By Carla E. Dash
You are commander Shepard, a decorated military officer, Lieutenant Commander of the Systems Alliance frigate SSV Normandy, a new, state-of-the-art stealth ship, and the first human Spectre, an elite group of agents given wide authority to maintain stability in the galaxy through any means necessary by the Citadel Council, a multi-species galactic governing body. Right now, you are standing in the shallow surf on Virmire, a lush, tropical planet that would be ideal for colonization if not for the frequently raiding pirates and slavers. Wrex has his gun aimed at your head, and you have yours aimed at his. This is not good. Wrex is your friend. While joining your crew as a mercenary, he has been a fierce and loyal companion, deadly with a shotgun and brutal with his biotic (telekinetic) powers. You have enjoyed chatting with him down in the vehicle bay of the Normandy between missions and learning about his Krogan heritage. He deserves more than dying here in the sand on an empty planet far from home. But here you are. You came to Virmire hunting the treacherous Saren, a corrupt Spectre who murdered your would-be mentor Nihlus, and searching for proof to convict him before the Council. While here, you discovered one of Saren’s old labs was working on a cure for the Genophage, a genetically engineered virus that was created centuries ago to curtail Krogan reproduction because the Council feared they would overrun the galaxy. Wrex insists the cure be salvaged and used on his people. You want to destroy the lab. In addition to working on the Genophage, the lab experimented with indoctrination (brainwashing), and despite being friends with Wrex, you are not sure that allowing the Krogan to reproduce unchecked is a good idea. So here you are, gun pointed at one of your best friends and his pointed at you. Your dialogue options are “Calm down,” “We can work this out,” “Shoot Wrex,” “These aren’t your people,” “Signal to Ashley to kill Wrex,” and “Don’t be so naïve.” “Calm down” and “We can work this out” do nothing to diffuse Wrex’s anger. “These aren’t your people” and “Don’t be so naïve,” the charm and intimidate options, are devastatingly grayed out and not selectable because you have not invested enough points into these skills. So your options are “Shoot Wrex” or “Signal to Ashley to kill Wrex,” and you do not want to do either. You stare at the screen, shocked, baffled, disbelieving. Is there really no way to save him? (There is not.)
I’ll be honest. This did not happen to me. (Firstly, I’d never choose Ashley as a companion because she is the worst. And secondly, I would never kill Wrex. I would go back to a previous save, even if I lost hours of gameplay, and invest in charm or complete his loyalty side mission, to prevent this outcome.) But it did happen to my husband during one of his play throughs of Mass Effect, and it was a harrowing ordeal for both of us.
This experience, of playing a game and having no choices you like or sometimes no choices at all and being forced (unless you just…turn off the game?) to take actions you disagree with (I’m looking at you Grand Theft Auto), inspired the premise of my story “Hack n’ Slash #999.” In this story, a video game character is puppeted by a player beyond the screen, locked in a sort of walking sleep paralysis, and must come to terms with what he cannot change, what he might be able to change, and if he should try despite the cost to his world and the people he cares about. It is, of course, a story about freedom and the lack thereof. It is also a story about choice and whether any choice can ever be freely made, impactful, or consequential. It is also about identity: whether we are our thoughts or our actions, and if we can ever truly know what lurks behind the masks of other people’s faces. It is a story I immensely enjoyed writing, and I hope folks will enjoy reading it.
MONSTERS AND OTHER TALES OF HUMANITY by Carla E. Dash
RELEASE DATE: July 8, 2025
GENRE: Collection | Horror | Dark Fantasy
BOOK PAGE: https://meerkatpress.com/books/monsters-and-other-tales-of-humanity/
SUMMARY:
Revealing both how terrifying and how heroic individuals can be when untethered from relationships, Monsters and Other Tales of Humanity portrays the ways people cope with loneliness. A woman is haunted by Death, who progressively resembles her drowned fiancé. A child seeks beauty in a handsome stranger’s greenhouse and holds out hope for a savior. A woman’s husband is murdered by police, and her monstrous children enact a bloody revenge. A negligent mail carrier believes stars are disappearing from the sky, heralding the annihilation of the universe. A video game character’s dissonance with the actions he must perform precipitates a choice that could destroy his world. Speculative and lyrical, these stories explore the human need for connection and how the lack of ties warps lives.
BUY LINKS: Meerkat Press | Bookshop.org | Amazon
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Carla E. Dash lives in Braintree, MA with her husband, children, and cats. She teaches middle schoolers, procrastinates via video games and anime, and occasionally buckles down and writes.
GIVEAWAY: $25 Meerkat Press Giftcard
GIVEAWAY LINK: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/7f291bd846/?