The New Weird - Ann VanderMeer [152]
But the Sisters of No Mercy knew otherwise.
It only took a matter of minutes for the testicle to succumb to the initial stages of the digestive process.
It was enough.
The Gutter's body suddenly stiffened without his effort. He groaned weirdly, like a fish on a hook might do if it could make one.
The Sisters stepped out from their place of hiding. The Gutter fell to one side, his head at an angle staring up at them in disbelief. His confusion, however, was secondary to the sensations that were rifting through the internal parts of his physique. The crippling immanence of Whorefrost's sperm was doing its worst, feeling its way through the labyrinth of his anatomy. The Gutter squirmed like a maggot on a pinhead. Guttural sounds came from his throat. It appeared that he no longer possessed the vocal capacities to issue a scream.
"Well, well, well," said Little Sister. "What have we here?"
Big Sister rested an arm on her sister's shoulder and said:
"Well, blow me hard if it's not the little fucker who killed our Middle Sister, Sister."
Little Sister said: "You don't fucking say."
"Oh yes," said Big Sister, "I fucking do."
"In that case," said Little Sister, "maybe we shouldn't bother to explain what the fuck he's eaten."
"You mean the demon semen of that motherless fuck whose balls we clipped the other day?"
"That's the one."
"Naw," said Big Sister, "I wouldn't want to know if I was in his fucking position."
"Right," said Little Sister. "So let's shut the fuck up and watch the fucker die like the fucker he is."
Which is exactly what they did. And the Gutter didn't disappoint them. He lasted for about three hours, as long as someone of his constitution would be expected to.
After it was done, Little Sister sighed and said:
"So that's that."
Big Sister bowed her head and said:
"So it was."
"It was good to watch the bastard die so fucking horribly," said Little Sister.
"Damn right," said Big Sister. "It was the fucking best."
"But," sighed Little Sister, "I kind of feel it could've been better."
Big Sister took her Little Sister in her arms, her eyes full of tears.
"I know," she said, her voice no more than a whisper. "I know."
SYMPOSIUM
The New Weird Discussions: The Creation of a Term
IN APRIL 2003, M. John Harrison asked a question on his Third Alternative Message Board that eventually led to the creation, promulgation, mutation and distortion of the term "New Weird." This was an offshoot, as far as we can tell, of a conversation that originated on Steph Swainston's message board, but only reached critical mass with Harrison's question.
We've reproduced the first part of that public discussion below, filling in full names where we know them. We have preserved many idiosyncrasies of punctuation and phrasing that are in keeping with online communication.
The entire discussion took place over several months and many thousands of words. Several other individuals, including Jeffrey Ford, Michael Cisco, Kathryn Cramer, one of the editors of this very anthology (Jeff VanderMeer), and, perhaps most notably, China Miéville, eventually entered into the fray. An archive of the entirety of this very public investigation of New Weird exists on Kathryn Cramer's website at:www.kathryncramer.com/kathryn_cramer/2007/07/the-new-weird-a.html. ― THE EDITORS
M. John Harrison (Tuesday, April 29, 2003 ― 10:39 am): The New Weird. Who does it? What is it? Is it even anything? Is it even New? Is it, as some think, not only a better slogan than The Next Wave, but also incalculably more fun to do? Should we just call it Pick'n'Mix instead? As ever, your views are the views we want to hear ―
Zali Krishna: Is it a bit like science fantasy but with more than a passing nod towards horror? Presumably the "Weird" refers back to Weird Tales ― a pre-generic pulp era where SF, fantasy and horror were less well defined. I'm guessing here, based upon the Miéville attribution. Personally I think "Weird Shit" would be a better label ― I'd like to see bookshops with a Weird Shit section.
Jonathan Oliver: Who