Not scorpions, but “The Six Most Common Questions Asked by...” by Mo Usavage
BogiReads brings you the daily speculative reading recommendation of editor Bogi Takács.
Today's recommendation -
Author: Mo Usavage
Title: “The Six Most Common Questions Asked by Customers in Rubian Brothels”
Venue: Baffling, Jan 2024 (Dec 2023?) eds. Kel Coleman, dave ring
Type: Flash story – 1181 words
Themes: Science fiction, interspecies contact, sex work
Where to read: Text free online
This was my favorite story of the latest issue of Baffling (which has Jan 2024 on the cover and Dec 2023 on the inside – I’m confused). I also feel like this is the quintessential Baffling piece: structurally interesting, and deeply queer.
This story is about interspecies sex work. It’s not particularly explicit – it’s about the work aspect, of interacting with humans as clients, as how the Rubian speaker’s wants intersect with what humans want, the power dynamics, and why humans are like that. It’s about communication... and misdirection.
If you are my generation or older, you probably remember those AIDS ads where someone has sex with a scorpion. I don’t know if that was a direct inspiration here, maybe it’s a coincidence, but the concept is similar (scorpions are explicitly mentioned). Where the story goes from there is very different though...
See you next time,
Bogi.