Aphelion

A strange tale . . . for the most part, it didn't impress me a whole lot, but there were some delightful descriptives here and there in it, such as:

Many of them were trying the best they could to look human, the women wearing forceful perms and facials, even if they were forced to live a life that was half animal.

Overall, though, it didn't have a lot of strength to its direction. I like stories that are like solid vehicles, that carry the reader from this place to that one, and this seemed more to be drifting.

You could well be right, vates; that may have been the objective. Maybe the author will stop by to elucidate.