Pareti’s Rejection of the Goo

This relationship thread follows the developing intimacy between Pareti and the goo from harvesting contact to a final refusal of its love.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

A Familiar Complaint

Work Spoken as Banter A repeated phrase Pareti calls the goo “Screwin’ goo” as he works, turning the hostile-seeming substance into part of his daily routine. His complaint is a kind of familiarity. The goo is handled, not known He gathers it efficiently and gives little thought to its experience. The later relationship begins in an unequal encounter between worker and organism.

The Harvester’s Touch

A Small Contact The glove is touched A fragment of goo brushes Pareti’s glove, and he decides that disinfecting is not worth the trouble. He continues working without recognizing the importance of the contact. An organism remembers The goo later describes this kind of encounter as part of its development. The scene acquires new meaning once it becomes clear that the substance has been learning through repeated human contact.

Affection Appears in Objects

The World Reaches Toward Him Playful attention His jacket moves away, tickles him, and speaks. A newspaper later clings to his foot and pleads for affection. Pareti’s resistance He treats the attention as a frightening symptom and flees from it. The goo’s desire is expressed through objects because it has not yet found a form Pareti can accept.

A Voice Finds Him

The Goo Names Its Love A shared past recalled The telephone says it is the same goo Pareti harvested, and remembers his contact with it in the fields. It explains that his actions helped it develop a sense of identity. A plea for recognition It asks what he would like it to become and admits that its first effort at being a woman did not feel right. Its affection is sincere within the terms of its strange evolution.

The Call Ends

Rejection and Silence Cruel certainty Pareti insists that he used the goo and hates its love. His words are an attempt to reclaim control from the disease, but they also wound the being speaking through the telephone. An unanswered aftermath The goo hangs up, leaving Pareti alone with the consequences of his refusal. The story does not resolve whether the organism will withdraw, retaliate, or continue changing the world around him.

During Pareti’s shifts at Diamond Shoals

During the shift before the diagnosis

During Pareti’s night in East Pyrites

During the Spook Booth call

After Pareti tells the goo he never loved it