Blog Overlord: Kate Fosburgh

The short story we read the other week by Vina Jie-Min Prasad, “A Series of Steaks” (Singapore, 2017) begged the question of whether artificial replacements for animals, or in this case animal meat, is humane or an abuse of science. The story described fake beef that looks and tastes exactly like the real thing, to the point where consumers cannot tell the difference.

Plant-based meat, such as “impossible burgers” or “beyond beef”, is becoming increasingly popular. However, while these products claim to taste like real meat, they do not aim to deceive the consumer into thinking they are real meat. Is this lack of transparency the reason many of us were uncomfortable with the fake beef in the story versus the fake meat we eat in real life?

I was scrolling through instagram the other day and came across a video posted by a tech company called “Edge Innovations”. It was an informational video about mechanized dolphins they have built to replace dolphins in aquariums and therefore eliminate the cruel treatment of dolphins in captivity. They note that while the dolphins are currently operated by humans, they are working on giving them AI that will allow them to behave like real dolphins on their own. They also explain that when the dolphins were put in a tank with real fish, the fish seemed unable to tell the difference between mechanized and real dolphins. They say that these robot dolphins could take photos and swim with aquarium and park visitors instead of the real ones.

Is this a similar concept to eating plant-based meat? Or are artificial animals on a completely different level? I think that, again, the level of transparency with the use of this technology becomes important. Will people know they are not swimming with real dolphins? Is it a problem that fish treat robots as real dolphins? Maybe limiting the cruel treatment of dolphins for human entertainment is worth the deceit. The caption of the video on instagram asks, “Thoughts!?” I recommend you follow this link, watch the video, and check out the comments/debates!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CcXAmpkl0wB/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Or, if you do not have instagram, you can watch a short YouTube video about it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQwnbcymI_w

The cover of Shit Cassandra Saw immediately caught my eye. It looks bright, modern, and unique. The short description of the book on the back cover reads “Margaret Atwood meets Buffy in these funny, warm, and furious stories of women at their breaking points, from Hellenic times to today”. I have really enjoyed the stories we have read written by women and about women’s experiences. I find feminist readings of science fiction fascinating, and this book sounded like a unique compilation of short stories written about women and written by a woman. 

The book consists of many short stories that all center around a female main character or characters, but vary significantly in content and message. Most of the stories ended up being fiction, but some are science fiction. My favorite of the short stories, which I will focus on for this post, is called “A Few Normal Things That Happen a Lot”. The story recounts the experiences of women being harassed by or fearful of men throughout their daily lives, but each one ends with a science fiction twist. Some women possess alien powers that make them unable to be bothered by these men, others gained superpowers from a radioactive cockroach bite or a surgical operation that gave them vampire teeth or werewolf claws. As women find out about these solutions to their fears, they gain popularity and society is turned upside down. New power dynamics and issues arise, leading to very different experiences.

This story is a mixture of hard and soft SF. It consists of details of technological innovation and alien phenomena, at one point even focusing on the lab work of two women. However, it also focuses on women’s experiences and addresses issues of patriarchal oppression. This focus on societal issues is more characteristic of soft SF. 

The style of writing is quirky, unpredictable, and fun! It is a very interesting read with engaging stories and themes throughout. I wish more of the stories had science fiction themes, but the fiction stories are fun as well. They range from light and playful to heavier in content and message.

I would definitely recommend this book.

Reviewer: Kate Fosburgh

Citation: Kirby, Gwen E. Shit Cassandra Saw. New York, Penguin Books, 2022.