Challenge 659

A Fullness of Haunts

1. In Richard Ong’s “Warp Bloopers From Space,” how might the illustration fit Terry L. Mirll’s “Karat Cake”?

2. In Lana Bella’s “Geometry,” what does the narrator seem to want or regret? What does the “geometry” image imply?

3. In David Adès’ Ever So Quiet in My Plenitude”:

   1. What subatomic particle is personalized?
   2. What is meant by “plenitude”?

4. In Daniel Tierney’s “Weeping Willows”:

   1. Does Lilith’s sequence of episodes follow a progressive sequence? If so, how does each fit into it?
   2. Does the story overstep Bewildering Stories’ guideline about plots that end with “But it was all a dream” or an equivalent?

5. In Corinne Enright’s “Hearing Voices”:

   1. What literary precedent(s) does the name “Eve” have in connection with dissociative idenity disorder?
   2. What characteristics do the voices say make Eve vulnerable to psychic possession? Why do the voices pick on her?
   3. In what ways do Gloria, Dora and Lionel appear to be dysfunctional personalities?

6. In Elous Telma’s “Frank‘s Sea Visions”:

   1. Where does reality leave off and Frank’s dream sequence begin?
   2. What is the function of the dolphins and sharks in Frank’s early experience?
   3. What does Frank’s dream lead the readers to expect? How might Frank’s dream of an underwater escape foreshadow the scientists’ ultimate findings about the Aquarium?

7. In Ron Van Sweringen’s “A House by the Water”:

   1. What early clues tell the reader that Gladys may be more sinister than a real-estate agent?
   2. What is the function of Tuck Barber’s red lightbulb? How does it foreshadow the nature of the story itself?
   3. Fear of witches was widespread in 17th-century Europe and America. What is the effect of taking an old superstition literally?

Responses welcome!