Bloodchild

The short story read for class this week was Bloodchild by Octavia Butler. This short story was under the diverse position of science fiction section. I am not a fan of the science fiction genre; I tend to find the plots too strange for me. I sometimes pass by the science fiction channel on the television and stop to see what's on, but I tend to change the channel.
This short story in particular was not my usual reading material. The title Bloodchild makes the reader wonder the context of what that could mean. I originally thought about blood sisters and that tradition where kids will share blood to become related. The story itself is, lack of a better word, weird. Between the strange relationship the Tlic has with the Terrain at such a young age seems unnatural. Also, the role reversal of the child bearing was interesting. The Tlic's choose the men to carry their children for them so that the women can bear children for the Tlic's to have. It seems like the only reason the Tlic's are trying to protect teh Terrains is only to use them for children so they can have their children and continue on their bloodlines. definitely raised the question about how much the host knows about childbearing and how the Tlic's children actually work. The grubs hatch and eat their shell, but if they are not taken out in time they will eat their host from the inside out. That circumstance actually reminds me of the movie Alien vs. Predator or just Alien because the alien places its egg inside the human host, and when the egg is ready to be born, the alien baby will eat its way out of its host.
I am stuck at the age the Tlic chooses the Terran to be. In out society the age of the boy is so young and it seems so weird that he would be engaging in this way with the Tlic. The main character's brother seemed the most interesting to me. He's been in a situation that the main character can never imagine being in, which is why the brother is so against the Tlic's. Although, he has learned that as long as his brother is willing to carry the eggs of the Tlic than he is safe from being involved with them in anyway.