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serynI was discussing Nancy Kress elsewhere. Apparently she's written several books of advice and teaching for authors. I have only read her fiction.
In one of the books this girl, who spent a great deal of time preceding this scene explaining to the reader how much of a good person she is. Then, rather suddenly, she beats someone to death and plucks out their eye. This eyeball is carried with her to defeat the electronic sensors.
It has been my personal experience that people who view themselves as good people either hide their practicality or are mentally incapable of planning viciousness despite its practicality. If you could ask women on the street, of the ones who honestly think of themselves as good people, 100% of them will say they cannot imagine a scenario wherein they would carve out someone's eyeball after beating them to death.
Perhaps it is a gender bias or a cultural bias, but modern American society does not laud practicality (home owners associations that ban clotheslines) nor does it applaud violence done by women.
I knew it was meant to be shocking when I read it. But I didn't think it was shocking at all, of course if you need to defeat eyeball readers, you take the eye of someone with the appropriate clearance. How stupid would you have to be not to do the useful thing?
But I am extremely careful not to say that in public, especially amongst other women because I am already alien at heart, I do not need to prove that I am unwelcome as well.
In one of the books this girl, who spent a great deal of time preceding this scene explaining to the reader how much of a good person she is. Then, rather suddenly, she beats someone to death and plucks out their eye. This eyeball is carried with her to defeat the electronic sensors.
It has been my personal experience that people who view themselves as good people either hide their practicality or are mentally incapable of planning viciousness despite its practicality. If you could ask women on the street, of the ones who honestly think of themselves as good people, 100% of them will say they cannot imagine a scenario wherein they would carve out someone's eyeball after beating them to death.
Perhaps it is a gender bias or a cultural bias, but modern American society does not laud practicality (home owners associations that ban clotheslines) nor does it applaud violence done by women.
I knew it was meant to be shocking when I read it. But I didn't think it was shocking at all, of course if you need to defeat eyeball readers, you take the eye of someone with the appropriate clearance. How stupid would you have to be not to do the useful thing?
But I am extremely careful not to say that in public, especially amongst other women because I am already alien at heart, I do not need to prove that I am unwelcome as well.
