Challenge 579

Life on Jupiter

1. In Sarah Ann Watts’ Winter Ship:

   1. How does Kyran feel about being disinherited and exiled to the temple? How does he feel about his living conditions and the people around him?

   2. In “A Lesson in Civility,” what lessons does Kyran learn while on the road with his uncle Lucid? How does he feel about the commoners’ standard of living?

   3. How would you characterize Kyran’s attitude toward life at his father’s court?

   4. Mightn’t Kyran’s viewpoint be somewhat warped? In what way might his father actually have done him a favor by sending him into exile?

2. In what way can John Stocks’ “On the Pilgrim’s Way” and Ernest B. Cohen’s “Summer” be read as variations on the same theme but in entirely different modes?

3. In Henry F. Tonn’s “The Turtle and Juan Sanchez,” the captain surmises that the turtle thinks it has established “proprietary rights.” In what way is the captain simply making a joke? What happens in the story to indicate that the captain’s words are correct in a way that “passes all understanding”?

4. In Charles C. Cole’s “Alien Abduction Abduction”:

   1. Why is the repetition of “abduction” in the title correct?

   2. In what ways is Charlie’s father depicted as a sympathetic and endearing character?

   3. Imagine what Charlie will say to the kindly people at Highland Variety when he calls back to tell them about his father:
      
      

5. In Bertil Falk’s “Total Rejection”:

   1. Readers normally feel that a story begins only when a character moves or says something. In “Total Rejection,” the characters speak but do not move in any significant way. What actually happens in the story?

   2. A familiarity with previous Billie Occasion stories is desirable, but is it necessary? Do the summaries suffice to enable the reader to understand Billie’s point of view?

   3. Billie’s friend Karl supplies what appears to be irrelevant information about religous figures’ ability to “bilocate.” What might it have to do with himself or with Billie?

   4. Why does Billie roundly reject Karl’s proposal that she “bilocate” to ancient Egypt and investigate the impossible duplication of Karl’s DNA in a mummy? What might she think will happen, or what might she think she is most likely to discover?

6. In Ron Van Sweringen’s “Mother’s Chocolate Chip Brownies”:

   1. Will Bill Brogan help himself to some clam chowder along with the meat and potatoes?
   2. What will he do after dinner?
   3. Who’s going to cook for him now?

Responses welcome!

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