Five SF Stories Featuring Externally Mandated Body Modifications

Following the path Procrustes trail-blazed.

https://www.tor.com/2024/01/02/five-sf-stories-featuring-externally-mandated-body-modifications/
--
My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 2024-01-02, James Nicoll <jdnicoll@panix.com> wrote:

Five SF Stories Featuring Externally Mandated Body Modifications

I'm a bit fuzzy on the degree of consent, but two examples that
spring to mind are

David Langford, _The Space Eater_ (1982)
[And now I'm distressed that I can't locate it on my sorted
bookshelf, WTF?]
... where transmission through an interstellar gateway requires
some drastic modification since the opening is only like two
centimeters across.

Peter Watts, _Starfish_ (1999) and sequels
... where people have been adapted as deep sea laborers.

In both cases, concerns about the subjects' welfare is limited to
survivability and the preservation of labor potential.

--
Christian "naddy" Weisgerber naddy@mips.inka.de

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

James Nicoll <jdnicoll@panix.com> wrote:

Five SF Stories Featuring Externally Mandated Body Modifications

Following the path Procrustes trail-blazed.

https://www.tor.com/2024/01/02/five-sf-stories-featuring-externally-mandated-body-modifications/

The chosen illustration immediately suggested Adam Robert's _Land of the Headless_

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

In article <un28j4$2tesa$1@dont-email.me>,
Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

On 1/2/2024 9:09 AM, James Nicoll wrote:

Five SF Stories Featuring Externally Mandated Body Modifications

Following the path Procrustes trail-blazed.

https://www.tor.com/2024/01/02/five-sf-stories-featuring-externally-mandated
-body-modifications/

One for five, "The Ship Who Sang" was a delightful impression on me a
very long time ago (more than 50 years ago).

I don't remember reading "Fireflood" (the collection is on my shelves),
but I know I have read the other 4 stories.

--
"We have advanced to new and surprising levels of bafflement."
Imperial Auditor Miles Vorkosigan describes progress in _Komarr_. —-----------------------------------------------------
Robert Woodward robertaw@drizzle.com

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

James Nicoll wrote:

Five SF Stories Featuring Externally Mandated Body Modifications

Following the path Procrustes trail-blazed.

Four of five for me, only "Fireflood" in the "no" column.


The first science fiction story that I recall reading (this was about
the mid 60's) was "Man of Parts" by H.L. Gold (former YASID).

It had to do with a guy crashing his spaceship on an alien planet where
the inhabitants are rather machinelike and tunnel through the ground
.
The human is badly injured, so the aliens take what's left and combine
him with one of their own who was also damaged. About all of the human
saved was a good bit of the brain and his arms.


Brian

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)