Challenge 70

Mountains and Time

Okay, class, here are your Challenges, all taken from this week’s issue:

First, an easy one: What is the role of mountains in Gerald Sheagren’s “The Death Rider” and Tala Bar’s “A Night in the Alps”?

Watchit: just answering “They’re spooky!” won’t pass. They’re more than that, even in “Death Rider,” where they appear only at the beginning. Think in terms of visual focus and then tactile sensation before getting carried away by symbolism.
Kate Bachus’ “Twenty Views of Tanforan” is divided into 20 episodes, each with its own date. However, the episodes do not always follow one another in time. What difference does it make to reread the episodes in chronological order? Here’s a little help; the episodes arranged by dates are:

3, 4, 6, 8 (all February 1944); 11, 13, 14 (all 1944)
17 (January 1945)
9 (August 1946)
10 (January 1947); 12, 14, 16 (all April 1947)
2, 5, 7, 18 (all February 1948)
19 (October 1952); 1, 20 (both November 1952)

Postscript: further information about the composition of “Twenty Views of Tanforan” can be found in issue 73, in the “Letters” department.

Send your answers to us at Bewildering Stories. Winners will be published in a future Challenge!