Cosmicomics (5 points)

The stories of Cosmicomics were all very interesting. The stories seem to range in location and overall setting, not necessarily all taking place on Earth, or, if it does take place on Earth, the descriptions seem to be that of an astronomer influenced greatly by observations of space.

In the 1st short story, the characters are people Earth who go out on the water in boats using poles to knock a substance that they collect and filter to become a kind of milk. In the story, the protagonist has developed an infatuation for the captain's wife, while the captain's wife is thoroughly into the protagonist's cousin. Ultimately, the protagonist thinks he wants the captain's wife, but when he chases after her onto the Moon, after spending time there, and realizing she still is only infatuated with the cousin, his desperation to be among things familiar overcomes him, and he rushes to join the crews back on Earth. So, the story seems to show how a person can believe they are into someone or something, but not truly love it. In turn, humans perhaps truly never get a filling of satisfaction because satisfaction cannot be sated. 

The short stories are fascinating. The stories often feature elements that are not even human, but rather a natural occurence in space, much like in the 2nd short story At Daybreak. This short story, like the others, is a narrative with a viewpoint almost familiar to humans, referring to other elements as siblings and relatives, while still being non-human entities, but not necessarily anything alien either, more like matter that can think and observe. Or, if they are humans, they are humans observing a physical rotation of Earth, seeing the immense nature of a full front view to the sun, and what it is like to have the Earth blocking the sun. 

Overall, in reading the stories they seem to be narratives that could be of non living matter, yet they have the observations and thought that feels uniquely human. In Games Without End, two characters are described as moving atoms like children rolling marbles, which gives visual, but being something entirely different.