Part Two of reading Loosened Upon the World, edited by John Joseph Adams. This collection of short stories is themed around the issue of climate change and what can happen if we don't fix it.
In a short series, I will be reviewing each short story as its own to develop a better understanding of the book.
A Hundred Hundred Daisies by Nancy Kress (pg. 129-142)
In this story, we are introduced to a young man, Danny aged 17, who follows his father out of the house and to a construction zone. Here, we are met with a problem.
There is a water pipeline reaching from the Great Lakes, down the Midwest, to the Southwest for fresh water. According to what we learned, the Midwest is nothing but dust due to spikes in temperature and changes in ocean currents, and people on farms are affected by this. Danny and his family are in foreclosure due to this issue as they use to have daisies, livestock, and grew planets.
Danny and his father were out to dismantle the pipeline. They were mostly successful, but Danny attacked the guard which lead to both being injured, Danny have a concussion.
A few days later and couple miles down, another raid to dismantle the pipeline was successful but left one guard injured and another dead. Danny was accused of murder, arrested, and put in jail. Unfortunately, this is where it ends.
Danny's little sister drew daisies earlier on and it appears that Danny has kept these drawings, put them on stakes, and put them in the field to show his little sister.
The Precedent by Sean McMullen (pg. 172-202)
I believe this story is based on a 'what-if' as well as 'this might happen'. The ideas from it are kind of far-fetched but that is what led me to believe in a 'what-if'.
It's years the future but, environmentalists and climatologists paved the way to help the Earth but bring in an 'Audit'. From what I read, it's similar to a legal, monetized audit but the trial lasts nearly two seconds per person. Basically, if someone is seen as guilty of doing bad things to the environment, they are audited, arrested, sent to work in harsh conditions, found guilty, and then punished.
What are the conditions you might ask? Leading or helping the wardens pull out the guilty's punishments. There's a lot more that goes into it, I'd rather not write.
So, the main character is a climatologist who is later found innocent. However, he spends days talking to other inmates and unfortunately, dreaming about talking to Death. When he gets his innocent verdict, he becomes an auditor. When he dreams that night, he becomes Death.
Eagle by Gregory Benford (pg. 362-385)
It was hard to make out what was happening in the background but the main characters appeared to be liberators. The leader of this small, ragtag group came in from a different ship, got a getaway vehicle, and organized the downfall of several different planes that seemed to help the atmosphere. The background? The Intuits of the colder lands had to move more inland.
Time Capsule Found on the Dead Planet by Margaret Atwood (pg. 556-558)
This two-page story simply had five different things written down. It wrote like a warning or a series of events about what happened to the planet. Besides this, there wasn't much to dive in on.
Final Thoughts
These stories didn't leave much of a lasting impression on me in the terms and theme of the book; I just didn't find them appealing. It's hard for me to see the meanings of what happened in terms of climate change in these as it didn't go into depth. While the authors are great and the stories themselves are interesting, they didn't go with the theme as well as the first few I read.
As always, if you have a book recommendation, read this blog and leave a comment!
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