Digital Rights - Brent Knowles

Author: Brent Knowles Date: 2011 Setting: A space station colony, 2180 Availability: Buy Digital Rights at Smashwords

Story: Humans have colonized space so long that there is a real disconnect between those who live in space and those on Earth. There are even third-generation colonists who have never been to earth. People have android Assistants who carry out many tasks, and the androids are programmed by pulling information from people's actual brains. This technique has been used so long it is standard procedure, but there is always the possibility for abuse.

One of the supervisors, Rutgers, may have been taking personal information from people. Isabel (Izzy), an engineer, suspects this, but thinks it's both none of her business and fairly harmless. She thinks he is just creating a virtual game as a diversion. She has enough problems of her own, as she keeps receiving messages from a "ghost," a section of one of her past Assistants that should have been long dead. She eventually has to confront both Rutgers and the ghost.

Commentary: Digital Rights is science fiction, and won first place in the L Ron Hubbard "Writers of the Future" contest in Q3 2009, for fantasy and science fiction. This award has been running since 1983. That should tell you something about the quality of the story before you ever begin.

I don't mind science fiction, but I'm not a huge fan, unless the writing is really good. Digital Rights kept me interested. I was hooked right away, and I didn't stop reading until I finished, despite its being fairly long for a short story at 12K words. There are a number of really good things about the story.

In the first place, Knowles plunges you right into the scene. There is no setup, and you have to figure out where they are and how society has changed by the descriptions of what is being done and how it's being accomplished. And he gives you the information to do this, so you feel that you are right there. Eventually he gives out the fact that it's the year 2180.

The mix of familiar technology with speculative processes and machines is well done. As any culture evolves some things change completely, while other archaic forms and items persist. All of the invented machines and techniques seem plausible while e-mail and wearing green on St. Patrick's Day are still around.

This may be personal preference, but I like a sci-fi story to have some twist that makes me think about the nature of reality, or what makes us human, or what sort of "creatures" might actually populate the universe. I'm not very interested in stories that are just space wars, or romances, or B-westerns in airtight suits. Digital Rights does a good job of making me think.

Digital Rights is the best sci-fi story I've read in a while. You can take that at whatever value you want since I don't read lots, but I do read some.

Author info: Brent Knowles is a writer, programmer, and game designer. He has been living in Edmonton, Alberta for the last ten years, and is a graduate of the University of Alberta’s computer science program. He worked at the role-playing game studio BioWare for ten years (Baldur’s Gate 2, Neverwinter Nights, Dragon Age), during most of which he was a Lead Designer/Creative Director. Now he writes full time. He has been published in a variety of magazines including Neo-Opsis, On Spec, and Tales of the Talisman. See Brent Knowles blog

Rating:
Language skills 7
Depth of meaning 7

 

The Night the Ghost Got In - James Thurber

Author: James Thurber Date: 1933 Setting: 1915- the author's childhood home Availability: Read The Night the Ghost Got In on line, free

Story: Told in the first person, a boy hears someone walking around the dining room table. He is upstairs, just getting out of the bath. Realizing that no one should be downstairs, he wakes his brother, who refuses to go down with him to check it out. The boys accidentally wake their mother, who of course, assumes that the walker is a burglar, not a ghost.

What ensues is a hilarious comedy of errors. But "none of us ever heard the ghost again."

Commentary: Thurber is one of my all time favorite authors. Most of his short stories are humorous, and they range from tongue-in-cheek to tales that will make you laugh out loud. "The Night the Ghost Got In" is very short, but it succeeds in its goal of being funny.

The point of this story is, of course, not whether there really was a ghost, but the crazy reactions that occurred as a result of hearing sounds that could not be accounted for. In fact, Thurber tells us in the second sentence exactly what is going to happen. He says "Its advent caused my mother to throw a shoe through a window of the house next door, and ended up with my grandfather shooting a patrolman." The beauty of the story is that, even though he's just told you the entire plot, you have to keep reading to find out how a ghost could have caused those bizarre events.

The stories Thurber tells of his childhood are at least partially fictionalized, but this story is based on definite facts. Thurber did hear this "ghost" walking around the table in the dining room, the year he was a junior in college (1912). He researched the house, and discovered that other owners had also heard the same sounds (choosing to move rather than live with it), and that there had been a man, 45 years previous, who had paced around the table in nervous frustration before running up the stairs to shoot himself.

If anyone wants to write humor, they would do well to study James Thurber's writing. He is a master of timing and of tweaking a story so as to make it funny rather than just exposition.

His stories are self-illustrated. Thurber's cartoon style is sketchy but unique, and anyone who is familiar with it will instantly recognize a Thurber cartoon.

Author info: James Thurber, 1894-1861, grew up in Columbus, Ohio. His father was often out of work, and his mother was a great practical joker. It is believed that many of his story ideas came from observing his parents. Playing William Tell with his brothers, as a child, James lost one eye. This forced him into more mental pursuits, rather than sports, and he turned to writing as a creative outlet. His collections of short stories are still well-read. Thurber is one of the classic American humorists.

Rating:
Language skills 8
Depth of meaning 7

 

Summer Heat - M. Lori Motley

Author: M. Lori Motley Author web: M. Lori Motley Date: 2009 Setting: anywhere, in the present day Availability: In the anthology Elements of the Soul

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Story: Wayne lives a life of squalor and of supporting himself by aiding with crimes. Although he is probably not bright enough to be the mastermind, he helps his friend, Frank, strip cars for hot parts. He bums money off his sister, Debbie, who keeps a filthy dog kennel. Debbie doesn't have many scruples about who buys her puppies.

Nothing disrupts this system until the night Frank brings in a Cadillac Escalade that belongs to a local bad boy known as Mad Dog, who is clearly higher up the food chain than either Frank or Wayne. Wayne is fearful and insists that Frank get rid of the car without demolishing it.

Although Frank is apparently successful, Wayne is sure that Mad Dog Hatcher knows they are connected with the temporary disappearance of the vehicle.

Commentary: "Summer Heat" successfully places us squarely in the middle of a hot summer in one of the backwaters of life. When she describes the crisp, dust-covered leaves around the junkyard, we can picture the scene. The people, their speech and actions fit smoothly into this setting.

The story explores the themes of guilt and personal responsibility. Although Wayne manages to stay one step removed from actually participating in the most serious crimes or bad decisions, he's right there in the center of the story. Is his attempt to escape it all effective? Is it even a valid means of escape?

Although I thought the ending was a little weak, "Summer Heat" certainly would lend itself to a discussion of appropriate behavior with teens. A lot of young people on the edges of making bad choices would probably identify with these characters.


Author info: M. Lori Motley's most prolific writing genres are sword & sorcery, contemporary and urban fantasy, horror, dark fantasy, comedic fantasy, and paranormal & fantasy romance.



Learn more about Lori at M. Lori Motley.

 

Rating:
Language skills 6
Depth of meaning 6

 

Bartleby the Scrivener - Herman Melville

Author: Herman Melville Date: 1850 Setting: a lawyer’s office on Wall Street in the 1850s Availability: Read Bartleby the Scrivener on line, free

Story: Bartleby is hired as a copyist, a scrivener, for a lawyer. The lawyer (today he would be called a corporate lawyer) tells the story. He describes the curious natures of the two scriveners already in his employ and how one, Turkey, is useful in the mornings, but becomes unorganized and useless in the afternoons. The other, Nippers, is angry and sullen in the mornings, but a reliable worker after lunch. The only other employee is an errand boy, known as Ginger Nut. The lawyer is hoping that a third person might balance out the office chaos and provide a steadying influence.

At first, Bartleby seems to do just this. He works hard, and asks for no favors. His workspace is behind a screen in the owner’s private office. After just three days, the lawyer asks Bartleby to come help compare copies of a document, as this was a necessary, but tiresome task when legal documents had to be copied by hand. Bartleby emerges from his cubicle, but makes the surprising declaration that he “would prefer not to.”

The lawyer decides to let this instance of insubordination go, but the situation gets more and more out of control as Bartleby eventually prefers not to do anything.

Commentary: The tale of Bartleby is told in the first person from the perspective of his employer, a lawyer. It is set in the time period in which it was written, and a great deal of it will seem strange to modern readers, but the interactions between the people are as amusing and annoying as in any office in this century.

The meaning of the story has been debated by literary critics for over 150 years. I don’t think I’m going to be able to add much to those theories. Some think it’s symbolic of Melville's own frustrations as an author, while others think that it is an early rant against the world of corporate finance.

Although Melville’s work was largely forgotten until after the absurdist movement, this story is sometimes credited with being a precursor to that phase of literature.

No matter what Melville had in mind, certainly there are several themes. The most obvious one is “what is charity?” The lawyer (the narrator) continually struggles with his own feelings about Bartleby. He has hired the man to do a job, but soon is not getting any work out of him at all. He continually argues with himself that the man is depressed, incredibly poor, and that it would be inhumane to put him out. The end result is an absurd condition where the employer pays Bartleby to leave, and still the scrivener will not, so the lawyer moves out. And even that is not the end of the story.

The mental deterioration of Bartleby is a constant theme. We see the man degenerate from a sad and quiet, but hardworking fellow to depression and withdrawal so severe that it leads to his demise. The progression of Bartleby’s condition seems inevitable, and raises questions about what can be done for people who refuse to respond to human interaction.

The story, although a tragedy in the end, offers a comic look into the work world of the mid-1800's. Turkey and Nipper are polar opposites, and in some ways the narrator and Bartleby are also two sides of a coin. Yet, they all have to show up at the office every day and churn out page after page of government authorized paperwork which seems totally beside the point of anything important in their lives.

Author info: Herman Melville 1819-1891 is a familiar author for the immense success of Moby Dick. However, he was never known for Moby Dick in his lifetime. His early novels, Typee and Omoo were highly acclaimed, but then his popularity waned. Moby Dick never sold it’s initial printing of 3000 copies. Melville was long dead before he was rediscovered in the early 20th Century. He was born in New York City, and had several famous ancestors- one a participant in the Boston Tea Party, another a Revolutionary War General. After some adventuring at sea, and a stint as a surveyor, he began to write. Despite his early acclaim, he was never able to make enough as a writer to support himself.

Unusual Words:
divers- many
imprimis- in the first place
orbicular- round
cannel coal- oil shale which produced a lot of light as it burned
the Tombs- Manhattan Detention Complex- a prison
carman- driver
luny- loony, crazy
wight- a human being
Petra- the lost city of Edom, a symbol of a deserted place
Marius- a reference to a Roman General and a classical painting of Caius Marius Amid the Ruins of Carthage
rockaway- a squarish carriage which could be closed up to shield the occupant from view.

Memorable Quote:
I cannot credit that the mettlesome poet, Byron, would have contentedly sat down with Bartleby to examine a law document of, say five hundred pages, closely written in a crimpy hand.

Rating:
Language skills 9
Depth of meaning 10

 

I Killed the Man that Wasn't There - Darrell B. Nelson

Author: Darrell B. Nelson Date: 2011 Setting: the future, on Earth Availability: Download I Killed the Man that Wasn't There on line, free

Story: A successful businessman, Ken, feels that he has been taken advantage of since high school by a pseudo-friend, Donald. When their research into space-time mechanics results in the building of a Trans-Dimensional Origami Reactor, Ken figures out how to exact revenge for all the wrongs done to him, which includes Donald stealing his wife, a powerful motive indeed. However, there are some repercussions that do not leave Ken unscathed.

Commentary: This is a very short story, and I don’t want to say so much that I give the plot away. All of Nelsons stories are science fiction, but of the four in this collection this is the most scientific. There is a bit of a physics lecture in the middle, which is delivered by Ken to Donald. Although it’s not totally out of place, it really feels as if it’s being given for the benefit of the reader. Nevertheless, it does manage to provide information which makes the story seem more plausible.

Although the setting is futuristic and the means of dealing with the despised person is creative, this is a classic story of revenge.

If you want some entertaining reading with sci-fi settings, Darrell B. Nelson writes creatively. The stories are not formula written with only a change of setting, so there is enough variety to keep you reading.

download free at Smashwords

Author info: Darrell B. Nelson is a former Securities Broker and Insurance Agent who has decided to use the total meltdown of his former industry, and the total destruction of any illusions of personal financial security the meltdown caused, as an opportunity to pursue a writing career. He has several books available at Smashwords. You can learn more at his blog, Project Savior

Rating:
Language skills 6
Depth of meaning 5

Hitch-Hikers - Eudora Welty

Author: Eudora Welty Date: 1941 Setting: Mississippi in the 1930s Availability: in the short story collection A Curtain of Green

Story: Tom Harris, a traveling salesman, picks up two hitch-hikers on a road trip from Victory (Mississippi) to Memphis. One of the men talks a lot and is carrying a yellow guitar. The other man is very silent. Harris talks with the men, and soon realizes that they are hobos who have been traveling together for convenience for a couple of weeks.

He takes some pity on them and buys them dinner, and then asks the proprietor of a hotel where he often stays to let them sleep on his porch. While he is inside arranging this, the men apparently try to steal his car. The quiet man hits the man with the guitar over the head with a bottle, seriously injuring him. He is taken to the hospital and the assailant is locked in a room in the hotel, right across the hall from Harris, because the jail is full.

But this is one of Harris’ regular stops, and people in town know him. He’s popular at parties hosted by Ruth, a lady he knows. She introduces him to a girl named Carol, and they spend the evening together. She insists that she knew him from a long time ago, but he can’t remember her at all. There is much speculation at the party as to whether the guitar player will live or die.

Commentary: The Hitch-Hikers is a story with more questions than answers. On the surface it is a guileless portrayal of the Depression-era American South. Salesmen, hobos, forward girls, street children and “colored” children are presented without commentary, allowed to speak for themselves as to who they are and how they fit into society.

It is also the story of a man who is unable to connect with other human beings. Although Harris does show some hospitality toward the strangers, he never really forms even a simple kind of bond with them, and is oddly unmoved by their thievery, or the assault. He seems modestly curious about the prognosis for the injured man, but detached from the whole outcome, as well. He keeps forgetting what town he is in, even what girl he is with. He has no memory of Carol although she insists that she knows him.

When finally alone in his room he does not want to even take off his clothes, to feel any contact with the bed. The quiet becomes unbearable and he turns on the fan which clicks with every revolution and he welcomes the noise to shut out his thoughts.

In the final poignant scene he leaves town the next day, yet leaving more than the town behind him.

Author info: Eudora Welty 1909- 2001. Welty was born in Mississippi and developed an early love of reading. She earned several college degrees in an era when women seldom had any college education. During the Depression she worked for the WPA interviewing people and collecting photos of life in Mississippi. This experience became part of the basis of many of her short stories, which focused on Southern life. Several books of her short stories were published, and she won many prizes, including the Pulitzer.

Quote:
“He felt a... disturbing possessiveness, which meant nothing... He was free; helpless.”

Rating:
Language skills 9
Depth of meaning 8

 

Purgatory - Steven Thor Gunnin

Author: Steven Thor Gunnin Date: 2010 Setting: The present, some U.S. city Availability: In the anthology Elements of the Soul

Story: A man named Blackie tells the story, mostly in the first person. He has had a near-death experience when his car goes off a bridge, and he almost drowns. He is explaining all this to a trio of Mexican brothers at a strip joint. They want to know all about what it was like to come so close to death. Blackie is telling them, but making up a lot of it as he goes along. The three Latinos do figure out that he's teasing them at first, but as Blackie continues they have trouble separating the factual from the imaginary.

He explains that his job is to prepare bodies for autopsies at the morgue. He's been having a lot of strange experiences recently. In particular, he wants to talk about a girl named Jamie who committed suicide. However, it seems that Hector, Vincente, and Guillermo also knew Jamie.

Commentary: The dead and undead are Thor Gunnin's favorite themes, and there is plenty of suspense along those lines. That said, I had some trouble following this story. Sometimes Blackie just speaks in the first person, and sometimes he is referred to in the third person.

This story may not be for everyone. There is a lot of foul language, and a clear statement that admission to heaven is based on a merit system.

Author info: Steven Thor Gunnin is a graphic designer who writes in his spare time, and is a big fan of George Romero (Night of the Living Dead). Gunnin has two stories in this anthology.

Rating:
Language skills 4
Depth of meaning 2