★★★☆☆ Whalefall, by Seanan McGuire
Whale Fall -- the real thing and the metaphor
Whalefall
Seanan McGuire
Whale Fall -- the real thing and the metaphor
Whalefall is Seanan McGuire's February 2023 Patreon reward. She introduces it as follows:
(Image: a very fine albino alligator I saw in New Orleans several years ago.)
This month, we're traveling to an alien world for a discussion of whalefall, biology, culture, and what it means to be curious.
Short, but surprisingly grim. Enjoy!
The albino alligator has nothing to do with the story -- I left it in because I took the image from there. The story is indeed short: nine pages in PDF. The story concerns the aftermath of an environmental catastrophe. It is indeed grim, but it is also optimistic in its horrifying way. I doubt that the aftermath of such a catastrophe as presented here would be even as pleasant as this.
For me the most interesting thing about this story was that it introduced me to the concept of Whale Fall. When a whale dies in the deep ocean its carcass sinks to the bottom, where it becomes the center of a new local ecosystem. The amount of nutrient locked up in a whale carcass is huge compared to what normally reaches the deep sea bottom.
Overall, I didn't like the story much. It is readable only if you are careful not to think about it. If you think about it even a little, it doesn't make sense. Suspension of disbelief is all very well, Seanan, but give your readers a little help! I gave it my three star rating "not a waste of time to read" in part because it is so short.