A Cuticle in the Space Station

The Explanation

A Cuticle in the Space Station remains to this day one of my favorite things I've written, but I tend to get strange looks from people who've read the story whenever I make the claim. The looks seem to suggest, "Sure it was an amusing little story, but it was nothing special."

I've had a hard time trying to figure out why no one saw what I saw in this story. I knew it was a little out there even before I started writing it, and I knew not everyone would catch every reference and detailed contained within. However, I had hopes that with enough exposure, people would be able to piece together everything I'd intended with the story (and maybe even things I didn't catch myself). I got ahead of myself.

I'm completely biased, but to me this story is more than just a story; it's art. There are several layers of interpretation baked into what is more a literary puzzle than a traditional plotted story, and there's so many little things about these 1300 or so words that can be uncovered. In the hopes of making this story more enjoyable for those who have no desire to play investigator, I leave you with a quick explanation of many of the hidden secrets beyond the surface of this story:

• The very first thing I will point out should also be the most obvious: the speaker is not to be taken seriously. This is a strong example of an unreliable narrator who conjures characterizations and scenarios and elevated egos that have little basis in objective reality. The words of the delusional character should be read with a skeptical eye.

• The second point should also be relatively obvious: the narrator is not as good of a writer as claimed, and this can be seen in some of the more obvious errors of writing intentionally used in the story. While this ties into the first point, it is important to take separately because it affects the form of the story rather than just its content.

• Next is the writing advice littered in the story. While suggestions such as "read more" and "show, don't tell" are great things to keep in mind when writing or editing, the story shows that even good advice can be spun in a way that it becomes damaging rather than helpful. While the narrator talks about showing, it is evident that the changes in writing style merely shift from one form of telling to another form. Additionally, picking and choosing which advice to follow is also not good for writing, and the narrator falls into this trap. In fact, the main theme of the story is that listening to advice is not the same as hearing it.

• The cuticle part of the story was also a major clue to the characterization of the narrator. It was intended to show the undernourished side of the writer, and combined with the other information in the story, it was meant to present the character as a recluse and agoraphobic.

• The specific songs chosen also represented different themes of the text as well as additional nuances of character for the narrator beyond what they do literally:

• Lights is a song concerned with depression and internal struggles to overcome it. It's use in the story (in particular, the specific part of the song chosen) was to highlight how the character uses writing as the "light" which keeps the "stone" (death) at bay.

• How You Like Me Now is a song about getting revenge on an old lover, but it's use here substitutes lover for publisher. It is meant to represent rejections from publishing houses and foreshadows the eventual plan to take revenge and have the world remember the name at the end.

• War is included mainly to foreshadow bombs.

• Lookin' out My Back Door is a song many mistook to be about drugs before it was revealed to be written for the songwriter's three-year-old son. In the story it represents the childlike mentality of the narrator (albeit, a bit of a stretch).

• Don't Lie is a song about liars falling victim to their own lies. When someone tells a lie often enough, they will begin to believe it eventually even if the evidence points against it. In the story, it is meant to show that the character is actually a terrible liar (as opposed to claims made).

• Confessions is meant to be taken literally. It was added merely for stylistic consistency towards the end of the story.

• A few of the more overt references include mentions of authors and books with which readers may or may not be familiar. A full understanding of them, however, allows for a depth in the story that is otherwise unapparent:

• Stanek and Newcomb are somewhat well-known writers of fantasy fiction. However, they are generally regarded as examples of what not to do when becoming an author.

• William Powell is the author of The Anarchist Cookbook, and this reference ties directly into the incendiary frame of mind the narrator develops.

• Abbie Hoffman is the author of Steal This Book, which contains (amongst other things) instructions on bombs. He has written many other books which can also be deemed controversial or dangerous. Most people would not leave these lying around in their internet shopping baskets for too long.

• The final two points I'm listing are simply easter eggs that have little to no bearing on the story, themes, or characterization in any way, but they do make for amusing detail:

• The members of the writing group mentioned in the story are references to friends of mine.

• The story idea about the samurai space warrior fighting a giant octopus in space (and pretty much the plot of the narrator's book) is actually an old idea I had as a kid. If I ever decide to write space fiction, you can be assured this story will at least be attempted (but seeing as how I don't have any plans on doing so at the moment, you may have to wait a while for that tour de force).

As I said, there are layers upon layers of interpretation in this story, and for that reason (aside from the zany and absurd style), this is one of my favorite stories I have written.

Thank you for taking the time to read, and I hope you were entertained - or at the very least, amused.

- Sean