To borrow somewhat from Henry V, once more into the breeches, Beloved Editor and Esteemed Readers [that's you lot], as we finally continue delving into a topic near and dear to us...to some of us...to at least one of us...possibly. In the Tuppence of October 2001 we divided the topic of sex as it relates to soft science fiction into two categories--Sex for Reproduction, and Sex for Fun and Profit. Subsumed under the former category, you may recall, were the alternatives of interspecies and intraspecies relationships which, given the rate of progress in genetic technology, may one day enable the creation of entirely new taxa...dragons and centaurs and unicorns [oh, my!] come immediately to mind, with hordes of unemployed fantasy writers one potential consequence. So let us move on to Sex for Fun and Profit.
Why is this topic important? [Tsk, you had to ask]. Go to a bookstore and check out some covers. Paperbacks, magazines, comic books--especially the latter two--allow you to feast your eyes, regardless of your gender or orientation, on a veritable mural of improbably muscled and endowed individuals. Sex sells--but that is the publishers' and publicists' problem. They manipulate interest through cover designs and advertising campaigns. Our problem, as artists, lies in dealing with the conflicts and polarities inherent in the topic itself.
Because in our universes--those of fantasy, science fiction, and horror, in universes limited only by our imaginations--all liaisons are possible. And we employ these liaisons as literary devices, not for prurient or pornographic interest, but to portray whatever it is that we have chosen to portray.
One device we employ is polarity. A prime example of this was The Kiss, which occurred in the 1960s in a Star Trek episode. Kirk and Uhura put up a valiant struggle against those who would control their minds and their wills, but in the end they succumbed to what was billed as television's first interracial smooch. There was, at the time, considerable hoo-hah over this...although few fainted, as they did in droves at the sight of the first silver screen kiss, back when McKinley was running for President. The polarity of black and white was titillating, and certainly titivated the show, which managed to hang on one more season despite dwindling ratings. In 1987 Star Trek took its polarity elsewhere, having been encouraged in part, perhaps, by the success of the Star Wars Trilogy and its community of sensuous sentients.
Without detailing the permutations and combinations in the Star Trek series, and Babylon 5, and Andromeda, and others, suffice it to say that almost anything is possible [a human and a Klingon, as Tom Paris says in Voyager, or a Borg and a hologram...talk about polarity!], that much money has been made in the presentation of these possibilities, and that someone, somewhere, conceived of, created, and put to paper these possibilities. Which is what writers do.
What's next?
Polarity, or contrast [or pick your personal favorite term], serves to enhance or emphasize whatever velvet point we wish to make. It supports conflict, essential to any story. Many examples are already cliched. The homicidal maniac with a tender heart. The schoolyard bully tamed by an act of kindness. The haughty debutante who softens upon meeting the right guy. The ne'er-do-well adolescent who somehow saves the school. The alien who views our human social and political antics with patronizing smugness, only to discover that we aren't so bad after all. BTDT, as they say.
Still--we do know that spiritual, inner-self unions are far more intense than mere physical attraction, which provides a great rationale for boffing but little of substance to the relationship. And, because the formation of a union of souls, or of minds, is pretty much independent of physical aspects, you find now and then the 'odd couple.' What does she see in him? What does he see in her? How can they possibly stay together?
Have you heard those questions before? Or perhaps even asked them? If so, then you are aware of contrast...and conflict.
Writers in the genre take these contrasts and conflicts a step further. They contemplate the unthinkable...and they contemplate it from way over yonder, well outside the parameters of conventional thinking. Suppose, for example, you met your ideal perfect mate--but she was a squid from another planet. Would you accept the judgment of your heart, or would you settle for someone less perfect but of a species far more familiar? Erin Donahoe's ichthyic undine creature suffers a somewhat analogous if brief dilemma in "Heat of Passion" [a poem which, hint-hint nudge-nudge, appears only in the print edition of Aoife's Kiss in June]. Cathy Buburuz's The Delvinico Triplet carries the potentiality of dangerous liaisons even further [also in Aoife's Kiss]. Or check out Leigh Kennedy's disturbing "Her Furry Face" in a marvelous anthology called Alien Sex, edited by the indefatigable Ellen Datlow. This is what fantasy and science fiction [okay, and horror] writers do, folks. If you want milquetoast characters involved in cookie-cutter plots bunged into template tales, go read Danielle Steele.
In creating different species---
Okay, hold the phone. When we say 'species', we are still talking about humans. Here's how we [you and I][maybe only you...I am, after all, strange] are classified.
Kingdom: Animal [the only other options are Plant and Tweener]
Phylum: Chordata [means we got a backbone...some of us]
Class: Mammalia [not going there]
Order: Primates [more in common with apes than with amebas]
Family: Hominidae [man-like...hmm...why not woman-like?]
Genus: Homo [means 'Man'...should women be Femina?]
Species: sapiens [means intelligent]
subspecies: sapiens [means really really intelligent][supposedly]
Clear so far? So if writers create different sentient civilized species to populate their stories, the implication is that these are humanoid in appearance [and therefore in motivation, behavior, and so on]. In point of fact, when we eventually encounter other sentient life forms, their classification might not even be analogous to ours. Like Donahoe's undine, they might employ the reproductive act entirely for some other reason. Or, like Stanley G. Weinbaum's unforgettable Tweel in "A Martian Odyssey," their motivations might be so totally outre as to be inexplicable, their behaviors incomprehensible.
In creating different species, then, writers retain something of the "human" for them, so that their doings might be understood, at least somewhat, by the average reader. Okay, let's establish such parameters. That still allows for a vast range of possible conflicts in interpersonal relations.
Here's one. In Star Trek: The Next Generation, Troi is a Betazoid, with empathic capabilities. Which means she knows he wants to try out the new mattress before he does. But ST writers have not yet touched on one potential social problem with such liaisons, which is: what if, when you are 'doing it,' you imagine someone else with you instead of your lover? A Betazoid, or some other telepathic species, would be aware of this substitution instantly. And then what? Do you go for the gusto? Or do you recoil from the betrayal?
Well...
[It so happens that this very situation arises in a story called "Bay of Traitors," which can be read only in the print edition of Aoife's Kiss, coming this June].
In an episode of Voyager, the aforementioned Tom Paris also points out to his friend, Harry Kim, that cavorting in the ship's imaginary playroom does not constitute infidelity to Kim's young lady waiting back on Earth. To quote Tom, "The holodeck doesn't count."
What, then, are the parameters of morality and ethics in our imaginative interpersonal relations, in our stories? That, folks, is what we write about. It's not just about the sex.
Those of you browsing the Aoife's Kiss site in ProMartian may have noticed the staff listing below JAC's door illustration [titled "Silver," btw]. Here is the listing, just in case you are insufficiently browsed.
Tyree Campbell -- Editor
Karen Naughton -- Goddess for Layout and Design
Lisa Gilligan -- Goddess for Advertising and Marketing
Jen Cawthorne -- Advisor for Art
Me, you know. Jen Cawthorne, you also know. She and I have collaborated on two poems based on her Lair concepts, one of which ["Midnight Dragons"] captured considerable attention back in December. The other was composed by me in French based on her ideas and inspiration, and she edited the French [we submitted it to Mother Lobe because we knew it would drive J spare]. Jen was also responsible for the Santa moai that graced the door of December's The Fifth Di..., and she received recognition for a poem earlier last year titled "To Alpha Centauri." As for the other two staff members---
Karen Naughton is responsible for the overall appearance of the print edition of Aoife's Kiss. She selects fonts and sizes, positions text and illustration for each page, accounts for space for advertising and content, designs subscription and order forms, and prepares the master copy from which the magazine is printed. In her spare time Karen models and paints ceramic woodland animals, restores antique sculptures and statuettes, attends a pre-marine biology curriculum, studies Spanish, writes short stories, and pesters the bejeezus out of her kid brother. She is an invaluable asset to any publisher.
Karen also advises the editor regarding matters of merchandise--about which more next month in Cathy Buburuz's Expressions Newsletter. She is largely responsible for making Aoife's Kiss more than just a magazine.
Lisa Gilligan is the Business Information Officer for a Canadian Business Self Help Office. Drawing on her background and her education at the Niagara College of Applied Arts and Technology, she renders needed assistance to those who would start up new businesses or improve their practices. She is skilled in computer operations--her duties include designing websites for prospective businesses. In her spare time, she also designs and maintains websites for the private sector. Her knowledge of advertising and marketing principles and practices, and her sound technical advice, bode well for the future of Aoife's Kiss. She is also a genuinely nice person.
Lisa is an active volunteer at the YMCA and in a local Multi-Cultural Center. She has received numerous awards for Youth Work, Customer Service, and for her involvement with people in politics, and she was honored in 1994 by the University Federation of Women in Technology, Science, and Math. Her interests and hobbies include writing short stories and poems [she has been published in Expressions Newsletter...so far], Line Dancing, and Computers. She attends the theater, and enjoys a good movie. Anyone who wishes to consult with her regarding webpage design and/or maintenance [for a fee, of course] may reach her at webgoddess@aoifeskiss.com .
Thus, Esteemed Readers, I present to you the staff of Aoife's Kiss.
Lastly---
I would be totally remiss and a complete boob if I failed to give full deserved credit to one who wishes to remain uncredited on the staff. Throughout the entire development of Aoife's Kiss she has "been there" to answer a gazillion questions, offer much-needed advice at all hours of the day or night, provide insights based on her extensive experience, and generally been an all-around good friend and supporter. Thank you, Cathy Buburuz.
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