Aye, and Gomorrah by Samuel R. Delaney

Aye and Gomorrah by Samuel R. Delaney is a short story that explores sexuality in a cyberspace/cyberpunk theme.  As with most cyberpunk fiction, we are plunged into the plot with very little context. Aye, and Gomorrah is narrated in first person from the viewpoint of a Spacer, who are asexual people neutered at puberty so that they can work in space without facing the harmful effects of the radiation. The story opens in France, where some Spacers are walking around and a lot of people ask them to leave and are pretty rude to them. They see Spacers as different, or even not human. One man makes a remark, “Sadly for me. You look as though you may once have been a man.” This implies homosexuality, which happens in another place where a woman says, “Spacer, do you not think you…people should leave?…It is too bad, for you look like you were once a woman, no? And I like women, too.”

The only people that give Spacers any attention are called Frelks. The significance of what a Frelk is is left unknown to us: we have to figure it out. We find determine from context that a Frelk is someone who is sexually attracted to a Spacer and their incapability of feeling anything sexual towards them in return. (This makes me think of Twilight and how Bella thought Edward was super attractive even though he showed know signs of attraction at the beginning. At least that is what I got from the movie..) Spacers seek out Frelks; maybe because they are more welcoming than others, or Spacers might enjoy the power they have over them for being wanted so badly.

One Spacer finds a Frelk that claims she does not want to be a Frelk. The Spacer tells her to be something else, to which she replies, “You don’t choose your perversions.” This quote puts this narrative in the real world. When this story was published in the 1960’s, homosexuality was deeply frowned upon. In context, Spacers had it easy, but in reality they were lonely.