PC325: Down

[Moritz]

The quote "No one should brave the underworld alone" is misattributed to E.A.Poe. The quote is from the singer Poe.

So it's kind of a House of Leaves reference?

[ElectricPaladin]

The quote "No one should brave the underworld alone" is misattributed to E.A.Poe. The quote is from the singer Poe.

So it's kind of a House of Leaves reference?

Shudder.

Don't do that to me, man. That book scared the bejeesus out of me.

[kibitzer]

I liked the underground world created. I missed an impulsivity to his suicide; in the story it was so intellectual. Suicide seems to me to be an immediate, unthoughtful response to overwhelming anguish. I would have believed his suicide more if he had met his daughter first then felt tormented for failing to protect his lovely daughter from riding in the street, from getting too close to the construction barriers, from falling down the hole--for not rescuing her. And also feeling horrible for destroying her family and not being the father she needed. 

I felt it wasn't as immediate a decision as it may seem. The story foreshadowed several times that he was down there looking for... something. I think he was expecting to see her somewhere and the fact that he could so easily be with her -- via the third rail -- makes a kind of weird sense.

[Wrong Poe]

The quote "No one should brave the underworld alone" is misattributed to E.A.Poe. The quote is from the singer Poe.

So it's kind of a House of Leaves reference?

Only kind of, since it is from her 1995 album's title track. I however first ran across the quote in House of Leaves and also thought it was E.A. Poe. I didn't figure it out until I tried to track down the source (story/poem/letter) of the quote, that I had the wrong Poe.

That book can induce some obsessive behaviours...

[DKT]

The quote "No one should brave the underworld alone" is misattributed to E.A.Poe. The quote is from the singer Poe.

Hey, thanks for that, and my apologies for misattributing the quote. I'll mention a correction when we do the story feedback.

[danooli]

I just listened to this one today on my lunchtime walk, and boy, did it grab me. When Thornhill stepped onto the third rail, I was taken aback as I also thought it was a bit abrupt, but when he found his daughter, I understood.  His depression was, to me, palpable from the beginning of the story, but it wasn't until then that we had a reason why.  Why he chose a life "down" and why he was using an alias (I assume his story would have been in the news and he changed his name so he wouldn't be recognized and prevented from being in the tunnels.)

I don't forgive him for the suicide, but I understand it. He doesn't need MY forgiveness anyway. He needed to help his child more than he needed to live an empty life.  (Please don't read this as my condoning suicide. I don't.)

Anyway, as kibitzer said, this was a beautifully atmospheric story. It made me sad, and it made me think, and I liked it a lot.

[Gary]

Just listened to this one as well.
I liked it.
I didn't see his demise coming until the mentioned of the third rail, then I was afraid that was what he was up to.
Since I didn't realize he had a death wish until the end, I became amused at the very British way that he and the ghoulish apparitions seem to treat one another. He didn't run screaming and the corpses didn't really want to cause him any bother. They just needed directions, thank you. Of course now that I know what he was up to, his reaction to the ghosts is more understandable.

[Fenrix]

For those who liked this one, you should check out the Fowler story on PseudoPod this week. http://pseudopod.org/2014/09/19/pseudopod-404-unforgotten/

[albionmoonlight]

but the suicide still seemed abrupt for me.

It was abrupt for us, but it was clearly something that was very long in the planning for him.  I like how the author managed to convey that without saying it.

I also liked the inversion of the typical suicide.  Normally, suicide is horrible because (among other reasons) you are leaving your loved ones and family behind.  Here, the suicide is what allows him to be with his daughter again.

And, though it pales in comparison to the other heartache in the story, I feel bad for Sandwich.  He'll probably get fired when they discover the narrator's body and learn that Sandwich broke regulations by not keeping in pairs.  Someone will have to take the blame for his death, and that someone will probably be Sandwich.