Escape Artists
Escape Pod => Episode Comments => Topic started by: Álex Souza on June 22, 2021, 02:59:41 PM
-
Escape Pod 771: The Mercy of Theseus (Flashback Friday)
Author: Rachael K. Jones
Narrator: Dave Thompson
Hosts: Norm Sherman and Alasdair Stuart
Audio Producers: Mat Weller and Adam Pracht
Been dying to talk about this one.
Great first line. It made me think that they were Siamese twins, but they were actually cyborgs—which is also uplifting because I knew I was going into one of my favorite genres.
I really like their friendship. It takes a strong bond to keep cursing at each other like that.
“Insults and lies were the price of another kind of survival.”
For my tastes, it takes a while for the story to show the reader what’s at stake and what are the objectives of the protagonists. It just keeps telling that they made a pact, a promise. When it revealed that the promise was that they just wanted to go home driving that car, I got a little pulled back. I feel the link between the two, but not between them and the car.
I’m also not sure about the fueling and recharging thing. I already had a hard time accepting them fueling a car with fast food grease; but charging a cyborg like you would a cellphone is really pushing it. It didn’t make me drop it though; I actually found it funny.
The long-waited road trip also doesn't pose any threat. If it did, the ending would be more rewarding to the reader.
Now, the main reason I wanted to talk about this is the main theme of the story. I’ve seen Theseu's paradox being explored in Ghost in The Shell (1995), one of my favorite stories of all times. But The Mercy of Theseus uses it to tell a tale of friendship. It was good to see the same subject matter being used in two completely different types of stories.
“The parts may change, but something at the core holds steady all the same. This is why no matter how much he changed, she would always recognize him.”
-
Álex Souza, you may enjoy the discussion from when this story was originally run....
http://forum.escapeartists.net/index.php?topic=8276.msg136907#msg136907 (http://forum.escapeartists.net/index.php?topic=8276.msg136907#msg136907)
-
THANKS!