Review: Frightening and atmostpheric... yet lovely...
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 4, 2014
This is one of those stories that reminds me why I love Science Fiction.  It’s dark, and painful, and broken.  Yet there’s a love story here.  If this story had a taste, it would be bitterness… with an aftertaste of hope.  It ends on a note that goes somewhere.  Not necessarily someplace positive, but someplace better than where it started.This story scared me a little.  I felt so strongly for Alice… the machine girl, the girl who gave up her humanity to protect humans.  She sacrificed her eyes so she could use machines to watch over her colony.  She’s connected to the machines with hideous tubes, but no one else can do what she does – calculate the solar winds and evaluate the orbits of asteroids.The author does a really excellent job of simultaneously producing body-horror and creating empathy for Alice.  Her body was broken, but her soul wasn’t.I wanted better things for Alice, and part of me wanted to kick her caretaker, Marika, in the teeth.  But I understood that Alice needed Marika.  And in some way, Marika needed Alice.I haven’t read a story like this in a long time, and it really moved me.  It’s a dark story, but it isn’t sad.  There’s nothing sad here… it’s just an incredibly thoughtful story that examines what it means to be human.