Challenge 985

All Hands on Deck

In Charles C. Cole’s Joe Avery’s Early Client: The “mirror on the wall” is addressed by the wicked queen in “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” and the mirror tells the queen the truth. Although the mirror speaks in the fairytale, what is its actual role? In what way does it become a real character in “Early Client”?
In Gary Inbinder’s Working the Puzzle: If Phantom Point were made into a TV serial, how would chapter 7 — and the novel — have to be reconfigured in order to communicate Max Niemand’s plot recapitulation to the viewing audience?
In Todd Glasscock’s When I’m Sixty-Four:
1. What cures Elmore Bass of his fear of “Them”? What is he really afraid of?
2. What is the average life expectancy of men in the USA? In Canada? In Europe? Where in the world is it highest, and why? Where would the age of 64 seem overly optimistic?
In Charles C. Parsons’ The Status Quo Ante: What is the status quo ante as far as Laura is concerned? What point in time would it re-establish? Aside from a time machine, what would be needed to reproduce it?
In H. E. Vogl’s More Thyme: How does the story make it plausible that Harold would remember the effect of thyme that he experiences but forget that grocery stories may not be open in the middle of the night?
In Edward Ahern’s Etude for Three Hands:
1. On which side of the third hand would the thumb be located? Or would the hand have a thumb on both sides?
2. Special challenge: Write the poem from the viewpoint of an octopus.

Responses welcome!