December 2024 – davidfan.net

Convergence Problems by Wole Talabi, Review

My favorite stories are Lights in the Sky, Blowout, Ganger, Performance Review and Embers.

Lights in the Sky is interesting because of the Africa-China connection. I suspect science fiction will gain popularity in Africa like it did in China.

Blowout is about loss of communication. Folake loses contact with her brother, Femi. Folake and Femi work for the same mining company, but they do not talk. Later on Mars, Femi is part of a mining accident where there is communication loss. Folake is able to reestablish connection with her brother when she saves his life with a remote robot.

Here is a quote from the character Laide in Ganger which is about a post-apocalyptic society: “I don’t want to live like this, stuck in cage, just another variable for some computer program to optimize” (Talabi 92). Her situation in my estimation is similar to the modern day problem of living online too much.

Performance Review is even more creepy when you read the author notes.

Embers is a dark story. It is important to adapt with the times.

Talabi, Wole. Convergence Problems. New York: DAW Books, 2024.

I Saw the TV Glow

“I Saw the TV Glow” is about a TV show called The Pink Opaque. The show is about a pair of teenage psychics that fight monsters. Owen and Maddie watch the TV show. We get hints that there is something more, but there is nothing.

The movie is primarily about Owen. Owen has no hobbies or skills. His one interest is watching TV perhaps because Maddie watches TV.

One possibility is that Owen is a failed telepath. Maddie is another telepath. During a critical period of adolescence, Owen misses his chance at making a connection with another telepath. The trauma of this years later results in insanity.

Another possibility is that Owen has no special powers. He has no character. He makes no decisions. He is only confused by his circumstances, in a state of paralysis. Maddie is the same, maybe even less reliable. Possibly Maddie is mentally ill. Owen has gaps in his memory.

Years pass, Owen is defeated. Owen lives in the world of Mr. Melancholy. Mr. Melancholy won if he even existed. When we grow up the things we liked as kids look different to us. As an adult Owen rewatches The Pink Opaque and it was not like he remembered. It is sanitized, for children. Melancholy subtracts from the version of ourselves we are most worthy, proud. Everything that was important to Owen happened in the past with Maddie and she is gone. Time skips forward.