3rd Cue's a Charm?

Greg Bates · 19 Jan 2009, 18:24 · from 2009-January.txt.gz

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From: tedkennedyrolls at gmail.com (Greg Bates)
Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2009 13:24:38 -0500
Subject: (urth) 3rd Cue's a Charm?
In-Reply-To: <955372.96863.qm at web34403.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
References: <955372.96863.qm at web34403.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <81c420fa0901191024j33f19747l1cfff4b17004908 at mail.gmail.com>

I too have read Borski's interpretation and find it lacking. I really like
the idea that the nysm is being given his wish, but can only see humor via
bad puns - especially considering all the cue-related puns in the story
(waiting in a queue, etc).

I would've sworn I read somewhere that this story was inspired by a
convention where Wolfe and another (female) sci-fi writer were on a Q/A
panel. They ended up answering writing questions and dispensing advice to
scores of young writers of dubious talent. Maybe that's where the customer's
wishes come from? The nsym could be some sort of comedy writer, the second
customer a failed romance novelist, etc. Can anyone back me up on this
story?

On Mon, Jan 19, 2009 at 10:24 AM, Greg Jenkins <grsjenkins at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Steven wrote:
> >>A second customer has entered the room.  It's she, not BB1, who wants
> >>to 'think sexy.'  BB1 has taken an inventory of her mind.  There's no
> >>sex change in the BBs.  The nsymr is the first customer.
>
>
> There's a lot compressed into that sentence.  Here it is....
>
> >Another customer pushed past him as he spoke, and the first bowling ball,
> >after an inventory of her mind that required only a fraction of a second,
> >began -- as the new customer would later phrase it herself -- to "think
> >sexy."
>
>
> I was reading it (incorrectly, I'm now convinced) as:
>
> >...after an inventory of BB1's mind that required...
>
>
> But you're pointing out that it says:
>
> >NC pushed past nsymr as nsymr spoke, and BB1, after an inventory of NC's
> >mind that required only a fraction of a second, began -- as NC would
> >later phrase it herself -- to "think sexy."
>
> Okay, no sex change.
>
> But wow, what a whopper of a compression job.  In the space of one Wolfian
> sentence we learn:
>
> 1) there are customers to BB1 (BB1 provides some "service")
> 2) the service seems to be the granting of an ability (to customers) to
> limit or change perception of sensory cues
> 3) BB1 also has the ability to inventory (read?) customers' minds
> 4) such an inventory takes BB1 only a moment
> 5) the NC has a desire to see objects and situations as "sexy"
> 6) the NC will later be granted this ability (limitation)
>
> Whew.  Good thing Wolfe let us off the hook with only those things in mind.
>
>
> As for the title being encapsulated as such, I believe someone else
> refuted Borski's original idea and pointed out that perhaps it was at
> least partially a convenience or a literary trick.  I think it also
> serves as a wakeup call and helps us realize that as readers we're
> unconsciously filtering sensory cues.  Initially some people (at least I
> did) will glance over the odd opening and dismiss it as a simple oddity,
> or suspect a typo.  After re-reading the story, it becomes an example of
> how we chose the cues we wanted to see and let the others go un-noticed.
>
> (BTW I really don't mean to be bashing Mr. Borski.  I think he's great and
> own a copy of SOLAR LABYRINTH.)
>
>
>
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