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ysabetwordsmithThis poem came out of the July 6, 2021 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from janetmiles, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
my_partner_doug, rix_scaedu, and Shirley Barrette. It also fills the "Human Rights Day - December 10" square in my 7-1-21 card for the Winterfest in July Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by Shirley Barrette. It belongs to the Polychrome Heroics series.
"Reality Is Stranger Than Science Fiction"
[Thursday, December 10, 2015]
The Got Life? Writers Workshop met
in the library on Thursday evenings.
They liked to sit at a table near
the big picture windows, even though
the cold came through the glass and
they had to keep their sweaters on.
Homer Towpath was a forester
who enjoyed nature writing
such as wilderness adventure
and creative nonfiction.
His queerplatonic partner
was Jean-Michel Travers,
a journalist who also
wrote fiction for fun.
They had met during
Homer's Get a Life year.
Adeleen Darlington was
a Rhetoric major who
had just started college.
Kei Soikham was
a graduate student into
gender studies and
Asian cultures.
Baz Jackson-Hill
was another graduate
working his way toward
an education degree,
having started out with
comparative literature.
Carianne Aberg was
studying literature and
classic civilization with
a sophisticated flair.
Deisha Holliday worked
in the Milwaukee Park Service
and enjoyed writing as a hobby.
The workshop was hosted by
Yasuf Bensaid, a professor of
world literature at the university.
Today Kei was grumbling about
bigots disrespecting lesbians,
which quickly pulled in Homer
and Jean-Michel because of
their unconventional relationship,
along with Adeleen and Carianne
for sake of feminist support.
Then Baz and Deisha joined
because they both preferred
multiculturalism to prejudice.
"All right, we all agree that bigotry
is bad," said Professor Bensaid.
"Today is Human Rights Day.
What are we going to do about it?"
"Let's make an anthology," said Kei, who
was taking Literary Journal Production.
"We could each contribute something."
"I can write a poem," said Carianne.
"Wait, what kind of anthology?"
said Adeleen. "We need
to define the project first."
"How about science fiction?"
Baz said, leaning forward. "We
could make an alien species that has
weirder sexuality than anything on Earth!"
"Okay, so make the first piece or two
an introduction of the aliens and how
their identity usually works, then use
the rest to fan out different variations,"
said Adeleen. "It sounds fun. I'm in."
"How about multiple vaginas?"
said Kei. "Everyone loves pussy!"
"Speak for yourself," said Jean-Michel,
who was asexual. "Besides, they say
kangaroos have three vaginas."
"I did not know that," said Kei. "Now
I want to write lesbian romance of them."
"Stay on topic," said Adeleen.
"Men are always wagging their dicks.
What about a literal cockfight? You know,
like fencing with their manly weapons."
"I've heard some sea slugs do that,"
said Jean-Michel. "Sometimes they
even chew off their opponent's cock."
Baz crossed his legs. "Man, that's awful."
Homer leaned forward and said,
"The dick is longer than the body of --"
"Argentine Lake Duck," said Deisha,
just as Jean-Michel said, "Barnacles."
"This is getting incoherent," Adeleen said.
"We're making an anthology, not a farce."
"Real life doesn't have a coherent plot,"
Baz pointed out. "It can be totally nuts."
"Of course reality is stranger than fiction --
fiction has to make sense!" said Kei.
"I want something pretty surreal, though."
"Realty can get surreal, all right,"
Jean-Michel said with a nod.
"Reality is what you wake up in,"
Homer said as he nudged his partner.
English was Jean-Michel's third language.
"Realty is what you wake up on."
"We're getting off the track,"
said Professor Bensaid. "Let's
get back to the brainstorming."
"What if lesbian sex actually worked?"
said Carianne. "No need for men!"
"Whiptail lizards," said Homer.
"Some species don't have males,
so the females lay eggs alone, but
they lay more with another female
to get them into the mood."
Kei laughed. "Another idea for
my lesbian romance collection."
"Maybe one of them is just pretending
to be female," said Professor Bensaid.
"Cuttlefish do that," said Jean-Michel.
"Some males are big and strong, so
they attract females. Small males are,
so they act like females to get close,
then they mate with the real ones."
"Flip it around -- both sexes
have penises," Baz suggested.
"Hyenas," said Deisha. "Females
have to give birth through their clit.
It doesn't actually work very well."
Now the other girls crossed their legs.
"Strange unions," Deisha suggested.
"It seems like the aliens only have
one sex, but really, they have
one mobile sex and the other
is a tiny lump clinging to them."
"Anglerfish," said Jean-Michel.
"The females are big and fierce.
The males are tiny. It's hard to find
a mate in the deep dark sea, so
the male bites a female and
slowly becomes one with her."
"Sea life is so messed up,"
Deisha said, shaking her head.
"You're not wrong," said Jean-Michel.
"Maybe we should consider something
simpler, like fathers raising the babies."
"Some tamarins do that, because
the females usually have twins,"
said Deisha. "So their family tends
to be one female with two males."
"Okay, how about if we stop trying
to make up stuff from scratch, and
start with a reproductive requirement
that can't be met on Earth," said Baz.
"Oscillating atmosphere," Kei said promptly.
"The aliens need a methane atmosphere
to mate and lay eggs, but they mature and
live most of their lives in a hydrogen one."
"How the hell do they manage that?"
Deisha said, raising her eyebrows.
Everyone looked at Professor Bensaid.
"I'll ask around the Astronomy Department,"
he promised, "and see if anyone would like
to sit in with us for a brainstorming session."
* * *
Notes:
The notes for this poem are long, so the character and content notes appear separately.
janetmiles, my_partner_doug, rix_scaedu, and Shirley Barrette. It also fills the "Human Rights Day - December 10" square in my 7-1-21 card for the Winterfest in July Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by Shirley Barrette. It belongs to the Polychrome Heroics series."Reality Is Stranger Than Science Fiction"
[Thursday, December 10, 2015]
The Got Life? Writers Workshop met
in the library on Thursday evenings.
They liked to sit at a table near
the big picture windows, even though
the cold came through the glass and
they had to keep their sweaters on.
Homer Towpath was a forester
who enjoyed nature writing
such as wilderness adventure
and creative nonfiction.
His queerplatonic partner
was Jean-Michel Travers,
a journalist who also
wrote fiction for fun.
They had met during
Homer's Get a Life year.
Adeleen Darlington was
a Rhetoric major who
had just started college.
Kei Soikham was
a graduate student into
gender studies and
Asian cultures.
Baz Jackson-Hill
was another graduate
working his way toward
an education degree,
having started out with
comparative literature.
Carianne Aberg was
studying literature and
classic civilization with
a sophisticated flair.
Deisha Holliday worked
in the Milwaukee Park Service
and enjoyed writing as a hobby.
The workshop was hosted by
Yasuf Bensaid, a professor of
world literature at the university.
Today Kei was grumbling about
bigots disrespecting lesbians,
which quickly pulled in Homer
and Jean-Michel because of
their unconventional relationship,
along with Adeleen and Carianne
for sake of feminist support.
Then Baz and Deisha joined
because they both preferred
multiculturalism to prejudice.
"All right, we all agree that bigotry
is bad," said Professor Bensaid.
"Today is Human Rights Day.
What are we going to do about it?"
"Let's make an anthology," said Kei, who
was taking Literary Journal Production.
"We could each contribute something."
"I can write a poem," said Carianne.
"Wait, what kind of anthology?"
said Adeleen. "We need
to define the project first."
"How about science fiction?"
Baz said, leaning forward. "We
could make an alien species that has
weirder sexuality than anything on Earth!"
"Okay, so make the first piece or two
an introduction of the aliens and how
their identity usually works, then use
the rest to fan out different variations,"
said Adeleen. "It sounds fun. I'm in."
"How about multiple vaginas?"
said Kei. "Everyone loves pussy!"
"Speak for yourself," said Jean-Michel,
who was asexual. "Besides, they say
kangaroos have three vaginas."
"I did not know that," said Kei. "Now
I want to write lesbian romance of them."
"Stay on topic," said Adeleen.
"Men are always wagging their dicks.
What about a literal cockfight? You know,
like fencing with their manly weapons."
"I've heard some sea slugs do that,"
said Jean-Michel. "Sometimes they
even chew off their opponent's cock."
Baz crossed his legs. "Man, that's awful."
Homer leaned forward and said,
"The dick is longer than the body of --"
"Argentine Lake Duck," said Deisha,
just as Jean-Michel said, "Barnacles."
"This is getting incoherent," Adeleen said.
"We're making an anthology, not a farce."
"Real life doesn't have a coherent plot,"
Baz pointed out. "It can be totally nuts."
"Of course reality is stranger than fiction --
fiction has to make sense!" said Kei.
"I want something pretty surreal, though."
"Realty can get surreal, all right,"
Jean-Michel said with a nod.
"Reality is what you wake up in,"
Homer said as he nudged his partner.
English was Jean-Michel's third language.
"Realty is what you wake up on."
"We're getting off the track,"
said Professor Bensaid. "Let's
get back to the brainstorming."
"What if lesbian sex actually worked?"
said Carianne. "No need for men!"
"Whiptail lizards," said Homer.
"Some species don't have males,
so the females lay eggs alone, but
they lay more with another female
to get them into the mood."
Kei laughed. "Another idea for
my lesbian romance collection."
"Maybe one of them is just pretending
to be female," said Professor Bensaid.
"Cuttlefish do that," said Jean-Michel.
"Some males are big and strong, so
they attract females. Small males are,
so they act like females to get close,
then they mate with the real ones."
"Flip it around -- both sexes
have penises," Baz suggested.
"Hyenas," said Deisha. "Females
have to give birth through their clit.
It doesn't actually work very well."
Now the other girls crossed their legs.
"Strange unions," Deisha suggested.
"It seems like the aliens only have
one sex, but really, they have
one mobile sex and the other
is a tiny lump clinging to them."
"Anglerfish," said Jean-Michel.
"The females are big and fierce.
The males are tiny. It's hard to find
a mate in the deep dark sea, so
the male bites a female and
slowly becomes one with her."
"Sea life is so messed up,"
Deisha said, shaking her head.
"You're not wrong," said Jean-Michel.
"Maybe we should consider something
simpler, like fathers raising the babies."
"Some tamarins do that, because
the females usually have twins,"
said Deisha. "So their family tends
to be one female with two males."
"Okay, how about if we stop trying
to make up stuff from scratch, and
start with a reproductive requirement
that can't be met on Earth," said Baz.
"Oscillating atmosphere," Kei said promptly.
"The aliens need a methane atmosphere
to mate and lay eggs, but they mature and
live most of their lives in a hydrogen one."
"How the hell do they manage that?"
Deisha said, raising her eyebrows.
Everyone looked at Professor Bensaid.
"I'll ask around the Astronomy Department,"
he promised, "and see if anyone would like
to sit in with us for a brainstorming session."
* * *
Notes:
The notes for this poem are long, so the character and content notes appear separately.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-07-12 10:23 pm (UTC)I'm fairly sure you've seen Humon Comics animal lives
Yes ...
Date: 2021-07-13 04:00 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2021-07-12 11:36 pm (UTC)And the several species that remove the testes from the male and "incorporate" them in the female.
How about a species where any pairing of the various sexes/genders can result in offspring? That'd kill one of the excuses humans use to rail against gay sex.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-07-13 12:44 am (UTC)(Supposedly, this increases the chance of finding compatible partners.)
Also, some bacteria will swap parts of their DNA, so the 'parents' essentially become the offspring.
Yes ...
Date: 2021-07-13 02:21 am (UTC)Well ...
Date: 2021-07-13 02:16 am (UTC)Like I said, thinking up something nature hasn't done is challenging.
Okay, I can't resist:
"The Universe is not only queerer than we imagine—it is queerer than we CAN imagine."
-- J. B. S. Haldane
(no subject)
Date: 2021-07-12 11:58 pm (UTC)the methane atmosphere for mating and a hydrogen atmosphere for adult living is just a variant on what salmon do with the fresh water young and salt water adults
(no subject)
Date: 2021-07-13 12:49 am (UTC)- sea-dwelling reptiles who lay eggs on land,
- airborne insects which have aquatic egg and larval stages (also amphibians)
- plants which require atmosphere, hydrosphere and terrosphere as adults - but require being buried / submerged before emerging
- seeds that require being put through digestive acid before sprouting
- seeds that require exposure to fire
Thoughts
Date: 2021-07-13 02:22 am (UTC)And let's not forget the Great Farting Oxygen event.
>> - seeds that require exposure to fire <<
Arson plants are a large and increasing problem in the West due to climate change.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-07-13 12:57 am (UTC)"Anadromous" is the technical term for this... but that's only a proper subset of what fish will do. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_migration It's almost like .... gender itself... although there doesn't appear to be an analogue to genderfluid...
Yes ...
Date: 2021-07-13 02:20 am (UTC)It would require one of:
* a planet with an oscillating atmosphere that changed composition periodically
* a planet with different atmospheres in different places
* a way of creating small areas of a different atmosphere than the usual
* migrating from a planet with one type of atmosphere to a planet with a different one
... or something of the sort.
Re: Yes ...
Date: 2021-07-13 04:11 am (UTC)Think like deep-sea squid coming up to the surface every night...but on Venus or Jupiter that might involve a change in environmental composition as well as environmental pressure.
Re: Yes ...
Date: 2021-07-13 04:28 am (UTC)That would be the easiest way to transfer between planets.
>> and some kinds of layered chemistry might be possible.
Think like deep-sea squid coming up to the surface every night...but on Venus or Jupiter that might involve a change in environmental composition as well as environmental pressure.<<
Yeah, I thought of that. Different gases have different weights. Here they all mix together, but there are a few places where smog gathers due to geologic formations. Another planet might conceivably have more variations.
Re: Yes ...
Date: 2021-07-13 04:51 am (UTC)Occasionally you see gasses separating this way...but it usually only comes up in emergencies.
Note: If everyone in a room is unexpectedly unconscious, you leave and get help...because rushing might get a practical demonstration of how X gas is heavier than oxygen. I once heard a story where it took /two or three/ downed 'rescuers' before someone came along that had enough sense to phone for help, instead of running in and keeping over.
I also saw a mystery that used this once: everyone in town dropped dead at the same time...excepting a little girl at the doctor's office and a man asleep in the steeple.
It turned out they'd cracked open a pocket of gas in a mine, and it had flowed downhill and asphyxiated everyone. The man in the tower was too high, and the little girl had a Disability Immunity due to a medical condition, and the gas dispersed before it reached anyone further away.
I guess I'd frame the gasses as lakes or seas...maybe rivers or currents if there were regular transfers or something analogous to Earth's water cycle.