The Hobbit speaks about conformity in our homes, but the home is never demonized or berated. It is described with love and beauty, Bilbo cares about his home because conformity is part of his identity. Before we embark on our own journey through life we are the same way. We want to stay at home and live with our family forever. That's not how life works. However, The Hobbit never demonizes the home, it is a part of life, a nest, our childhood home. The home has many memories attached to it, and its not something bad. Bilbo's conformity, also ties into his refusal to let new people into his life. Some of us have loud family members who every time they come over they rock our routine. At first, we find them annoying but later we enjoy ourselves, let go and be free

We can remember it for you wholesale

I've read Phillip K Dick's work beforehand, and this is classic sci fi, throwing the reader into the story with no previous exposition. Phillip K Dick’s work tends to deal with hallucinations, group projections and the authenticity of humans. In Android’s we see this present in the humanity of the replicants vs the humans. What makes feeling and conscience exclusively human? While in this piece the struggle seems to be what is a real memory and fantasy. I like that without having to lift a single finger he is what keeps Earth safe from an alien invasion. His lifelong childhood fantasy manifested in his psyche and became a reality. I love how one act of kindness makes all of his past as a secret agent seem meaningless. Quail's childish thought of mercy made the aliens feel mercy in turn. The message seems to be a commentary on the senseless violence of war and how it fades away and moral solutions endure. The slow reveal of Quail’s past is also part of sci fi genre code

Maria Caraballo: literature of horror, fantasy and sci fi.

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