Sorry for the late post everyone, but I thought I should share some of my thoughts on the last two readings.
To start, wow. Just like holy crap. I have never read anything like these two stories here, especially not Bloodchild. But moving on, I want to look at the implications of these works starting with Aye, and Gomorroah. The premise here is that in this society, set in Houston, Texas, certain children determined to be permanently retarded sexually are set aside and neutered to avoid the harmful effects of radiation in order to work as "spacers." Another group that develops are the "frelks" who are sexually attracted to the spacers. This gives way to a very interesting dynamic to the sexual class system. There are varying levels of acceptance in the different groups in this society, as clearly it is very common for spacers to prostitute themselves to frelks, but it is somewhat frowned upon, at least by other spacers. Furthermore, one of the spacers, Bo, tells a story how he saw a man and a woman pretending to be spacers to pick up frelks, so he and his friends beat the crap out of them. The spacers are overall very well received by the rest of society, as the frelks are intensely drawn to them out of both sexual desire and almost a form of awe and the other heterosexual individuals generally just admire them or feel indifference. The frelks are considered to be perverted, and even the frelks themselves feel that way, but they are apparently so common it is accepted in the society. That doesn't stop the spacers from taking advantage of whom they see as bizarre and deviant.
I can't help but wonder whether this story is making a statement regarding prostitution, homosexuality, neither, or both. In some ways, the frelks are like our time's homosexuals. They're deviations from the norm, and tend to be seen as deviants, even sometimes by themselves, but also common enough to be accepted as a group in its own right. But what is this story saying by making this parallel in a futuristic society? I can't really find an answer, partly because I don't really see them as much like our homosexuals. Their sexual desire is much more complicated than simple attraction to a particular sex; it is rooted in the inexplicable want for something that doesn't reciprocate, and never will. The frelks do not want the spacers or anyone else to be sexually attracted to them. Maybe this is due to an attraction by the frelks to what they see as pure or untainted, but to be honest I can't explain it.
The next story is Bloodchild where things only get a whole lot weirder. Here, in addition to the normal humans, there is another species that has taken the people of Earth essentially as slaves, although they live together fairly peacefully. This new species requires a human host for the maturation of fertilized eggs until they reach an age where they can live on their own; in case you missed it, THEY LIVE IN YOUR SKIN UNTIL THEY GET BIG ENOUGH TO EAT THEIR WAY OUT. However, the new species, for both the sake of their hosts and the benefit of the people, have devised a system to save the lives of the hosts where the larva/wormy baby things are taken out right as they would begin to eat the host from the inside and placed into a dead animal of some kind. But when I say taken out, I mean the person is cut open, without anesthesia, and they are forcefully removed. Clearly, this is less than pleasant, and the new species do not grow to be as strong, but ultimately, the people of Earth are safe and the species can continue to reproduce. The tricky part comes in the fact that the host is normally a male child, meaning one well under what we would consider the age of consent. The only reason the male agrees to this is pretty much under the pressure of society. It's unclear what would happen if a person did refuse, but considering that humans are no longer allowed to drive cars, it can't be good. Furthermore, these new species don't all care about their hosts the way T'Gatoi cares for Gan. By far their bigger concern is the survival of their young, and sometimes they kill their host during the removal of grubs without much thought. Even T'Gatoi is shown as less than compassionate with Lomas.
So, what the hell is going on here? For one thing, I'm suddenly very uncomfortable. But more importantly, what is this saying about love in regards to the relationship between T'Gatoi and Gan? Is this truly a love story? I can see it by the caring and affectionate way Gan describes T'Gatoi throughout the story, and although he initially agrees to carry the young for the sake of Hoa, I think the final scene shows he has some more connection to T'Gatoi than just concern for his sister. Overall, truly bizarre but a cool glimpse into sci-fi. Makes me intrigued but also nervous as to what will come next. Peace out
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