Challenge 610

Pedal More Slowly

In Anastasia Kalos’ “Raising Hackles,” why is the account an anecdote rather than a story?
In Kochava Greene’s “Incident at St. Laurita’s”:
1. The geography has familiar names, but how do the places differ from the same ones in our universe?
2. Do men appear at any point or are any mentioned? If so, what roles do they play?
3. What is the role of clothing in the story?
In Craig Cormick’s “Cook Loses His Heart to the Native Girls”:
1. Would the story change significantly if its narrative chronology matched its internal chronology ?
2. As the seasons change, do the islanders change physically or culturally from “dolphin” to “shark” and back again?
3. What would be lost or gained if “Cook” were replaced by a completely fictional explorer and the setting transposed to Earth in some earlier century?
In John W. Steele’s The Chronicle of Belthaeous, “The Way of the Scorpion”:
1. Ursula tells Rodney, “You’ve been entrusted with a power you cannot begin to imagine. And there are forces that will kill you to steal it. But Evil cannot harm you as long as you retain the Eye.” Why does Ursula contradict herself?
2. Jigme tells Rodney, “You can give me the Eye, but I cannot take it from you.” Is Jigme allowed to steal the talisman if he kills Rodney? Why do violence and murder not constitute “harm”?