I have never been a big fan of
Valentine’s Day, largely for the same reasons as other people who are not big
fans of Valentine’s Day. Twenty years of marriage has done much to dull my
sharp disdain for the holiday, but still… Call it a grudge, if you will.
One of the things I do like,
however, is listening to science-fiction and fantasy podcasts while going for
walks during my lunch break at work. Two podcasts I listen to regularly are
Escape Pod and Lightspeed Magazine. Anyway, I thought I’d recommend some sci-fi
stories appropriate to the holiday that you can download and enjoy (or not,
depending on your disposition). They come in three flavors: Sweet, bittersweet,
and so, so bitter.
(Incidentally, I recommended some
of these stories last year on my Facebook page, but didn’t really have the
space to talk about them.)
Sweet: The first recommendation under the heading of “sweet” is
“Impossible Dreams” by Tim Pratt, Escape Pod Episode 105 from May 2007.
This is the story of a film nerd who finds a video rental place with a very
unusual selection of movies and the girl working behind the counter who doesn’t
quite know what to make of him. Tim Pratt’s had a bunch of his short stories
podcast on Escape Pod and this one was a 2007 Hugo Award nominee. This is a
sweet story for how it captures how exciting it is to meet someone who shares
your passions and really gets you, even before the possibility of romance
arises.
Not playing anywhere
The second story in the “sweet”
category is “My Wife Hates Time Travel” by Adam-Troy Castro, Lightspeed Magazine
September 2012.
As it turns out, my wife hates
podcasts. Fortunately, the page includes a text-on-screen version in addition
to the audio version so I was able to share it with her. And I really wanted to
share it with her. It’s that sweet. In this story, a couple knows that one of
them is destined to invent time travel. They don’t know which one of them it
is; all they know is they can’t get a moment’s peace thanks to the non-stop
interference of their future selves.
Bittersweet: “I Look Forward to Remembering You” by Mur Lafferty is
a bittersweet story from Escape Pod, July 6, 2006.
Mur Lafferty’s also had a bunch of stories on Escape Pod and was the site’s
editor-in-chief for awhile. This is the story of a woman who’s reached a point
in her life where all she has is her memories. That’s not entirely right; she
also has wealth and access to time travel technology and hires a service to go
back in time and give her better memories. I love this story but, fair warning,
it made me cry.
It also references Ranma ½,
which is awesome.
“I’m Alive, I Love You, I’ll SeeYou in Reno” by Vylar Kaftan from Escape Pod episode 243, June 1, 2010,
is a tale of love and time dilation and a couple who never quite makes it work
but are never far from each other’s thoughts even over centuries and
light-years. This is a pretty good story, but the definitive story of love (and
war) and time dilation remains Joe Haldeman’s novel The Forever War.
Bitter: Finally, there are the bitter stories. “Love Might Be TooStrong a Word” by Charlie Jane Anders is from the August 2012 podcast of
Lightspeed Magazine.
If you think love stinks, especially this time of year, then imagine how much
worse it might be with a rigid class system and four or five extra genders (and
corresponding pronouns). Answer: Lots.
Then there’s Robert Silverberg’s
“Ishmael in Love,” Escape Pod episode 113, July 5, 2007,
originally published July 1970. So very bitter. It’s a story of a dolphin named
Ishmael and the marine biologist he longs for. Anyone can tell at a glance that
this is a relationship that will never, ever work except for Ishmael. Dolphins
are supposed to be intelligent, but as Escape Pod host Stephen Eley notes in
the afterword, we’ve all been the dolphin.
Here’s hoping you’re not the
dolphin this year, but if you are, remember, February 15 is Discount Chocolate
Day.
