Challenge 1028

The Unaccountable

In Josie Gowler’s Dinner Break: Is the time-stopping that Daniel and Stuart experience entirely voluntary or does an exernal cause seem necessary?
In Michael Barley’s The Seagull Messenger:
1. What is the dramatic function of kite flying? If it were some other activity, would anything else change in the story? What does the stranger’s use of the expression “Go fly a kite” imply about his identity and intentions?
2. Does the stranger know the boy’s name?
3. How can the stranger be surprised by the boy’s attack with the sharp stick?
In Steven Schechter’s French Language Lessons:
1. In “French language lessons,” the word “language” makes the term a euphemism. But for what kind of lessons, exactly?
2. How much would £20,000 in the late 19th century be worth in terms of today’s money?
3. Is Digby really making an exchange by declining Beatrice’s jewelry out of preference for her sexual favors? At what point should Beatrice become aware that Digby owns her?
In Gary Inbinder’s Mary O’Neill’s Underworld Adventure:
1. Does Max suspect there may be more to Mary O’Neill’s account of her blindfolded excursion than she is telling him? Why might he hold such a suspicion or why might he not?
2. A toilet door lock can be a customary feature in a household or apartment. Is the same true of a bedroom, or is the lock a dramatic device? In any event, why does Max laugh when he hears the lock “click”?
In Gary Clifton’s As Society Demands:
1. In what ways is Meyers, the hospital supervisor, depicted as mentally or morally deficient?
2. Gray is convicted of murdering an 8-year old girl during a shootout with two bandits. At the end, Meyers summarizes the reason for Gray’s unjust sentencing. Does he speak sincerely or sarcastically?
3. How close is the psychiatric ward to the hospital entrance?
4. At the end, do Meyers and Ashley not know that Gray had subdued the attacker? Why is it doubtful that Gray’s role in the incident could be concealed?
In Margaret Pearce’s The Janus Paradox:
1. The Roman god Janus has two faces, one facing forward, the other, backwards. It traditionally represents transitions and important moments in the passage of time. Is there another god in any ancient pantheon that would represent the Janarians’ hiring a foreigner to act as an executioner?
2. When George inspects the crime scene, a voice speaks to him and recounts what happened. Whose voice is it, and where does it come from?
3. Does the Janarians’ telepathy make them too sensitive to perform judicial executions? If so, how can they be capable of misunderstanding each other’s intentions? And how can they be subject to flights of murderous rage in the first place? Or, if telepathy dulls the Janarians’ conscience to the point where they can casually exploit foreigners like George, why does their telepathy seem to enhance his conscience as well as that of other visiting offworlders?
4. Both the convict and the other Janarians appear to accept the execution with equanimity. Why must George do it?
5. It is universally known that the Janarians’ telepathy instantly reveals non-telepathic foreigners’ darkest secrets. Why would anyone consent to have any contact with the Janarians or set foot on their planet?

Responses welcome!