Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy discussion

This is our discussion of the short story....

"Rural Singularity" by Alan Dean Foster

From the scifi anthology The Mad Scientist's Guide to World Domination, part of our discussion of The Mad Scientist's Guide to World Domination anthology.

The venerable Alan Dean Foster takes a slightly different definition of "mad scientist" in the short story.

Suzy is a 17-year-old idiot savant, creating all sorts of miraculous devices in the "playroom" her farmer dad has provided. She's not out for world domination, or even to hurt anyone, she's just tinkering.

A reporter shows up to interview her about two-headed chickens she's bioengineered, and dad is a little nervous about publicizing his little girl's talents.

Mildly amusing story. I thought the reference to the "mini-Schwarzchild discontinuity" that "swallowed the Deere" was funny enough to laugh out loud.

I had some puzzlement at the ending. Is there some joke hidden in "quantum paperclip" that's gone over my head?

Aside: the Titan Board of Tourism wishes to remind readers that Methane doesn't smell like rotten eggs, and neither does Titan.

***1/2*

I didn't get the quantum paper clip, either. The rest was fun, though. I haven't read much of Foster's stuff in years, probably decades, but he has some fun books. Flinx was pretty good, but my family liked the Spell Singer books the best.

Jim wrote: "I haven't read much of Foster's stuff in years, probably decades, but he has some fun books. Flinx was pretty good, but my family liked the Spell Singer books the best."

I really liked his Midworld, which I think was the first of his Commonwealth novels, for its imaginative planetary ecosystem & characters. But I think Spellsinger was the most popular of his original novels.

I was amused at the father that just seemed to think that all the really weird things going on about his farm are perfectly normal. Like when talking about the missing tractor he finally figured out why there was a big hole left behind. He didn't understand any of it so wasn't phased by any of it either.