Spider Rose story
Set within the universe of "Swarm", cyborg-enhanced Lydia Martinez, alias "Spider Rose", settles in an asteroid ring after her crew, including her husband, was massacred by Jade of the rival Shaper Council years prior. Bent on revenge, she tries to trade her jewel to a Mechanist investor for a WMD but is instead given a trial with a pet that absorbs DNA from creatures it eats via cocooning. Recovering from her past, Lydia nurtures and bonds with the creature, nicknaming it Nosey. Jade returns and attacks her, but Lydia eliminates his clones and kills Jade Prime. Realizing her habitat is too damaged for survival, she lets Nosey consume her. Afterwards, the investor assesses the jewel and the repossessed Nosey, emerging from its cocoon more human-like. Cast: Emily O'Brien, Feodor Chin, Piotr Michael, Sumalee Montano Directed by: Jennifer Yuh Nelson. Story by: Bruce Sterling.
10 total · 2 choice · 6 major · 2 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| purpose in life | choice | Lydia had no other interest in life than her desire for vengeance. This was much to the chagrin of the "Mechanists" investors, who by treaty were forbidden from trading her the one thing she wanted: a powerful weapon. After adopting a new pet, perhaps supplied as a ruse by the Mechanists, Lydia did find a second thing to live for. Once her desire for vengeance was fulfilled, she willingly gave up her own life in order to save her pet. |
| the desire for vengeance | choice | Lydia was hellbent on avenging the killing of her husband and crew. |
| bio-mimicking life form | major | Lydia's pet creature Nosey took on some of her physical characteristics after consuming her. |
| coping with the death of a spouse | major | Lydia was still consumed with grief over her husband’s brutal killing, which had occurred some eight years prior. In one scene, she sobbed after awaking from a dream of being in bed together with him. |
| cyborg | major | Lydia, the heroine of the story, was a cyborg with the lion's share of her body having been replaced by mechanical parts. |
| loneliness | major | Lydia lived alone in an asteroid field. She dearly missed her departed husband. In one scene, she confided in her new companion Nosey that she'd been "too long alone". |
| master and pet | major | Lydia bonded with a cute alien pet, which she nicknamed Nosey, after having been given it for a 96 day trial period. In the end, she encouraged Nosey to consume her, and it later emerged from a cocoon with a face resembling her own. |
| what if I found myself in a zero gravity environment | major | Lydia and Nosey spent the entirety of the story maneuvering their bodies around in a zero-g environment, much as if they were swimming. Lydia played fetch with Nosey as if it were a dog. |
| extraterrestrial being | minor | A slug-like alien with mouth tentacles made Lydia an offer that she could not refuse. Jade and his clones were from a humanoid alien race known as the Sharpers. |
| human cloning | minor | Jade Prime had had multiple clones, many of which Lydia dispatched in her pursuit of vengeance. |