Author Topic: EP258: Raising Jenny  (Read 51029 times)

Swamp

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on: September 16, 2010, 08:54:09 PM
EP258: Raising Jenny

By Janni Lee Simner
Read by Mur Lafferty

First appeared in the anthology Not Of Woman Born.

“I know I can’t do anything about this–” she gestured toward the tangled blankets, the hospital bed, the pale walls. “But I’ve asked the doctors to take some cells–I still have a few healthy ones left, you know, and they’ll keep for some time–”

I could guess the rest. But Susan, ever the biologist, had her lecture after all. “It doesn’t work like that.” Her voice was gentle, as if she were speaking to one of her two sons, not to Mom. “A clone isn’t the same as the original. Your clone would be no more like you than–than one identical twin is like another. It wouldn’t be–” Susan’s voice caught. “It wouldn’t be you.”

“You don’t know,” Mom said. “None of the clones are old enough to ask yet. They’re just babies.”


Rated PG  Not for kids, but nothing to worry about if you listen around the kids.

Show Notes:

  • Congrats on the Hugo winners and the Parsec winners!
  • We announce the winners of the flash contest.
  • Feedback for Episode 250: Eros, Philia, Agape.



Listen to this week’s Escape Pod!

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vrulg

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Reply #1 on: September 17, 2010, 12:00:40 AM
I completely agree with the host on her "It's a Wonderful Life" comments.

Really, that's all I cam here to post, but I'm going to draw this out by adding another sentence.



LaHaine

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Reply #2 on: September 17, 2010, 09:53:08 AM
Great story. I guess there will never be a future without generational conflicts. Every child should have the chance to find its own way.



corvi42

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Reply #3 on: September 17, 2010, 06:53:52 PM
I really liked this story, and a nice reading also!

The story, and some of Mur's comments, reminded me of one of my favourite poems:
Quote
SOMETIMES A MAN STANDS UP DURING SUPPER

Sometimes a man stands up during supper
and walks outdoors, and keeps on walking,
because of a church that stands somewhere in the East.
And his children say blessings on him as if he were dead.

And another man, who remains inside his own house,
dies there, inside the dishes and in the glasses,
so that his children have to go far out into the world
toward that same church, which he forgot.

Rainer Maria Rilke
translated by Robert Bly

Religious overtones aside, this poem summarizes for me this dilemma that staying at home
"for the children's sake" can sometimes actually harm them more than it helps.
Maybe what they need is an example of a person fulfilling their full potential,
rather than constant chatter about how this is possible. I wonder if the absent (grand-)father left
because (grand-)mother Jenny wasn't allowing him room enough to find his own fulfillment, just as she did later
to her daughter. We can't really be fully there for our children if we aren't fully realized ourselves.
To that end, we must leave sometimes, put family on hold, and seek to accomplish something out
of the home, in the wider world.



sTalking_goat

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Reply #4 on: September 17, 2010, 07:45:17 PM
I'm with Mur.



Jabari Woods

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Reply #5 on: September 17, 2010, 09:07:08 PM
I hate the idea of parents holding their kids back based on the fact that they are so fricken needy. It to me a while to realize that my mom was not prepared for my move to college. She said she was happy to get rid of me but she continually calls me checking up on me like I am still 16. but like my biology teacher said, "Parents will always treat you like you are 16" Plus three is the whole twist on Jenny being a clone of her grandmother basically. Very bizarre!!!


sTalking_goat

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Reply #6 on: September 18, 2010, 12:57:52 AM
Well...is it that Jennifer's desire to settle down is because of her grandmother's genes or is it a reaction to what she perceives as her mother's need to push her away and into the world? Its that whole nature vs. nuture thing again.



Talia

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Reply #7 on: September 18, 2010, 03:42:59 AM
This story alternately creeped me out and/or depressed me. The whole "one of my daughters must give birth to my clone!" thing almost felt incestuous to me.. just a big "ick" factor. Then there was the fact that Mom ruined Adrienne's life - twice. First by keeping her from her dreams after the accident, and then when she winds up shackled with the kid, she's again prevented from ever doing what she wants to do. That's just depressing.

I need to go look at pictures of puppies or something. This seemed to be a very unhappy story.



Vanamonde

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Reply #8 on: September 18, 2010, 09:18:46 AM
Forget that, a redownload worked fine.
« Last Edit: September 18, 2010, 09:26:50 AM by Vanamonde »



chornbe

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Reply #9 on: September 19, 2010, 12:38:56 PM
The "sci-fi" layers of this story are thin and only set the stage for the rest of the story, without being a crutch or getting in the way. This story was excellent. Once you stop looking for the big "sci-fi-ness" of it and just let the story happen, it's amazingly well thought out and very, very enjoyable. I found myself smiling openly truly, honestly having a "warm heart" moment at the end. A couple of grammar and usage choices had me scratching my head, but none so glaring that I can think of them now, a day after I listened to it. The story is the important part. Nothing a solid editorial pass over wouldn't fix.

Very well done.


And again, I'd like to say... Thank you, Mur. I thought Steve's stepping down would signal the end of Escape pod, but in typical Mighty Mur fashion, you're doing the job, doing it well, and getting it done. Thanks.

The guy who reads the feedback at the end... I have to admit his delivery is so awkward that I don't bother listening any more. No offense intended; he just needs to polish his public speaking skills a little.

More Union Dues, please!

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Loz

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Reply #10 on: September 19, 2010, 05:10:39 PM
I don't know, I'm glad the story didn't go the Pseudopod 'woman reborn as her own granddaughter!' route but otherwise I was continually thinking there was an '...and?' that the story never dealt with. I felt at the end that I had been told the set-up for a story but not the actual story itself. I'm not complaining that there were no sentient starships or laser-swords in my sci-fi this week but we didn't go very far on what was an exquisitely well put-together part-of-a-story.



Unblinking

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Reply #11 on: September 20, 2010, 05:57:55 PM
I actually rather enjoyed this story, despite it being similar to a bunch of other stories I didn't really care.  Yes, it was long.  Yes, the SF element was barely present.  Yes, there wasn't much in the way of action, mostly people arguing with other people at length.  But darnit, it was done so well!

All of the characters felt authentic, and the personal arc was well played.  The protagonist made the same mistake that is so easy to make as a parent:  You set out to avoid the mistakes your parents made, but it's easy to, instead of being the best parent you can be for your child, you try to be the parent that you WISHED your parents would've been to you.  But in the process it's too easy to forget that just because you wanted that life doesn't mean your kid does.

I relate more to the protagonist in this case than her mother though.  It drives me nuts when a parent holds a child back from pursuing the life they want to pursue because they're too sad to see them go.  I mean, you should be sad to see them go, but holding them back when they want to explore the world is an incredibly selfish choice to make.  I didn't really relate to Jenny's decision to stay home and get married.  I understand the love there, but why is staying home the only option for that?  Why not consider other opportunities with your beloved instead of saying "I love you so I don't want to see the world."



kibitzer

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Reply #12 on: September 21, 2010, 03:00:51 AM
Liked this story very much. The characters were well drawn and had believable conversations. The clone thing was a clever way to create space for a nature/nurture discussion.

What I could not figure out is why Adrian agreed to carry the clone? That made no sense to me whatsoever. Wasn't she the family rebel, the get-out-and-see-the-world girl? I can't fathom where having a child -- particularly her mother's clone -- figured into that world view. Maybe she was more of a home-girl than she thought?


Talia

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Reply #13 on: September 21, 2010, 03:16:39 AM
Because her sisters were refusing to do it, they weren't going to honor their promises. Adrian/enne/whatever was apparently big on keeping promises.



Dairmid

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Reply #14 on: September 21, 2010, 12:22:13 PM
A good story, but I thought calling it science fiction simply because the premise is cloning was a bit thin; more like a veiled family tale.

And I total agree with Mur's "It's a Wonderful Life" comments. It's what ruins the Wizard of Oz as well. It's a good thing 'there's no place like home'.

To discover a new world, you must be willing to get lost. You have to risk sailing off the edge of the earth.


Unblinking

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Reply #15 on: September 21, 2010, 01:53:00 PM
Because her sisters were refusing to do it, they weren't going to honor their promises. Adrian/enne/whatever was apparently big on keeping promises.

That and she'd long yearned for her mother's approval, and by being the one to fulfill her sisters' promise she felt that she could feel like she did right by her mother for once in her life.  I don't totally understand that point of view.  For me, if my parents don't approve of what I do that is their problem not my own, but I've known people who want nothing more than that approval.  So it strikes me as a very real trait.



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Reply #16 on: September 21, 2010, 03:01:21 PM
Trite, tired, and an over-done theme. Bottom line on this trope: Life in a deterministic universe would necessarily be pretty fucking frustrating eh?



ioscode

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Reply #17 on: September 21, 2010, 03:07:34 PM
A story with a message.  Eventually I figured that out after getting halfway through and feeling like nothing was happening.  Not a terrible thing, but maybe I was experiencing the same thing Loz was describing, the '...and?' feeling.  It may have been a good thing in a way, because my mind really started to wander on the cloning thing.  Made me think how superficial our gut reactions are to the ethics of cloning.  We get an initial feeling of aversion to it, but thinking about it in the context of the identical twins comparison the author used puts it in a more practical perspective.



Thunderscreech

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Reply #18 on: September 21, 2010, 03:21:00 PM
Bothell!  It was neat seeing my little hometown mentioned side-by-side with the various metropoli.



Swamp

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Reply #19 on: September 21, 2010, 03:36:30 PM
I always hesitate before commenting on EP stories because, as moderator, my comments might be misinterpreted.  The following is just my opinion as a listener.

I like a variety in the types of stories I hear on the podcast.  This story was a story about parent/child relationships, and a lot of it really struck home to me.  How much do I try to force my expectations on my kids or try to change/follow the way my parents raised me?  This story does a great job of exploring those questions.  Could it have done it without the sf element of cloning.  Yes, but that element did add some interesting perspectives and drove home the differences between the mother and daughter.  Anyway, I think it's nice to include some emotion-exploring stories now and then.

Sf was built upon stories with a message.  This just happens to be a touchy-feely message.
« Last Edit: September 21, 2010, 04:26:34 PM by Swamp »

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jenfullmoon

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Reply #20 on: September 21, 2010, 04:50:17 PM
It's really not much of a sci-fi story. The cloning thing really isn't put to use at all and seemed almost entirely unnecessary, even. I wanted Jenny to find out, or to have SOMETHING happen, but it doesn't.



ancawonka

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Reply #21 on: September 21, 2010, 08:34:04 PM
I enjoyed listening to this story, but I had many moments of cringing on behalf of the main character.  Adrienne's decision to raise the clone was interesting - but she didn't really think it through very well. I found her kind of aimless, in the way of people whose actions are just a reaction to those around them - but I guess that was part of the point if the story.

I'm glad she finally let her daughter be her own person, but I wonder if Jennifer's early marriage would end up just like her Grandmothers. How similar are they?  Did being cloned teach her to avoid her previous mistakes?  Or is she getting married to an idea rather than a person?





Loz

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Reply #22 on: September 21, 2010, 08:35:03 PM
Ms. Simner did play fair with us, she never did anything to suggest that Jennifer's origin was a Chekov's Gun over the whole piece, so any expectations the reader/listener might have on that score are their fault.

But... the fact that it doesn't come up again does make the fact that it existed at all in the story a little... unnecessary? Superfluous?

Instead we have a story of wonderfully science fictional dodgy genetics, Jenny and her grandmother both have the same outlook on life because they have the same genes which completely trumps their completely different upbringings, relationships, people around them, friendships, etc etc.



deflective

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Reply #23 on: September 21, 2010, 09:12:27 PM
I like a variety in the types of stories I hear on the podcast.
...
I think it's nice to include some emotion-exploring stories now and then.

to be fair, escapepod is strongly positioned in the soft, navel-gazing side of sf.  this story just happens to fall towards the extreme side of that spectrum.



stePH

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Reply #24 on: September 21, 2010, 11:20:25 PM
This story would need very little modification to run in a non-SF market. As for the nature/nurture argument, I'd prefer to re-read Cyteen (unquestionably SF) over this story.

On an unrelated note, I believe I'm one of the mere dozen people who has never seen It's a Wonderful Life. But Tokyo Godfathers is the best Christmas movie in the history of film anyway, so who cares?  :P

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