The Old Woman in the Young Woman

Publication(s)

  • First publication
    • Jim Baen's Universe, October 2006

Summary

In a post-apocalyptic future, wanderer Long Tom meets an old woman doctor Miz Emily and her young clone Emma. The old woman takes something and dies. Or does she?

Analysis

  • Sources of quotes
  • Meanings of names
    • "Long Tom" is the name of a 155mm field gun used in WW II.
    • The name Emily comes from Latin, meaning "emulating."
  • References to other works
  • Theories about what happens under the surface, what the narrator isn't telling us, who the narrator is and when and why s/he is telling the story, what the whole thing "means," etc.
    If there are multiple or competing theories, each one should be given a name with a three-bang (!!!) header; if the page begins to get out-of-hand from the size of these, as could happen in a few cases, they should be shuffled off to their own page(s).
  • Etc.

Unresolved Questions

  • Did Old Miz Emily accomplish a soul transfer to her clone Emma? It would seem so. She claims medical knowledge at the end she couldn't have had before.
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