EP098: Just Do It

[Etherius]

I enjoyed this story, but I felt a little dirty afterwards. Mind control stories are often like that for me; they might be funny or exciting or whatever, but the horror of the actual implications creeps up on me later. The fact that the corporate guy was actually able to so thoroughly reprogram the protagonist that she became his wife, the mother of his child, and an avid user of the very b-mod devices she used to abhor is downright insidious. Yes, the story is presented in a light, fun, and entertaining way, and tWW does a great job reading it -- but what happened to the protag is a fate worse than death. Of course, I'm libertarian, so I take my freedom of thought extremely seriously; changing someone against their will goes against everything I believe in.

As black humor, the story works for me. But, to me, it's a heck of a lot blacker than a lot of people here are saying...

[El Barto]

I'm not sure which I loved more, the story or the reading.  5 stars.

Who is this Word Whore, and how can I find more stories she's narrated?

[Russell Nash]

Who is this Word Whore, and how can I find more stories she's narrated?

Whenever we have a site we link to it from the initial post.  The Word Whore co-hosts a podcast called Air out my Shorts.  It seems to be a 'cast you either love or hate.  I hate it.  Others here love it.

[El Barto]

Thanks.   What I meant, though, was "which other Escape Pod stories and/or other books on tape might she have narrated."

Typing "Word Whore" in the search box on the Escape Pod blog page suggests she's the narrator of EP111, EP098, EP052, and EP038. 

Does anyone know if she's narrated any books?

I will check out the "Air my Shorts" Podcast.

[Unblinking]

The Word Whore was amazing, as always.  Seriously, I've got to meet her someday to get autograph.  Although that would lack the voice, so something new may be called for--an audiograph? 

And, even though I could happily listen to her reading the manual for my answering machine, it's an added bonus that she was reading a story that I enjoyed.  The crave dart idea is insidious enough without the addition of the b-mod darts.  Scary!  And for those who questioned it's plausibility, consider this:  the b-mod darts have been in development for even longer than the story suggests!  They've only recently reached consumer-level manufacturing standards, but they've been in strategic use for years now, since before the crave darts were fully deployed.  A few doses to influential politicians at strategic times and voila!  Legality.  Even if it's a short-lived effect, what are they going to do after the law is passed "Um, oops, we changed our minds on that one law."

That's the trick with b-mod is that everyone's motives can be questioned, in this case including the legislators.