Jan. 31st: Aliens

Feather Tigers by: Gene Wolfe

So I had to read this story over a couple of times to really understand the meaning behind it.  In this short story “Feather Tigers” we learn that aliens are studying extinct humans and animals.  Which seems quiet ironic to me as humans are always studying and searching for answers for things that no longer exist on earth i.e. dinosaurs, or trying to explain the unexplainable.   So it is a scary thought to think that one day we humans could be studied by another species like human study the dinosaur. 

So the story really displayed role reversal.  The aliens in this story really don’t seem to know how “our world” came to be.  They have no understanding of how “our world” works.  They have some sort of device to help them, to try to make it easier to find answers about humans.  However, I think if the time ever comes that aliens are studying humans that it will be quite difficult to find answers because of all of the technology we surround ourselves with.  We keep creating things to make life easier, but I think the reality is, is that we make things more challenging and difficult for ourselves.  Because we are so caught up in the “techno” world of things, we have forgotten about the simple things in life.   

Strange Wine by: Harlan Ellison

So I have to say that I found this story to be very interesting.  The underlying message for this story was “the grass is always greener on the other side”.  Willis is living the life of a human, however is is actually a alien.  Willis hates living on earth, he feels trapped and he cannot figure out why he was ever sent their.   The only reason he can come up with was because he is being punished for something.  He is totally miserable living on earth.  He is suffering from a loveless marriage, a son who is crippled and his daughter just died.  He keeps dreaming of the place he is from and just wants to die because he cannot understand why anybody would want to live a life on earth with all of the pain and suffering he has had to endure.  Willis ends up killing himself, and when he dies he is told that earth is a paradise in terms of suffering compared to other places/galaxies.   

So really is you put into perspective, Willis was dealing with normal pain and suffering that we deal with on a regular basis, and as humans you learn to deal with these trials and tribulations of life.  I always like to try and think when something bad has happened to me that things could always be worst, however it is hard when you are in that situation because it just seems as though your problem is the worst thing. But as my mother always told me…”Normal is what you make it”.

 The story also made me wonder… “Are their aliens living and walking among us? Because looks can be deceiving”. 

Homelanding by: Margaret Atwood

 

This short story really made me laugh.  I could just picture someone sitting their talking to “an alien” describing what it is like to be human. It was really interesting to read about “us” in this descriptive manner. Her descriptions of human are completely accurate but explained kind of weird such as she describes hair as “seaweed”. I had never really thought about it before.   It made me question, “What is normal”?  Things seem normal because this is the only normal we know as humans. So to others we probably seem weird because we are not their “normal”.