Our Better Selves:
Observation Three
by Bill Bowler
No explosion. No crisis. Not much in the way of individual obstacles, only the grand, over-arching obstacle that humankind is not yet quite up to the Doman challenge. First contact is made, but it’s almost a non-event, and only a handful of people even know.
The center of Observation Three lies elsewhere. It’s a panoramic portrait of what we are and what we could be. The Domans are foils, our better selves. The novel is an extended, minutely detailed, gradually unfolding plea that we behave rationally and charitably in our own best interests.
The narrator never cajoles. He describes and comments; and from the accumulation of detail, the Argument emerges. And to sweeten the philosophical punch, the love story of Toni and Maelene, child of “society’s child,” is told.
The readers’ feelings are engaged, as they must be, while their thoughts are prompted in the direction the narrator wishes them to go.
Bravo, Mike! What a long, strange trip it’s been...
Bill Bowler
Coordinating Editor
Bewildering Stories
Copyright © 2008 by Bill Bowler
