Story Details
Published on 2024-12-02
Categories Fantasy Magical Realism
Awakening from surgery, a man discovers the shocking ability to see the emotional traumas of others as physical manifestations. Struggling to understand his newfound ability, he unintentionally unleashes profound changes on those around him, including his attending physician, a doctor desperate to bury his past. Mark's story masterfully explores the burdens of guilt, the transformative power of empathy, and the delicate balance of using one's gifts for good.
Author Details
Mark English Ties That Bind
As an ex-rocket scientist Mark has an unwitting talent for taking the everyday magic out of twinkling stars, sunsets, colourful flames dancing in a roaring fire, and rainbows. This does not stop him seeing the magic differently and in alternate colours. The newly reconstructed rumbly city of Christchurch, NZ, is where he hails from. This has touched a lot of his writing, be it science fiction or the darker speculative style that reflects his experiences. New Zealand hosts an amazingly supportive speculative fiction society, and Mark acknowledges the major part that SpecFicNZ (https://specfic.nz/) has played in encouraging his work, and also Critical Mass (you know who you are!) for being the critique group he needed. You can find other works by Mark in Abyss & Apex Magazine, Escape Pod, Perihelion as well as numerous anthologies and Antipodean SF where he is part of the narration team. STORY NOTES FOR "TIES THAT BIND" We are not singular people as such, though we think we are. There are threads of ideas, feelings, and longing that interweave our lives with the lives of others. Then there are darker threads of connection such as debt, fear, and addiction that hold us into the pattern of our lives more strongly than any conscious self-direction, outside of what we consider to be our autonomy. Through our actions we alter them, but what if someone could see and interact with them directly? Would that be a good thing? Often unwanted and unasked for interventions can trigger a very oppositional reaction.
Ties that Bind
Author Details
Mark English Ties That Bind
As an ex-rocket scientist Mark has an unwitting talent for taking the everyday magic out of twinkling stars, sunsets, colourful flames dancing in a roaring fire, and rainbows. This does not stop him seeing the magic differently and in alternate colours. The newly reconstructed rumbly city of Christchurch, NZ, is where he hails from. This has touched a lot of his writing, be it science fiction or the darker speculative style that reflects his experiences. New Zealand hosts an amazingly supportive speculative fiction society, and Mark acknowledges the major part that SpecFicNZ (https://specfic.nz/) has played in encouraging his work, and also Critical Mass (you know who you are!) for being the critique group he needed. You can find other works by Mark in Abyss & Apex Magazine, Escape Pod, Perihelion as well as numerous anthologies and Antipodean SF where he is part of the narration team. STORY NOTES FOR "TIES THAT BIND" We are not singular people as such, though we think we are. There are threads of ideas, feelings, and longing that interweave our lives with the lives of others. Then there are darker threads of connection such as debt, fear, and addiction that hold us into the pattern of our lives more strongly than any conscious self-direction, outside of what we consider to be our autonomy. Through our actions we alter them, but what if someone could see and interact with them directly? Would that be a good thing? Often unwanted and unasked for interventions can trigger a very oppositional reaction.
