Fright Reaction by Joshua Scribner

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kailhofer
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Re: Fright Reaction by Joshua Scribner

Post by kailhofer »

"Uninvited" by Alanis Morissette. <br><br>Funny how good that piece of music is for writing otherworldly characters. The opening minimalist piano bit is downright chilling and I once used it as theme music for a demon in a piece I was writing. Helped a lot.<br><br><br>The mechanics of this story were handled well: variation in sentence structure, rules of grammar obeyed, and a sense that the writing was going somewhere.<br><br>The mountain cabin was a good choice for a setting. It added to Curtis' isolated feeling, and the notion that "something is out there." It was not, however, described in great detail, like everything else in the story. I don't know what Curtis looked like, or really got a good picture in my mind of the alien. The woods are a great place for sensory input, from the sounds, smells, and textures one takes in once they are under the forest canopy. Also, the alien. What does an alien smell like? Sulfur? Grape Kool-Aid? His body wouldn't move, but his senses were still working.<br><br>Curtis was an interesting character that acted in believable and consistent manner. I sympathized with him and wanted him to succeed. Unfortunately, I didn't see him grow in his arc, and he made no choices to help him resolve his inner conflict, at least, consciously. <br><br>I couldn't believe that a supposedly intelligent and advanced civilization would only leave fifty alive on an entire planet. I don't think such a small population has enough genetic diversity to survive. Assuming these fifty people managed to find each other in less than their whole lifespan, how many of them would still be young enough to breed? It would have precluded the need for the aliens to check on them--no one would be left alive. <br><br>From an alien's perspective, if they were looking for the dominant species... that could very well have been ants, not humans. They have adapted to live in every landmass in the world, and, if you never tried to get them out of your house, are damned difficult to eradicate.<br><br>I also had a problem with the alien's words. The alien may have been understandable, but that didn't mean it should speak in perfect English.<br><br><br>This was a good notion, and the character was good. That his "reaction" saved him was ironic, and interesting to read. However, I couldn't buy the ultimate developments to the plot.<br><br>Nate
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Re: Fright Reaction by Joshua Scribner

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I don't usually agree with Nate's five senses style, but I agree that giving alien an odor would have been a nice addition.
<br>It's nice to see a few writers side with me for a change, even if it's only a little bit of agreement. This is one of those particular instances where senory input can help set the tone and heighten tension.<br><br>I liked the bit at the end, where he's with her when he's alone, and that saves him. I wouldn't change that at all.<br><br>Nate
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Re: Fright Reaction by Joshua Scribner

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Maybe we're not advanced enough to see the morality in certain kinds of genocide...

Just a thought. An ugly one, true enough, but some of the best stories emerge from dark thoughts.
<br>I think your average human is all for mass extinctions, just on a scale that doesn't involve people. Those in Great Lakes states are all for something that eliminates the Zebra mussel from those waters. I think you'd be hard pressed to find someone in southern states who'd be sad if fire ants up and disappeared. Cockroaches and mosquitoes don't have a lot of worldwide fans, either.<br> <br>Perhaps humans are no more than pests to the aliens, and their actions are completely moral by our own standards. Food for thought.<br> <br>Nate<br>
Last edited by kailhofer on January 03, 2005, 09:12:15 PM, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Fright Reaction by Joshua Scribner

Post by kailhofer »

Well, no question, humans kill. But isn't the elimination of fire ants, mosquitos, and the like driven by self-interest rather than morality?

Dan E.
<br>It's all perspective, I suppose. I think these aliens would say that they were morally bound to preserve their own interests by eraditcating humanity before their colonies got too big and too destructive, just as we would to insect infestations before they become too troublesome. <br><br>Nate
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Re: Fright Reaction by Joshua Scribner

Post by kailhofer »

So Nate, you subscribe to a relativist view of morality shared by various philosophers, including George Carlin... I tend to agree with that.

However, I would still suggest that my interest in destroying all termites before they ruin my house is more economic than moral imperative. And even the desire to remove all fire ants or Africanized honey bees is about protecting my children (and myself and even others) would seem to involve the same kind of false morality that Joshua's aliens adhere to in their decision to strike preemptively at our puniness before we create mayhem across the universe. It is moral judgment gone awry.
<br>I'm not really the Devil's Advocate, but I play one on TV...<br><br>I'm not saying that I agree with the aliens in this one, but allow me to borrow a part of your statement for an example. Let us say some that you discover a hill of fire ants next to the sandbox in your back yard. Your three year old is playing in that sandbox. The ants haven't harmed your child in any way, but it is clear they could if left unchecked. Not eradicating those ants now becomes immoral, by "normal" standards, because it would be immoral to leave your child in danger. The self-interest part appears in the fact that we don't abandon the yard to the ants. They are insignificant to us, much like the humans appear to the aliens in this story.<br><br>In their own way, these aliens seem very human to me...<br><br>Nate
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Re: Fright Reaction by Joshua Scribner

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The aliens, sadly, were nothing more than a plot device.
<br>Funny. That they were only a plot device is precisely why I liked Signs. It was set against a SF backdrop, but it was a human drama.<br><br>The bit I didn't like was the wife fortelling the future... it was supernatural instead of human.<br><br>Nate<br><br>(And a big "Sorry!" to Joshua for getting so far off track.)
Last edited by kailhofer on January 04, 2005, 07:16:50 PM, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Fright Reaction by Joshua Scribner

Post by Megawatts »

Nice story. Good entertainment, and it kept me interested. I liked the alien and felt a little sorry for him because he was sent out alone to find humans. No buddies to hang around with---just hunt humans!<br><br>I remember when I was in the army, I hated solitary details! I could hear other laughing, but when working<br>alone, the day just would drag!!<br><br>
Tesla Lives!!!
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