Challenge 683

Quoth the Crow

1. In Patrick Doerksen’s “The Grumbling Dark”:

   1. What does the narrator say to indicate that it is not only an evil spirit, it is the spirit of evil?
   2. What force overcomes the spirit, and why can the spirit not understand it?

2. In Arthur Davis’s “The Man Who Sold Time”:

   1. Henry “sells time.” What is the consideration? What does he get in return for providing the commodity?
   2. In part 5, Henry confronts Devlin Mercy. Why might the antagonist have such a self-contradictory name?

3. In Martin Westlake’s “Hemming”:

   1. In what way are Griffyth’s words to the crow, “You owe me one,” a fatal omen?
   2. The raven at the end of Griffyth’s and Hemming’s climb is a literal bird. At the end, what does the raven come to symbolize?

4. In Steve Slavin’s “The Enabler”:

   1. In what two ways is Mary an “enabler”?
   2. Why might Mary have written such a long letter to Rachel?
   3. Did Mary’s letter help Rachel become a better person or does it remain merely a sentimental keepsake?

5. In Alan P. Garfoot’s “Iridium-Poisoned Seeds”:

   1. What cosmic catastrophe does the iridium allude to?
   2. What Biblical catastrophe does the poisoning of one-third of the seas allude to?
   3. Does the poem offer any hope of repentance or redemption?

Responses welcome!

Copyright © September 12, 2016 by Bewildering Stories
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