Author Topic: Pseudopod 168: El Dentisto que Corta  (Read 23731 times)

Bdoomed

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on: November 13, 2009, 04:54:30 AM
Pseudopod 168: El Dentisto que Corta


By Mike Norris
Read by Ben Phillips

In lieu of an excerpt, we shall regale you with some correspondence between the author and Pseudopod’s chief editor.

From Mike Norris’s cover letter: I learned of an extraordinary occupation, wherein an ordinary Joe, toting only a bible and a pistol, could legally cross the southern border under the licenses of the U.S. physicians that accompanied him to perform free roadside surgical procedures right in the back of his van. I managed to track down one of these medical coyotes, and I wrangled an interview out of him, explaining that I was a writer interested in publishing a story about his fascinating mission. That much was true … If I’m to be damned for a story I’ve written, “El Dentisto que Corta” will be my one-way ticket to Hell.

Ben’s response: Dear Mike, Thank you for sending us “El Dentisto que Corta”. Yes, I’m pretty sure you are going to hell for writing it, and we’re probably going to join you because we’re going to produce it. …


Happy Friday the 13th!!!


Listen to this week's Pseudopod.

I'd like to hear my options, so I could weigh them, what do you say?
Five pounds?  Six pounds? Seven pounds?


SCREAMINGMONKEY

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Reply #1 on: November 14, 2009, 01:12:23 AM
First, Ben you are amazing, and sound awesome, as always.

Second, as someone who has worked as an EMT, OR Tech and had the awesome job of being a tissue procurement tech for an eye bank (basically this job was all about driving around in the middle of the night and extracting the corneas and sometimes the entire eye globe from deceased donors in morgues); I have to say this story creeped me out and I couldn’t listen after the first 15 minutes or so.  I am no stranger to blood, gore, dead people and medical procedures, but damn this story just creeped me out completely.

I kept shaking my head saying “No, no, no, he did not just do that….”

I’m going to have to get drunk and listen to the whole thing, I think that’s the only way I could handle it.

Excellent story, Pseudopod. Alasdair and Ben you rock.



Boggled Coriander

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Reply #2 on: November 14, 2009, 04:18:33 AM
It's been a long time since a Pseudopod story made me feel this queasy.  There were a very high number of "Ew!" moments.  That combined with the destructive nastiness of the main character left me with a weird aftertaste.  That's not necessarily negative criticism.

I didn't have any idea what the point of the story was besides "incompetent healer rampages across Mexico leaving death in his wake".  Then I read the correspondence between the author and Ben Phillips quoted above.  Now I appreciate the story a bit better.

"The meteor formed a crater, vampires crawling out of the crater." -  The Lyttle Lytton contest


MacArthurBug

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Reply #3 on: November 14, 2009, 01:17:35 PM
I am deeply disturbed. I should have waited until full daylight to listen to a story with dentist in the title. So.. much.. ick. I actually LIKED this story. The dismissive attitude of The mc. The jibbering my brain was doing as the story went on (she was dead, how could he not know she was dead) The writing was excellent- giving me the heebie jeebies and making me squirm and actually PAUSE the story (I usually either listen through or stop all together) so I could take a breather. A lot of the horror from this - for me- was in the COULD be aspect. I'm not a compleatly ignorent American, just mostly, and I know that there ARE people like this in the world. The unsettling axspect of that alone is enough to make my skin crawl.

At least there wasn't a drill.

Oh, great and mighty Alasdair, Orator Maleficent, He of the Silvered Tongue, guide this humble fangirl past jumping up and down and squeeing upon hearing the greatness of Thy voice.
Oh mighty Mur the Magnificent. I am not worthy.


empathy44

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Reply #4 on: November 14, 2009, 08:28:53 PM
So, old school Mayan retribution at the end?



Bdoomed

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Reply #5 on: November 14, 2009, 09:53:03 PM
So, old school Mayan retribution at the end?
that's kinda what I was hoping for, but I don't think that's what happens.

awesome story

I'd like to hear my options, so I could weigh them, what do you say?
Five pounds?  Six pounds? Seven pounds?


Sandikal

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Reply #6 on: November 15, 2009, 11:15:14 PM
What an ambiguous ending!  What a narcissistic narrator!  What a great reading!  There wasn't anything supernatural in this story, just the very real horror of one of the really, really horrible people that occupy our planet.  Whatever the villagers ended up doing to him, it was less than he deserved and less horrific than his "surgeries".



BenjCano

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Reply #7 on: November 16, 2009, 08:43:32 PM
I haven't had a chance to listen to the story yet, but I must chime in with a bit of a correction.

The story's title is "El Dentisto que Corta," which I believe the author meant as "The dentist who cuts."  But he ended the noun "Dentista" with an "o" to make it agree with the masculine article "el."  Normally in Spanish, nouns, adjectives, and articles have to agree in singular/plural nature as well as with masculine/feminine.

But "Dentista" is one of the few exceptions to that rule.  "Dentista" is both the masculine and feminine form of the noun, so the correct title of the story ought to be "El Dentista que Corta."  The masculine article would indicate that the dentist of the title was male.

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Unblinking

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Reply #8 on: November 16, 2009, 09:09:42 PM
Wow this story was one of those that was horrific because it's so believably true as something that could or has happened.  Creepy! 

Such an unlikeable protagonist, and no character arc whatsoever, which would both usually cite complaints from me, but the writing was so well done and concept so horrific that these things didn't really bother me.

The worst part for me was imagining the operation that left the assistant eyeless, and now this boy follows hi mutilator around like he's his son.

What was that about a Mayan retribution?  Maybe I missed something at the ending.  All I saw was her "rewarding" him for his efforts in front of a crowd.  Was there something supernatural going on there that I missed?



Bdoomed

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Reply #9 on: November 16, 2009, 09:22:52 PM
I haven't had a chance to listen to the story yet, but I must chime in with a bit of a correction.

The story's title is "El Dentisto que Corta," which I believe the author meant as "The dentist who cuts."  But he ended the noun "Dentista" with an "o" to make it agree with the masculine article "el."  Normally in Spanish, nouns, adjectives, and articles have to agree in singular/plural nature as well as with masculine/feminine.

But "Dentista" is one of the few exceptions to that rule.  "Dentista" is both the masculine and feminine form of the noun, so the correct title of the story ought to be "El Dentista que Corta."  The masculine article would indicate that the dentist of the title was male.
yes, BUT you also have to realize that the main character doesn't speak a lick of Spanish, so in that respect bad Spanish is entirely excusable :)

I'd like to hear my options, so I could weigh them, what do you say?
Five pounds?  Six pounds? Seven pounds?


kibitzer

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Reply #10 on: November 16, 2009, 10:01:02 PM
What was that about a Mayan retribution?  Maybe I missed something at the ending.  All I saw was her "rewarding" him for his efforts in front of a crowd.  Was there something supernatural going on there that I missed?

From the tone, I kinda figured the townsfolk were going to cut him to shreds.


gelee

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Reply #11 on: November 16, 2009, 10:21:42 PM
Wow.  That was just urk-tastic.  The "denstist's" blase dismissal of...well, everyone besides himself, was just jaw-dropping.  Wonderful story.  Kind of felt bad for his assistant, though.  Why do I get the feeling that the Dentist had something to do with the kind ending up blind?  Pink eye, maybe?



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Reply #12 on: November 17, 2009, 03:11:08 AM
Ben your reading is, as always, excellent. Bravo sir. Bravo. I have been listening to older pseudopod stories and love the way you breath life (or death?) in to the narrative. 

The worst thing that could plausibly happen to anyone would be to not be used for anything by anybody. Thank you for using me even though I did not want to be used by anybody.


Bdoomed

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Reply #13 on: November 17, 2009, 04:49:56 AM
Pink eye, maybe?
more like dust in the eye.
"I'll get it out for you"


side note edit: post 1800! :)

I'd like to hear my options, so I could weigh them, what do you say?
Five pounds?  Six pounds? Seven pounds?


Rigger

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Reply #14 on: November 17, 2009, 07:59:51 AM
I kept shaking my head saying “No, no, no, he did not just do that….”


This quote completely sums up my experience. I am sure the other people at the market thought I was mad, as I wandered the store in my rain soaked trench coat... gibbering to myself.



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Reply #15 on: November 17, 2009, 04:03:19 PM
Wow.  That was just urk-tastic.  The "denstist's" blase dismissal of...well, everyone besides himself, was just jaw-dropping.  Wonderful story.  Kind of felt bad for his assistant, though.  Why do I get the feeling that the Dentist had something to do with the kind ending up blind?  Pink eye, maybe?


I think he said pretty much straight out that he was responsible.  Something along the lines of mentioning when he looked at the kid who is not merely blind but has no eyes at all, and mentions that eye surgery is the one thing best left to experts.  So I'm guessing he slipped and butchered the kids eyes by mistake and had to remove them entirely.



MacArthurBug

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Reply #16 on: November 17, 2009, 05:55:44 PM
I kept shaking my head saying “No, no, no, he did not just do that….”


This quote completely sums up my experience. I am sure the other people at the market thought I was mad, as I wandered the store in my rain soaked trench coat... gibbering to myself.

Yes! You'd think I'd have learned not to listen to EA stories in public- but I often end up publically embarrising myself by responding to something I'm hearing and getting funny looks.

Oh, great and mighty Alasdair, Orator Maleficent, He of the Silvered Tongue, guide this humble fangirl past jumping up and down and squeeing upon hearing the greatness of Thy voice.
Oh mighty Mur the Magnificent. I am not worthy.


cdugger

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Reply #17 on: November 18, 2009, 02:01:23 AM
Here's a rule:

Non-visual input doesn't get to me. Ever. I read and listen a lot, and enjoy the creepy stories, but they never creep me out, make me respond.

Until now.

Wow. Just, wow. I really enjoyed this story. I won't listen to it again, but I really enjoyed it. The writing was excellent and the reading really brought it to life.

This is the way a scary story should be done. This kind of quality is why I read and listen.

I read, therefore I am...happy.


MacBean

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Reply #18 on: November 18, 2009, 08:04:11 AM
All I can say is: Hell, yes.

I have really limited space, so I don't keep many podcasts after listening to them. This one's here to stay, though.

~Bean


SquidDNA

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Reply #19 on: November 18, 2009, 10:15:28 PM
I crammed all my comments into the donation box, but here goes:

This is an offering to Pseudopod towers to make me stop thinking about "El Dentisto que Corta." Please. Seriously, jaw dropping, blank-stare horrifying story, brilliantly read by Ben. "Love like Thunder" was 'merely' fascinating, and I was really impressed and had made a mental note to donate, and then bam. Just, what the hell. Oh my god no I don't know where to begin on how wrong all of that story is and that's the point. Thank you.



AdamGurri

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Reply #20 on: November 19, 2009, 03:55:48 AM
Jesus Christ!

I've had some stories that creeped me out since I started listening to Pseudopod, but this one takes the cake!



DKT

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Reply #21 on: November 19, 2009, 04:44:47 PM
What an incredibly twisted story. Made all the better by Ben's nonchalant narration. Well done all around.

So, old school Mayan retribution at the end?

Oh, yeah. I'm pretty sure that's where the story was going, what with the not-quite Reptillian description of the girl and Cesar's kicking legs beneath a crowd of the Mayan kids.

Kind of felt bad for his assistant, though.  Why do I get the feeling that the Dentist had something to do with the kind ending up blind?  Pink eye, maybe?

I think at one point in the story he says something like, "Proof that occular surgery should be left to the professionals and not me." So my reading would be that yeah, he cut out the kids eyes for some reason.


SquidDNA

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Reply #22 on: November 19, 2009, 06:27:14 PM
Yesterday I couldn't stop thinking about this story, today I can barely remember any of the details.

Trauma in action, folks.

Oh god that was it. That was the most implicitly horrifying thing about the entire story, and nobody mentioned it and I wanted to shake you all and shout it-- as horrifyingly incompetent as this guy was, he left a blind child to sew it up.

Think about it or rather don't.



Ben Phillips

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Reply #23 on: November 19, 2009, 09:27:17 PM
What was that about a Mayan retribution?  Maybe I missed something at the ending.  All I saw was her "rewarding" him for his efforts in front of a crowd.  Was there something supernatural going on there that I missed?

Oh, there is NO way that guy is surviving that night.  He killed his patient, he's too drunk/stupid to realize it, he's being surrounded by guys with knives...  My favorite part of this story is when the crone comes, probably to officially condemn him, and she laughs derisively at him.  He assumes she's making a little joke about having no teeth, and he smiles and claps.  At that point, she places her hand on his cheek, and there's this little tender moment as she seems to genuinely pity him for what's about to happen to him.  I like to think what's going through her head is, "Wow.  You really have no idea what's going on right now, do you?  You're actually just a complete and total moron.  How tragic your life must have been.  Not that this is going to stop us from making you die horribly."  That's the wisdom of old age, shining across a cultural and linguistic gap.  It's rather beautiful, really.

Thanks very much for the kind words about the narration, everyone.  Glad you "enjoyed" the story.  I love sharing special things like this with the world.



yicheng

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Reply #24 on: November 20, 2009, 02:30:14 PM
Great story! 

Just one minor quibble.  Please for chrissakes, it's Tempeee (with an Eee at the end) not Tempeh like the preserved soybean food.  Something about you Escape Artist narrators and your instance on mispronouncing the name of that town.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempe,_Arizona