The Disturbing Cost of Human Survival | Bloodchild

[@ryanweston6182]

Little does Quin know that I come to his videos explicitly for spoilers. I love deep dives into stories Ill never get the time to read.

[@clintparsons3989]

This, yes.

[@sonwig5186]

It's very short, you can read this one in an hour.

[@zachkurczewski5415]

FAAACTS SAME HERE

[@wfcoaker1398]

I'm 62. I remember reading this story in Asimov's pulp mag many years ago. I forgot the name of the story. All I remembered was the image of an insectoid creature taking it's larvae out of a human. I've always wished I could remember the title, I'd like to read it again. So thanks, Quinn! You've answered a question I've had for decades!

[@bighex5340]

The combination of the phrase "A powerful government official" combined with a picture of a giant terrible looking centipede monster made me laugh, not gonna lie lol

[@mikexstad1121]

Hahaahah

[@whnvr]

leto II in god emperor of dune be like

[@AJ-iu6nw]

ahahahahah it truly is ironic.

[@OctopusWithNoFriends]

🕶️ THEY LIVE 🕶️

[@williek08472]

"The government is secretly run by alien lizard men disguising themselves as humans." -A boring cliché "The government is secretly run by giant alien centipedes." -An amazing idea

[@merry_morgana]

Thank you, Quinn. We lost Octavia way too soon.

[@redherringoffshoot2341]

Bloodchild is my favorite story from her

[@mosesnelson27]

I just read the Xenogenesis Trilogy after checking out Bloodchild, and holy shit are you correct. The first 60 pages on their own are some of the most captivating literature I've ever read.

[@Alzir-n9m]

Having read the work, it's equal parts fascinating and terrifying how Gatoi is presented. She isn't a xenomorph. She isn't emotionless. Its strongly suggested that her concern and compassion for the human family is genuine. And yet all the same she must effectively use them as incubation chambers.

[@YarPirates-vy7iv]

So she's a Republican. Good to know.

[@SteveResurected]

@@YarPirates-vy7ivHow is that republicans? If anything democrats are exploiting people more these days, they are just more charismatic about it

[@robertborland5083]

Yeah; T'gatoi is presented as something of a "liberal" Tlic on the treatment of humans.

[@disnecessaurorex4908]

Xenomorphs do have feelings. They just don't care about other animals.

[@Alzir-n9m]

@@disnecessaurorex4908 I thought they were basically animals themselves?

[@olamideiledare5233]

I would love to see this story done in love and robots Netflix show. The idea of how love can develop out of a situation that does not appear to be equal is interesting.

[@SunniMerlot]

That show is amazing. I really wanted more with the tiny icebox city lol

[@waverlyking6045]

@@SunniMerlot The idea of a fast evolving micro civilization has been done at least three other times that I know of: 1. As a story in the old Weird Science comic books that came out in the early 1950s. 2. On an episode of The Simpsons. 3. In the Mastodon video for “Sleeping Giant”.

[@theodoremccarthy4438]

Most relationships are unequal, but are still loving or respectful as the dominant party typically has good reason to value or need the subordinate party.

[@andrewmalinowski6673]

​@@waverlyking6045Tale Foundry did a video on the story that inspired the Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror short, it was interesting and expanded on how the civilization was created to develop solutions to current/future problems as an experiment vs. the banker just wanting to use it for his own advancement

[@heraadrian7764]

@@waverlyking6045 4. I am weasel - ep 15 I am Deity. Baboon and weasel create life.

[@childofthanos84]

You should do audio books. I feel like you would do an amazing version of Hyperion

[@MattiasSvanberg1987]

I second that.

[@someotherluke]

If not audiobooks, short stories.

[@SunniMerlot]

Idky he doesn’t. So many good books get turned off because they find the most boring person ever to read it or someone who’s voice doesn’t compliment the story

[@jackperry2821]

I want him to do an ‘all tomorrows’ audiobook simply because he seems to have the only available copy!

[@BlahBlah-l4c]

I think he did

[@stevenferno]

Imagine escaping slavery by fleeing your planet and travelling across space to end up in what amounts to be a human farm.

[@chriscooper654]

Though it's never specified in the story, I think "Bloodchild" could easily fit into Butler's "Patternist" universe. The references to Gan's ancestors fleeing from being enslaved by their own kind would be consistent with how the psionically-gifted Patternists ruled over ordinary humans.

[@adrianbeckmann3778]

Seemed to be a symbiosis.

[@chriscooper654]

@@adrianbeckmann3778 Don't think it meets the definition of symbiosis, though I agree that with T'Gatoi's faction in charge there is mutual benefit, or at least more than humans would get from most other Tlic.

[@MrThewhore]

​@@chriscooper654*t'gatoi

[@elfieinblack4618]

I mean, true but also you can pretty much read this story and replace "Tlic" and "Terran" with "man" and "woman" and it doesn't change much. Mothers do something like this all over the world all the time and have done for millennia. it's hard to call it slavery when our own species depends on a process that is no less horrific.

[@chriscooper654]

A favorite of mine. I even used it in a TTRPG campaign, with the PCs discovering the Tlic homeworld and its human Preserves as a "lost colony". The players were, of course, horrified and nearly started a genocidal war against the Tlic before calming down and arriving at a far less drastic solution. As ever, great analysis and discussion.

[@grindcoreninja6527]

The Warhammer RPG by chance? And I'm totally stealing this for a "Delta Green" case.

[@jaymeVos]

It would make a good planet to stumble upon in a Forgotten Realms, Spelljammer or Star Wars TTRPG campaign.

[@chriscooper654]

@@grindcoreninja6527 Actually it was the MegaTraveller rules system, in a setting of my own. The PCs were kind of lost-colony recontact specialists (among other things) and were tracking down the mis-jumped ship that had stranded the original "colonists" on the Tlic homeworld, generations before.

[@chriscooper654]

@@grindcoreninja6527 Oh, would I love to play that Delta Green scenario! Have fun!

[@lordfenrir1394]

This could be used as an alternative alien in Alien RPG, kind of the original species that inspired the Engeneers while creating the Xenomorphs reproductive system.

[@Yutyrant95]

Maybe not the best video to watch on my lunch break....

[@ikram-258]

Highly disturbing on par with "all tomorrows". I remenber watching a documentary about an insect that does the same thing to other insects using them as incubators, it traumatized me for life😅

[@elricofmelnibone425]

Octavia Butler is probably the most underrated sci fi author.

[@aaronafre1920]

Black queens usually R

[@Henbot]

Probably because this is some hella disturbing stuff 😂

[@DS-ej7zt]

She's great but in no way underrated

[@track1949]

​@@aaronafre1920A black lesbian queen gone too soon.. Racism. Sexism. Homophobia. 😢

[@stanislavstoimenov1729]

Butler is hardly underrated, let alone "the most underrated". That's totally ridiculous. If anything, she's VASTLY over-rated...

[@Ahrimane]

A long time ago I read my dad’s copy of the 1985 Hugo Award short story collection and “Bloodchild” was in it. It was by far the creepiest story in that collection and one of my favorites. The competition was stiff, too, because that book also contained GRRM’s “Sandkings” and Greg Bear’s “Blood Music”.

[@walmart_is_a_cult]

I have that anthology, and loved Bloodchild the most. It got into my psyche and influenced nightmares about humans as pets/domesticated animals for decades.

[@andrewmalinowski6673]

Haven't read "Sandkings," but saw the Outer Limits adaptation of the short story. It was incredible how the Martian insects/arachnids could develop a religion over the scientist who "raised" them

[@Ahrimane]

@@andrewmalinowski6673 Yep I saw that one too. I liked a lot of Outer Limits and Twilight Zone shows back in the day.

[@scottkelly1685]

I find myself in agreement with Butler's fear - how, too, would I cope with a parasitic insect living in my flesh? Not well, though I would hope that I would willingly let it happen to save someone else. I haven't read her works before, so, here's another work to add to my ever-growing to-read list, which has been greatly enhanced by Quinn since his early days. Thanks for the tip!

[@patreekotime4578]

Go out and get the Xenogenesis series and this short story collection. Butler's body horror, body dysmorphia, and general questions around the body verses the self are so interesting and also so contemporary to today. Really thought provoking stuff.

[@Trepanation21]

​@@patreekotime4578Xenogenesis is an outstanding trilogy that feels so alien, so grounded, and so human at the same time.

[@patreekotime4578]

I love this story so much. Your previous videos about the Xenogenesis books got me to read it! Her use of body horror and body dysmorphia is so amazing. I wish Cronenburg had adapted this one!

[@noranekosparks4177]

I read Bloodchild as part of a lesson in a Sci-fi Creative Writing class in high school. Back then it just seemed like a weird alien story but looking at it 14 years later... ...Yah way more terrifying and tragic to read as an adult. Conplex and necessary sacrfices needed to survive an even more complex situation reads strangely real and relevant to society as we know it.

[@bobafettjr85]

Octavia Butler was a clue in the USA Today crossword today. Kind of weird that you're covering a story of hers on the same day.

[@captnwinkle]

I love when weird coincidenced like that happen. I know I'm getting closer to deCipher-ing the Matrix

[@bobafettjr85]

@captnwinkle Last week, the clue was Chappell Roan, who is never heard of, and later that day someone at work was talking about an interview she did. The crossword is the key to breaking out of the simulation.

[@gamelover2222]

It's great to have you posting vids this week Quinn. I hope you are able to keep them coming on a regular basis!

[@queenofcats3308]

The story was my introduction to Octavia Butler. Such an imaginative, beautiful work that now lives rent free in my head. So glad you covered it!

[@xenoization]

This is scratching that ‘body horror’ itch something fierce, Ty Quinn

[@sarahsmith840]

Ironically, making me physically itch.

[@StacheLarkin]

Great video, Quinn! Keep them coming!

[@Mongfug]

I took a sci-fi lit class in college, and among the stories that stuck with me, this became one of my favorites of all time. I wish way more people knew about it. Maybe I missed this in the video (consequence of gaming at the same time) but it should be mentioned Gan also convinces TGatoi to let him keep the rifle, which puts her at risk. It exemplifies the idea that love like that requires trust that they're both willing to submit to. God, what a good story.

[@andreymudik2905]

Brother, get the flamer, the heavy flamer

[@RobertoGonzalez-gg3jc]

Thank you for presenting this piece! The central premise seems very clever to me: being thrown in any alien ecosystem, without the shortcut of "terraforming", it is almost obvious that humans would struggle...

[@andrewwoodward7579]

Seeing Your bookcase is one of the few times I feel envious. Douglas Adam’s up there too. Great vids keep em coming

[@brightleviathan]

butler is incredible. folks want to jump to the most obvious, thin theme, but it's so much more! oddly enough, your videos and book recommendations got me through bed rest when pregnant, and many many hours sat with a nursing, sleeping infant.

[@chibiktsn3]

I've read some of her Patternmaster books and need to read more. Thank you for introducing her short fiction so beautifully!

[@avidian888]

Beautifully read as usual. Can't wait for you to publish your audio books someday. Need to hear this voice on my way to work.

[@ondrabroz888]

Third Quinn video in a week? This is unprecedented. Amazing

[@asimovstarling8806]

I come to this channels content because I write scifi an fantasy myself, and listening to it's narrator, the man that runs it, as he discusses with us the intricacies of books I am unable to read, and the lives of the authors that wrote them. It fuels my creative juices.

[@ThorGostasson]

Hey thanks for what you do. You got me re-hooked on scifi with your videos on the 3 Body Problem!

[@DeidresStuff]

I knew a guy whose girlfriend epidural didn't take and had to have a c-section, feeling the entire thing. He made the mistake of looking behind the curtain and seeing her intestines just hanging out on the bed next to her. That's what this reminds me of.

[@OfficialROZWBRAZEL]

😨😨😨

[@VVWyatt]

Dude my son was recently born via c section and I peeked over the curtain and saw my girlfriend’s insides. That is something you never unsee. It wasn’t particularly disturbing just very uncanny and an overall bizarre sight

[@LeoSpaceman69]

Love how in this anecdote a woman feels her insides getting cut out consciously and an infant removed and we still only talk about how it affects the man. Is SHE OKAY

[@Tuberiascaesar]

T How is too high a cost to survive is a common theme in sci-fi fantasy I notice and in real life debates.

[@earFront]

Hi Mr Quinn, thanx for all the reviewing and book tips. Have the greatest of days today.

[@SisterBlake]

Thank you for always being a breath of fresh air amongst the sf community 🫶🏼

[@flazay_da]

YESSSSSSS SO HERE FOR MORE OCTAVIA BUTLER VIDEOS!!! She does not get enough respect or analysis as a great sci fi writer with very unique worlds. I'd love for you to eventually have enough videos to link people a playlist of the 'Butlerverse' she built starting with Wild Seed then the xenogenesis trilogy

[@BhbtheRock]

Literally yesterday, my mom was telling me to read Butler. Now Quinn. Aight, let's go

[@nathanmikangi9756]

The suspense the opening "lines'' of this video creates is intense .I love that ❤️

[@jaymeVos]

I honestly love the idea of humans being forced into, or finding a peaceful, symbiotic/parasitic relationship with an absolutely alien species.

[@Tristyn_Waterman]

I feel so bad every time you upload a video because I probably don't help the algorithm very much. Just about every time you are talking about a new book or series, I have to click off right away and go get the book myself so I don't get spoiled! You are a master of instantly grabbing your viewers' attention and interesting them in what you are talking about

[@geordiejones5618]

The saddest part of this story is Gan's mom. You don't really appreciate how trapped and utterly helpless she feels until you finish the story and reread. Such a great depiction of manipulation and codependence. After several rereads, I find Gab brave to face his biggest fear for the sake of someone else, but you can't help but feel that he's not really making the choice. Maybe my favorite short story ever.

[@ironrose5403]

Octavia Butler is one of my favorites! Thanks for covering her ❤

[@marginalia1783]

I think T. groomed the boy. She took care of him since he was a child, she was present at his birth. She btw was born from his father. She was very aware of what she was doing by participating in his upbribging and making him love her. As she was some sort of diplomat, she lobbed for this kind of interspecies relations rathwr than using humans as lifestock. Their relationship was a product of her careful planning. And He was aware od that, feeling used. At that moment he could choose loving her or hating her. Being a part of family as a surogate parent of her children, or being a slave. He chose loving i think for his own sake, because, having no escape, hate would destroy him.

[@TheDogDad]

I feel uneasy now. Thanks Quinn!

[@DrIgnacious]

I didn't realise this was posted only an hour ago. I adore this story

[@fabzter]

Wooooo didn't know about Octavia, thank you Quinn!!!

[@2FRESH-4U]

You are so good at communicating your love of these books it’s awesome I’m not a reader but love the worlds that are created so thanks for condensing them down for people like me

[@CybershamanX]

Thank you SO MUCH, Quinn! It's always an exquisite pleasure to not only listen to your thoughts.. .but also your ideas... 😉

[@level5650]

Look, I get that the way I interpreted it is not Octavia Butler intended, but I HATE this story. More then I’ve hated a story in a long time. I’m so, so, so, so, so, so, so incredibly sick of the ol’ “it’s not as bad if it happens to a man” narrative. It’s not WHO or WHY it’s happening that makes the act unforgivably vile. Whether it’s a man, a woman or a giant centipede, being willing to look at another thinking feeling being and treat them like meat makes them a monster. How is THIS any different from the vile things Immortan Joe does to his “Wives” in Fury Road?? I’m really, really sorry if I’ve rubbed anybody the wrong way with this comment, and I don’t hate or want to demonise Ms. Butler or anything, but GOD can we just all agree that if you’re not comfortable with writing it happening to a woman, you shouldn’t write it happening to a man??

[@aplum4218]

IKR!! Men have been such victims in our society for so long. You have been raped, beaten and belittled for so long. I feel your pain.

[@caladaley5248]

I don't think the point is that being a man makes it less bad. She has placed female characters in similar situations (ambiguously consensual pregnancy) and she also dealt with it in a complex way

[@JackJohnson-hk3dd]

I have no idea of you came to that conclusion, think it's pretty clear the author uses men because she knows the majority who read her books will be men and this might help them consider what pregnancy might feel like for some women. I think a lot of blokes forget just how much a burden and risk (even in the modern world) pregnancy can be.

[@ratgutsnorthwind9154]

Love your videos! You are the reason I got i to the Dune series and the Hyperion books. I really appreciate all that you have done and shared. Keep it up! I hope my like and comment are enough to help out

[@OctopusWithNoFriends]

Hmmm, thank you for this one Quinn! I'm gonna check out her stuff. I'm a big animal person, of all types. I have snakes and spiders and scorpions. I despise bot flies. And the meaning behind this story speaks to me as well. Definitely gonna grab a collection of hers!

[@perdidoenbici]

Thanks for covering this one!

[@caitlinb2841]

Thank you for the new upload!

[@KYPE207]

Thanks Quinn! Great video!

[@Cotonetefelpudo400fios]

Finally more Octavia Butler here!!!

[@tropicalfish12385]

My man, you nail it everytime!!! F you are an incredible storyteller!!! 💥💯💥💯💥💯💥

[@4thdimensionalexplorer]

Man i recenasked if you would cover Octavia Butler soon and not o ly did yoh but you already had and i just missed them haha. Fantastic work this was an interesting video

[@alanlittlemoon8194]

Great work again. Thanks Quinn.

[@fusionspace175]

What disturbs me is a vision of humanity that would allow itself to be broodmares to these bugs. I don't care how outnumbered they are, those humans should either exterminate and take over, escape, or die trying, rather than learn to love the bug. I much prefer the Ender's Game series, where Ender learns to mentally connect and identify with the aliens and goes on to preserve their species despite his xenocide, his path of learning and growing is much more fulfilling to the human spirit and requires no capitulation of our essential will and autonomy. Rather it shows us a way to find our own path despite our mistakes, and that empathy is both a weapon and a weakness not to be overlooked.

[@Alzir-n9m]

You say that because you lived a privileged life.

[@danielchen2071]

It's stated in the story that humanity DID try to fight back with guns against the Tlic and the incubated N'Tlic out of fear, disgust, and ignorance, but that only caused further retaliation from the Tlic that wouldn't have benefited either of them. As a result, humans are banned from carrying guns. As for escape, there is no escape. All of the vehicles are commandeered by the Tlic, and the Preserve is all they know. Even if they could escape, they have no idea if the rest of the universe is better or worse (remember that they fled their homeworld due to the corruption of humanity itself). This is their attempt at co-existence, and it at least reduces unnecessary bloodshed to a minimum. It's obviously a give-and-take system, but our own system also has give-and-take (taxes, mandatory military drafts, lockdowns, traffic lights) and there's nothing to say they can't improve their relationship down the line so that the process is more humane

[@carloreytansiongco8741]

Broodmare seems to be like that, but Ender is the Tlic, and humans are the aliens.

[@willbilly8738]

For the emperor

[@Alzir-n9m]

​@@willbilly8738whose empire uses humans as broodmares all the same XD

[@tomaslanza8564]

I love your content Quinn, keep it up. Greetings from Argentina

[@brettrichardson7924]

didnt think id see quinn do a Mpreg content warning story but here we are

[@chazmeister3477]

Thank u Quinn. Keep up the great work

[@andrefantin832]

Such a well written short story

[@NoneofyourBusiness-iv6pi]

I love Octavia Butler's works.......My fave is Wild Seed

[@n0etic_f0x]

I love that it is explicitly _not_ intended to be about slavery, nah its _way_ weirder.

[@TroyBoiJoy]

I read a book called Kindred by Octavia in 11th grade Junior year in High School. (2022/2023). I read a short part of this story as a warmup. When it comes to Kindred, I was more intrigued by the sci-fi aspect than the historical events or the story itself.

[@lukefrancis9663]

MUCH better intro. Love the channel fam

[@marginalia1783]

Omg omg this is the story I read in primary school over 25 years ago, i didnt remember neither tittle nor autor, but the story has been with me through all this years. I think about it every couple of months at least. The dynamic of power, the metaphore of "my body my choice", the moral aspects are so deep i can think about it for hours. I had at least fifteen different dreams about Alien and human society integration (human being hosts and xenonorphes protecting humans from... dinosaurs) and I blame this story for that .

[@alexbarker975]

I read this as a kid and it's always stuck with me

[@alabanzai]

There are several other equally disturbing stories in that collection. One of my favorite books. Octavia Butler is great!

[@Faviomec]

"I couldnt possibly last until she was finished" I feel that, Brother

[@abbysweat9202]

Thanks for this video, I saw the slavery and reproductive rights angles immediately when I read it but I love what Mrs Butler said about writing a story about a man who chooses to bear a child out of love and to cope with her fears. I had never thought of that slant to it. I always learn such good things here. Thanks again.

[@annasimmers9549]

This was GREAT!

[@g.guzmancross9722]

Nicely done mista Quinn

[@cofllax]

Another Quinn video another book on my TBR.

[@watchyourprofanity8708]

I thought this would be a metaphor for human birth but was somewhat surprised it wasnt.

[@hugocruz2349]

You have a great Deal of work both before and after today, but thx!! ❤🎉

[@samaeldisharmony8028]

new upload?? we fucking LOVE Quinn's ideas!!!

[@alexbrightchargeai]

👏🏾 More Octavia Butler

[@WaskiSquirrel]

I was glad for this video. I remember reading this book when I was very young, but I didn't remember the author or the book, so I've always wondered what it was or if my disturbed imagination had made it up. So I'm really glad to know what book I'd read and that it was real!

[@slickandslaycious6579]

Great storytelling

[@dragiel]

Thank you for introducing me to another cool scifi story and writer.

[@DæmonV86]

Octavia was fucking incredible. Her, Harlan and Grant Morrison are a few of my top influences as a writer. I somehow never got around to reading this one so thanks, Quinn, for introducing me to this morbid little love story.

[@theangrydweller1002]

This story makes the imperium of man’s xenophobia seem justified

[@fatezaragosa2540]

This is one of my favorite sci-fi stories.

[@robertmcauslan6191]

The US also has bot flies, just an FYI.

[@mullerpotgieter]

I think they're generally a larger issue for animals there than people. I'm guessing the sheer density of insects she'd be encountering in Peru made it a legitimate concern

[@ora.zahava4426]

The US also has men that wish to be bot flies

[@robertmcauslan6191]

@@mullerpotgieter your risk of getting bot flied in the US might be low but it’s never zero. You too could give birth to a blood baby.

[@robertmcauslan6191]

@@ora.zahava4426 there are quite few of the “host” researchers that are from the US. You ain’t wrong.

[@rohanmiller2394]

Please please do All Tomorrows! Not classical fiction but thematically I feel this would be something you'd be able to add a lot of insight to :)

[@theravenousrabbit3671]

Having read this short story, it also seems to me that it mirrors women's dependency on men. How the protection of men, and their financial support, is often bound up with child birth.

[@donatoclemente4421]

Had the same thought

[@bigsarge2085]

Fascinating. I haven't read this yet.

[@mattmmilli8287]

Please consider reviewing Eon someday 😢 particularly deep diving into the creation of The Way and where it exists, geometric shape and functions

[@dalfaroux]

Quinn, can you make a video about the Xeelee Sequence? I think it's a great story with bits of cosmic horror and I don't see much content about it

[@bookeaterintube]

I'd love to listen to audiobooks read by Quinn!

[@niverian7789]

You should definitely look into All Tommorows, All other Tommotows and All Tommorrows Redux by CM Kosemen.

[@jameswebb3410]

Very true

[@willbushmeyer3810]

Hey Quinn! what bookshelves are those in the background?

[@BonChanSama]

Octavia Butler deserves so much more recognition!

[@Malkavscorpio1984]

I just bought the book. I will be listening to it tomorrow for work

[@ramironunezborjas967]

OMFG, does this mean that Octavia Butler invented mpreg as a concept in fiction?

[@WeirdTale]

To be fair. It can be interpreted that Mpreg is the unintended consequence of Sci-fi Sapient Space Parasites...

[@JavaJunky]

And, on that cheerful note ...

[@joenobody5913]

Love your videos Quinn! Some of these series I wasn't able to get into at all (I love reading though) and you made them far more accessible. Also, *I think* you're who I found Humanity Lost through, really enjoying that!!! Have actually taken a break halfway thru because I figured I'd be waitin awhile for next one.

[@HealingSwordsman]

For context - how long did it take for the grubs to hatch?

[@xavier84623]

to me the real horror def is the control and sex slavery and meat industry vibes, the bug and body horror parts are just added on fun. people are less triggered by the idea of mpreg or c section than they were back then. honestly, if the bugs were just open about it, and it was a voluntary transaction (like 20 years supply of eggs for you and your family per surrogate pregnancy or something), and they had professional surgeons, and used anesthetic, this would be a totally fine deal that a lot of people would take. they could just stroll up to human planets with the offer and set up embassies and get tons of takers.