UC Riverside

The thesis includes seven short stories and one flash fiction piece; most are speculative fiction. A wide range of settings and situations are explored: a little girl in a small town in the 1960's discovers empathy through her shoes, a musical genius overcomes slavery in early 19th century New Hampshire, a demented husband confuses blood-letting with love on the fictional island of Mulieribus, a man defeats death by dying, a woman desires a safe suicide. Three of the stories are set forward a hundred plus years in a world where dying is optional with the help of a mechanical self: the first mechanical woman's essence is stolen by an ambitious and maniacal follower, a young woman dies suddenly and is reborn inside a machine with the help of a possessive lover, a lonely middle aged woman rediscovers desire when she meets her son's new girlfriend with a deep secret.