PC366: Sticks and Stones

[Talia]

PodCastle 366: Sticks and Stones

by Nathaniel Lee

read by Tatiana Gomberg

Originally appeared in Crossed Genres.

The dead body was ugly, as dead bodies tended to be. The man’s face was swollen and purple-black with the blood that had pooled in his cheeks before congealing. Blood on the sidewalks had smeared with the rain before the sun rose. Lillian stared at the stains with her hands in her pockets, toying with her ring.

“Detective Staunton?”

“Blunt force,” she said, not turning around. “Probably some pretty heavy words, by the look of them; he’s almost crushed. Loser, maybe. Failure. Took him by surprise, I think; the first blow from the back spun him around. You can see the blood spatter where he turned.”

Rated PG-13.

Nathaniel Lee lives with his family in South Carolina.  His work has appeared in dozens of venues online and off, including several times previously here on PodCastle.  He serves as the editor of the Drabblecast and assistant editor at Escape Pod.

Tatiana Gomberg is a New York City based actress of stage, screen, and of course, the audio booth. Learn more about her at tatianagomberg.com.

Listen to this week’s PodCastle!

[bounceswoosh]

The conceit in this story struck me as similar to the "honesty water" story, but I liked it better. I don't know why it's easier for me to accept at face value.

[Unblinking]

Solid story through and through, and the premise got me to thinking about the implications in various areas.  Political debates would be like armed duels.  Shows like Fashion Police and tabloid magazines.  Drill sergeants, conversations with angry exes.

I though it was interesting the nuance that the story made between different kinds of insults--blunt vs sharp and the force behind each.  I expect that most insults from strangers would be blunt, while those from people who know you very well would be very sharp, cutting insults.  Makes sense, too, that holding things in too long could make your words turn back on you--I suppose the safest way for her to have dealt with his torch-carrying would be to try to let him down early, long before he says anything, since she knew it would come sooner or later. 

It did also make me think of the Escape From Monkey Island series of graphic adventures by Sierra because that game introduced the concept of "insult sword fighting".  They're games about pirates, and so not too surprising there is sword-fighting, but of course it's hard to make a compelling realistic swordfight with multiple choice text.  So the concept is that the combatants each have a reasonable level of sword training, and so the way to win the fight is to find just the right insults to toss to throw your opponent off balance and if you pick the most appropriate insults then you win the fight. 

[danooli]

I expect that most insults from strangers would be blunt, while those from people who know you very well would be very sharp, cutting insults. 

Interesting, and I would tend to agree actually. I wonder then, what words exactly did Maurice turn on himself, that caused the blunt force trauma and if he knew what he was doing - suicide or accident?

I am a fan of the detective story, and this was done well, in my opinion. I would love to see one of the bouts where the comedians spar off against each other. That sounds amazing!

And I absolutely LOVED the narration of this. Tatiana Gomberg, I thought, voiced Det. Lillian Staunton perfectly.

[Unblinking]

Oh!  One thing I thought of when I heard this but forgot to mention:

Most of the effects of the change in this world from ours would be negative--from the potential to use words to attack other people (imagine a tough sports rivalry, you can try to prevent weapons from being taken in but what are you supposed to do, duct-tape people's mouths shut?) to the potential for unintended harm to oneself or others. 

But one area that I could think of that might make a positive difference is in better understanding when things that you say are unintentionally harmful to others.  Such as what I've heard referred to as "micro-aggressions" where a stranger or casual friend makes small remarks, often along racial lines, that aren't intended to be insults but end up being that way anyway.  Any one of such is a minor but irritating wound, but which added up day after day month after month year after year become horribly draining, and which each on its own the recipient may not feel comfortable commenting on because it puts the other person into a defensive mode in what otherwise might be a pleasant conversation.  And maybe some people who say these things wouldn't care, but for an empathetic person who hasn't considered the effect of certain statements, if they are speaking casually and suddenly the other person develops a minor cut, maybe the person speaking would apologize and try to understand how they'd hurt the other person and could maybe even try to learn from it and try not to commit it in the future.

[TrishEM]

...  And maybe some people who say these things wouldn't care, but for an empathetic person who hasn't considered the effect of certain statements, if they are speaking casually and suddenly the other person develops a minor cut, maybe the person speaking would apologize and try to understand how they'd hurt the other person and could maybe even try to learn from it and try not to commit it in the future...

Ooh! I like this idea!

[Devoted135]

I really liked this story! The detective story framing device made an already powerful "what if?" that much more interesting and engaging as I tried to solve the mystery.

The implications of words doing actual, physical harm are mind boggling. I think I would most likely simply become a recluse, trying not to receive or inflict damage on friends and loved ones.