Challenge 243

Try It Again, Sam

Do you think E. S. Strout’s “Field Trip” would benefit from interior monologue by any of the characters or is the external, stage-play point of view more effective?
What justifies the computer programmer’s being from India in S. M. Murdock’s “The Avvy”?
At what point does Ed Coet’s “Big Bertha” overstep the limits of farce and dark comedy and become a somewhat brutal revenge fantasy?
Rose Loya’s “Voices” might be effective song lyrics. Why? How would you rewrite it to make it a coherent poem?
Using the premise and characters of Ásgrímur Hartmannsson’s “Meat Puppets” as a starting point, write us a story exploring human-android relationships as well as the related socio-economic, psychological and gender themes.
Gary Inbinder’s Noble Lies starts as science fiction and, with the revelation of the Aureus, proceeds as fantasy. In your opinion, do magical powers such as teleportation strengthen or weaken the story?