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Bloodchild Summary, Characters and Themes | Octavia E. Butler

“Bloodchild,” the main story in the collection of essays “Bloodchild and Other Stories” by Octavia E. Butler, is a riveting tale set in a distant future on an alien planet. This narrative masterfully intertwines science fiction with profound social and ethical themes. 

Butler, known for her incisive exploration of complex human issues through speculative fiction, crafts a world where humans, referred to as Terrans, coexist in a tenuous symbiosis with the Tlic, an advanced alien species resembling large centipedes. 

Full Summary

In an alien world, humans, known as Terrans, coexist with a centipede-like alien race, the Tlic, in a settlement called the Preserve. The Tlic are parasitic, requiring host bodies for their eggs, and Terrans are their chosen hosts. 

This symbiosis offers the Terrans protection in exchange for their men serving as incubators for Tlic offspring.

The story centers around Gan, a young Terran bonded to a Tlic named T’Gatoi, the ruler of the Preserve. 

Gan, destined to be implanted with T’Gatoi’s eggs, spends time with his family, consuming sterile Tlic eggs that have narcotic and life-extending effects for humans. 

Gan’s mother, Lien, reluctantly partakes, persuaded by T’Gatoi. Gan contemplates his obligation to T’Gatoi, rooted in his mother’s gratitude.

A crisis unfolds when Bram Lomas, a Terran host, is in dire pain as the Tlic eggs within him are ready to hatch. T’Gatoi, finding Bram in distress, enlists Gan to assist in the emergency birthing procedure. 

Gan, facing the gruesome reality of his future, is sent to slaughter an animal for the newborn Tlic.

During the procedure, T’Gatoi, with clinical detachment, extracts the Tlic grubs from Bram, who endures excruciating pain. 

Gan, witnessing this horror, is sent outside, overwhelmed by the brutality of the act. He encounters his brother Qui, who shares a darker tale of a birthing where the Terran host was devoured alive by the Tlic offspring, revealing the true nature of their relationship with the Tlic.

Haunted by these revelations, Gan’s perception of T’Gatoi shifts from affection to fear and revulsion. 

Qui, who despises the Tlic, relies on Gan’s status as a host to avoid the same fate. 

After an altercation, Gan, grappling with his lack of agency, retrieves his father’s hidden rifle, contemplating suicide as a means of reclaiming his autonomy.

Confronted by T’Gatoi, Gan challenges the terms of their relationship. T’Gatoi, sensing his turmoil, offers to use Gan’s sister, Xuan Hoa, as an alternative host. 

However, Gan, realizing the selfishness of this decision, accepts his role but demands that the rifle remains in the house as a symbol of mutual vulnerability and respect.

In a promising conclusion, Gan and T’Gatoi proceed with the implantation. Gan confesses his complex feelings for T’Gatoi, intertwining fear, possessiveness, and a desire for equality in their relationship. 

T’Gatoi, acknowledging his bravery and commitment, vows never to abandon him, thus forging a deeper, more equitable bond between them.

Gan is a young Terran male and the protagonist of the story. He is bonded to T’Gatoi, a Tlic female, and is destined to host her eggs. Gan is initially compliant with his role, influenced by his family’s history and the Terrans’ arrangement with the Tlic. 

However, he struggles with fear, revulsion, and a deep sense of conflict about his future as a host. His journey through the story is one of self-discovery, as he confronts the harsh realities of the Tlic-Terran relationship and grapples with issues of autonomy, responsibility, and personal sacrifice.

T’Gatoi is a high-ranking Tlic female and the ruler of the Preserve. She is bonded to Gan and expects him to be the host for her offspring. 

T’Gatoi represents the complexity of the Tlic race; she is caring towards Gan and his family but also pragmatic and detached when it comes to the Tlic’s parasitic needs. Her character explores the nuances of power, control, and emotional attachment in an interspecies relationship.

Lien is Gan’s mother, a Terran woman who has a history of cooperating with the Tlic. She shows a resigned acceptance of the Terrans’ role as hosts and is grateful for the protection and extended life the Tlic provide. 

Her decision to bond Gan to T’Gatoi before his birth demonstrates the depth of her gratitude and the complexities of maternal love in the context of survival.

Bram Lomas is a Terran man who serves as a host for Tlic eggs. His harrowing experience with the birthing process serves as a critical turning point in the story, exposing Gan to the brutal reality of what being a host entails. 

Bram’s suffering is a catalyst for Gan’s internal struggle and symbolizes the darker aspects of the Tlic-Terran relationship.

Qui is Gan’s older brother, who harbors a deep hatred for the Tlic. His experience with a traumatic birthing process has left him resentful and fearful. Qui’s perspective challenges Gan’s more accepting views and highlights the underlying tension and horror that some Terrans feel towards their role as hosts. 

His character represents resistance and the desire for escape from the oppressive aspects of the Tlic-Terran symbiosis.

Xuan Hoa is Gan’s sister, briefly mentioned as a potential alternative host for T’Gatoi’s eggs. Her character, although not deeply explored, symbolizes the innocence and vulnerability of the Terrans in the face of the Tlic’s needs. 

Her role in the story underscores the moral dilemmas faced by Gan and highlights the sacrificial nature of the Terrans’ existence within the Preserve.

1. The Complexity of Symbiotic Relationships

The story delves deeply into the intricate and often uncomfortable dynamics of symbiotic relationships, using the bond between the Terrans and the Tlic as a metaphor. 

It explores how such relationships, while mutually beneficial on the surface, can harbor underlying tensions and power imbalances. The Terrans provide the Tlic with essential reproductive hosts, and in return, they receive protection and extended lifespans. 

However, this exchange is fraught with ethical dilemmas and moral compromises. 

The narrative probes the boundaries between cooperation and exploitation, consent and coercion, illustrating how interdependence can blur the lines between benefactor and beneficiary. 

The characters’ interactions exemplify the struggles and compromises inherent in such a relationship, raising questions about the true nature of symbiosis: is it a harmonious partnership or a subtle form of dominance?

2. The Moral Ambiguity of Survival

Central to the story is the theme of survival and the moral complexities it engenders. 

In a world where the continuation of one species is inexorably linked to the subjugation of another, the characters are forced to navigate a landscape of difficult choices and ethical gray areas. 

The Terrans, to ensure their safety and longevity, must sacrifice their own and their loved ones’ bodies to the Tlic. This necessity breeds a spectrum of reactions, from acceptance and resignation to revulsion and resistance. 

The narrative doesn’t shy away from depicting the harsh realities and painful decisions that survival often demands, challenging the reader to consider the lengths to which one might go to preserve life. 

It raises poignant questions about the value of life, the cost of safety, and the sacrifices individuals and societies are willing to make in the pursuit of continued existence.

3. Personal Autonomy and Choice

At its heart, the book is a profound exploration of personal autonomy and the struggle for self-determination within oppressive systems. 

Through Gan’s journey, the narrative examines the complex interplay between societal obligations and individual desires. 

Gan’s role as a host is preordained, stripping him of the fundamental right to choose his own destiny. His internal conflict, torn between duty and personal freedom, mirrors the broader struggle of the Terrans under the Tlic’s rule. 

The story scrutinizes the notion of consent in a world where choices are limited and heavily influenced by external forces. 

It also touches upon the psychological impact of such constrained autonomy, manifesting in Gan’s feelings of entrapment, fear, and eventual defiance. 

The evolution of his relationship with T’Gatoi, from resignation to a demand for mutual respect and acknowledgement of his agency, symbolizes a larger quest for empowerment and self-governance in the face of overpowering circumstances.

Final Thoughts

This book presents a richly layered narrative that challenges the reader to consider themes of coexistence, power dynamics, and personal autonomy. 

The complex relationship between Gan and T’Gatoi serves as a metaphor for broader issues of colonization, symbiosis, and the ethics of interdependence. 

It’s a compelling exploration of how individuals and cultures navigate and negotiate power imbalances in relationships, provoking thought about the nature of consent and choice in circumstances where they are seemingly constrained.

What Is “Love”? Octavia Butler’s “Bloodchild”

• First Online: 24 July 2020

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• Martin Japtok 2  

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Situating Butler’s “Bloodchild” as a literary descendant of Harriet Jacobs’s Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl , the Narrative of Sojourner Truth , and Harriet Wilson’s Our Nig , Japtok examines how Butler’s story addresses the question of whether “love” can exist when power relations are lopsided. Japtok shows how history, or ideology, provides an important touchstone for love in “Bloodchild” in which love between oppressor and oppressed depends largely on whether the lovers share the same “historical universe.” What is perhaps most important about “Bloodchild,” Japtok concludes, is that it asks us to consider what love is, what its functions are, and if anything else besides love, especially in the presence of stark imbalances of power, can lead to conditions exceeding mere survival.

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Love & Revolution: An Introduction

“The Inquisitr , the Daily Mail , AOL and Cox Media Group all used the word (though Cox later updated its wording). So did an NBC News tweet that drew scathing criticism , though its story accurately called her ‘the enslaved woman who, historians believe, gave birth to six of Jefferson’s children.’ The Washington Post also used ‘mistress’ in a headline and a tweet about Hemings’s room in February” (Danielle 2017 ).

As Susan Knabe and Wendy Gay Pearson ( 2013 , 71) have noted, “Alice … can imagine no relationship with him [Rufus] that is not forced and unwanted, a situation exacerbated by the fact that has her own desired relationship with a black man.”

Definitions taken from Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary (New York: Barnes & Noble, 1996).

Dana Franklin in Butler’s novel Kindred might be said to have such an interest and she is forced to mediate and thus be a transformer. Thelma J. Shinn ( 1996 , 80) has noted, in a discussion of Butler’s Wild Seed , that the “[c]hildren of slavery must within themselves resolve the apparent duality of black and white; the real Necessity has created in them a biological answer, and their combined mythic heritages offer psychological and social answers.”

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Acknowledgments

I wish to thank Venetria Patton for her helpful suggestions in response to a (much) earlier draft of this chapter and Rafiki Jenkins for comments on the present version.

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Japtok, M. (2020). What Is “Love”? Octavia Butler’s “Bloodchild”. In: Japtok, M., Jenkins, J.R. (eds) Human Contradictions in Octavia E. Butler’s Work. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46625-1_4

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Feminism in “Bloodchild” by Octavia Butler

Feminism in “Bloodchild” by Octavia Butler challenges traditional gender roles and explores themes of bodily autonomy and power dynamics within the context of a complex alien society.

Introduction : Feminism in “Bloodchild”

Table of Contents

Feminism in “Bloodchild” by Octavia Butler challenges traditional gender roles and explores themes of bodily autonomy and power dynamics within the context of a complex alien society. Although feminism has reached its peak in transforming patriarchal society by securing political and social rights for women, contemplating the reversal of naturally assigned roles is emerging as a new aspect within feminist discourse. Octavia Butler may epitomize this notion, suggesting that men should also experience the trials and tribulations of childbirth. However, given the seemingly insurmountable natural obstacles and the inherent physical differences between men and women, she opts for the fantasy genre, wherein assigning such roles to different characters becomes plausible, allowing for speculative exploration of the consequences. “Bloodchild” exemplifies this experimental narrative, presenting an impossible feminist approach wherein earthly humans, known as “Terrans,” are placed on an extrasolar planet, living in a space designated for them by the indigenous creatures referred to as the “Tlic.” T’Gatoi, a local Tlic, develops affection for Do Gan, who is significantly younger than her and nearly the age of his mother. She intends to bear children with Do Gan, despite his aversion to this method of reproduction. However, he reluctantly agrees to T’Gatoi’s wishes when she asserts that it would protect Xuan Hoa, his sister. Ultimately, in order to safeguard his sister, he consents to T’Gatoi’s affection, shedding new light on the feminist perspective as men seemingly acquiesce to women’s demands. Octavia Butler employs fantasy to render unfamiliar themes familiar, effectively reversing gender roles in “Bloodchild” and foregrounding questions of human evolution and childbearing as feminist motifs.

Subversion of Gender Roles and Feminism in “ Bloodchild “

Butler subverts traditional gender roles in “Bloodchild,” as Gan is tasked with bearing T’Gatoi’s children—a departure from conventional masculine roles. This new perspective unfolds on an alien planet where T’Gatoi, a strange creature, implants eggs in humans for sustenance and reproduction. T’Gatoi becomes enamored with Gan and strikes a deal with his family, offering protection in exchange for the opportunity to mate with Gan. Despite Gan’s aversion to this role, he reluctantly consents at times, enduring T’Gatoi’s physical aggression with her multiple limbs. Witnessing the gruesome fate of Bram Lomas, impregnated and dissected by another Tlic, Gan confronts the stark reality of his potential fate. When T’Gatoi requests Gan to slaughter an achti, he hesitates, prompting her aggressive response. In these moments, Gan grapples with the reversal of his assumed roles, acknowledging his passive stance in T’Gatoi’s actions. This reversal reflects a potential future where gender dynamics shift, paralleling contemporary trends of women balancing work and motherhood while stay-at-home fathers become increasingly common. While fantastical, Butler’s narrative invites reflection on the plausibility of such role reversals and their implications in reality.

Gestation and Feminism in “ Bloodchild “

The second perspective that Butler presents to her readers revolves around gestation. While women traditionally bear the ability to become pregnant and produce the next generation, Butler explores the implications of reversing this role. She suggests that alongside the power to give birth, women inherently possess physical and political authority, domains often dominated by men. T’Gatoi exemplifies this natural inclination to ensure the survival of her progeny, highlighting the significance of physical health for fertility, as evidenced by the larger and more numerous maggots born from Terran bodies (Butler 9). Additionally, Butler removes love and romance from traditional gender roles, prioritizing gestation above all else. The eggs provided by the Tlic creatures act as opiates, paralleling the intoxicating effect of the sexual act for women. This is reflected in Do Gan’s elder brother’s comment, “You’re just her property” (Butler 11). Furthermore, T’Gatoi’s action of cutting Lomas hints at caesarean sections, a procedure increasingly common for childbirth among women. This suggests a reversal of roles, prompting a reevaluation of male attitudes towards women and their willingness to undergo the trials of childbearing.

Reversal of Roles and Feminism in “ Bloodchild “

Indeed, childbearing emerges as a feminist feature that undergoes reversal in this story, emphasizing the inherent inability of men to bear their own children without the involvement of a female entity. The love-hate dynamic between characters serves as a metaphor, illustrating the inherent differences between men and women and their respective natures. While it remains physically impossible for a man to be impregnated by a woman and bear children, a symbiotic relationship between genders is evident, driven by the necessity for survival. T’Gatoi’s frustration when Do Gan refuses to host her children underscores the vital role both genders play in sustaining the next generation, as she states, “To provide the next generation of host animals” (Butler 13). This disparity between genders is further highlighted by the dependency of Do Gan’s family on T’Gatoi and the Preserve for survival, as emphasized by T’Gatoi’s acknowledgment of the sacrifices made for their well-being. Despite the semblance of love between Do Gan and T’Gatoi, it appears transactional, mirroring instances where individuals engage in relationships or reproduction solely for the preservation of future generations. Butler’s narrative ultimately suggests that the natural gap of dissimilarity between men and women persists, defying attempts to bridge it.

Conclusion : Feminism in “Bloodchild”

In short, the story as seen from a feminist perspective, offering new dimensions to explore potential scenarios, whether they materialize or not. It acknowledges the existence of couples who have reversed traditional roles, excluding childbearing, in various societies. Therefore, it’s natural for the author to reverse roles to examine the reactions it may evoke. There’s a hint of forewarning in the narrative, suggesting that such reversals could lead to sterility, as evidenced by the Tlic species’ struggle with fertility issues. Despite this ominous foreshadowing, Octavia Butler illustrates the possibility of this sterility occurring, with dire consequences for humanity, highlighting the unnaturalness of men bearing children, akin to the repulsive nature of the maggot-bearing scene. This exploration pushes the boundaries of feminist assertion, urging examination of potential consequences for future generations.

Works Cited: Feminism in “ Bloodchild “

Butler, Octavia. “Bloodchild.” Boblyman . n. d. Web. 05 March 2023. http://boblyman.net/englt392/texts/bloodchild.pdf .

Relevant Questions about Feminism in “ Bloodchild “

• How does Feminism in “Bloodchild” challenge traditional gender roles through the portrayal of reproductive dynamics, and what commentary does this offer on the intersection of power and bodily autonomy within feminist discourse?
• In what ways does T’Gatoi’s control over reproduction and her relationship with Gan reflect broader themes of agency and consent in Feminism in “Bloodchild,” particularly concerning the negotiation of power within intimate relationships?
• Considering the reversal of traditional gender roles in Feminism in “Bloodchild,” how does Butler explore the concept of male vulnerability and the societal expectations surrounding masculinity, and what implications does this have for reimagining gender norms within feminist frameworks?

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"Bloodchild" and Other Stories Themes

By octavia e. butler.

These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community. We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own.

Written by Polly Barbour

The Oppression of Women

Particularly in "Bloodchild", the key theme is Butler's imposition of a female identity on a male character; the narrator, Gan , narrates with a female perspective and he is also impregnated giving him the female's ability to carry a child or an egg as its host. The protagonist is raped, experiences incestuous relationships, and is dominated, which is typically the lot of women in both literature and real life. The enslavement of women to the male gender is the main theme of the story, although it is turned upside down in the way it is presented.

The Power of Fear

In "Amnesty", as well as in the titular story "Bloodchild", one of the primary themes is fear. Sometimes this is fear of something tangible, for example, the fear that the humans in "Amnesty" have of the alien Communities, and sometimes it is fear of something less tangible, for example, the way in which Gan, the protagonist in "Bloodchild", feels exploited and violated, but cannot put his finger on a tangible thing that he is frightened of. His fear is a fear of something intangible that he cannot name.

Butler also uses the theme of fear to show that humans are often afraid of anything they do not immediately recognize or feel familiar with, which is why the humans fear the aliens. They do not look like them and her contention is that humans fear anything that is different.

Alien Invasion and Occupation

Obviously because so many of the stories are about the interaction of humans and aliens, one of the key themes is that of alien invasion, although this is presented slightly differently in that it is the humans who have geographically invaded the homelands and planets of the aliens; however the alien invasion is more of a physical one, in that they are using the humans to act as hosts for their eggs and therefore perpetuate their own race at the expense of others. Throughout the stories the relationship between alien and human is never equal; at best it seems able to achieve a level of symbiosis, but it is generally weighted in favor of the alien.

Slavery and Racial Oppression

Butler's contention that people are afraid of what is different ties in with the theme of slavery and racial oppression in that she uses the way in which humans are afraid of the Communities to show that humans are suspicious of anything they do not immediately see as familiar. She also gives the narrator in "Bloodchild" not just the voice of a woman, but the voice of a black woman, and in this way shows how black women are enslaved and expected to comply with their own oppression by both their own and other cultures.

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“Bloodchild” and Other Stories Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for “Bloodchild” and Other Stories is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Study Guide for “Bloodchild” and Other Stories

"Bloodchild" and Other Stories study guide contains a biography of Octavia E. Butler, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About "Bloodchild" and Other Stories
• "Bloodchild" and Other Stories Summary
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Essays for “Bloodchild” and Other Stories

"Bloodchild" and Other Stories essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of "Bloodchild" and Other Stories by Octavia E. Butler.

• Bloodchild: Love is a Bitter Pill to Swallow

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3 “Not Our Own”: Sex, Genre, and the Insect Poetics of Octavia Butler’s “Bloodchild”

• Published: May 2020
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Chapter 3 begins an inquiry into the constitutive role of antiblackness for the logics of scientific taxonomical species hierarchies. The chapter identifies the agentic capaciousness of embodied somatic processes and investigates how matter’s efficacies register social inscription. The chapter also provides a reading of risk, sex, and embodiment in Octavia Butler’s “Bloodchild,” a text that affirms the continued importance of risk for establishing new modes of life and worlding, despite historical violence and embodied vulnerability. “Bloodchild” is instructive for situating the racial, gendered-sexual politics of the idea of evolutionary association, or symbiogenesis, in the historical discourses of evolutionary and cell biology as well as deposing a cross-racially hegemonic conception of the autonomous, bounded body that underwrites phantasies of possessive individualism, self-ownership, and self-determination.

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Octavia E. Butler

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In contrast to the modern western world that prizes individual autonomy, Butler places her characters in a choice-limiting society, forcing them to depend upon each other and accept the needs of others in their lives. The Terrans , being physically inferior to the Tlic , offer a member of each human family as a host to the Tlic’s parasitic offspring. The Tlic offer to protect the Terrans in exchange for being able to dependably and safely birth their young. Although for the Terrans the arrangement is less than ideal, it is the cost of survival on an unforgiving planet, and some Terrans are even able to see the beauty of their mutual benefit. Butler uses this relationship between two starkly different groups to show the value of different parties being willing to forego their independence to preserve societal harmony, juxtaposing that against the selfishness of individuals who refuse to contribute to society or appreciate the contributions of others.

The Terrans and the Tlic form a social contract that allows both races to survive. Butler asserts that there is a shared social responsibility between the two groups. Although the present situation is imperfect, both Terrans and Tlic have achieved stability in the face of death: Tlic, being parasites, need hosts for their eggs to gestate. Prior to the Terrans’ arrival, the animals they previously used as hosts were becoming unable to keep Tlic young alive, and the Tlic were in danger of dying out as a species. Likewise, the Terrans fled from their homeworld, where they were being killed and enslaved by other humans. After the Terrans arrived but before the Preserve was established by T’Gatoi ’s political faction, the Tlic had been caging and breeding Terrans like livestock. The integration of Terran and Tlic families now maintains peace on the Preserve. Where once Terrans and Tlic had been killing each other, now everyone has a vested interest in preventing violence; any collateral damage would hurt both Terrans and Tlic. The two groups thus share the responsibility of supporting each other’s wellbeing and are forced to set aside their own anger, aggression, and fear of that which is “other” within their society. In doing this, they also offer each other better odds of survival and a better, though definitely not perfect, life.

The nature of life on the Preserve means that an individual can thrive when they are willing to live within the interdependent system, submitting to the greater needs of society along with accepting its offerings. This is clearly demonstrated by the members of Gan ’s family. Gan and Xuan Hoa both show affection for T’Gatoi and acceptance of their situation in the Preserve. Although Gan’s affection threatens to turn into hatred and cynicism on the night of Bram Lomas ’s birthing, by leaning into his social responsibility and looking beyond himself, Gan is ultimately able to see the beauty in the relationship between Tlic and Terrans. He comes to appreciate the mutual benefit and the fact that the arrangement is able to exist at all.

  Qui and Lien , by contrast, refuse to submit to the needs of their society and thus cannot see anything positive in their interdependent relationship with the Tlic. They both choose to suffer rather than embrace their situation. Qui, though he hates and fears the Tlic, is greedy for their sterile eggs as a means to escape his situation, enjoying the fruits of others’ societal contributions. Lien, unable to accept that she must let Gan belong to T’Gatoi for the benefit of everyone, rejects even the eggs and chooses to suffer as much as possible; she will neither give nor take, refusing to contribute or to accept the gifts of others. Rather than appreciating the union of two families, Lien hurts herself and the people around her, becoming a cold and distant mother to her children.

Butler seems to portray Gan’s father as the ideal responder to an interdependent reality and a role model for Gan to live up to. He is the successful bearer of three clutches of Tlic eggs as well the father of four Terran children, making him incredibly fruitful in a world that strongly values reproduction. This fruitfulness is due to the fact that Gan’s father accepted every egg offered to him by the Tlic, prolonging his life to twice its natural length. This suggests that the key to thriving in an interdependent world is to contribute to and make sacrifices for the good of the community, and to accept what is given by others in return. By embracing this economy, a harmonious society can be created and new life formed.

Butler has created a complicated reality between the Terrans and the Tlic, one that is both touching and frightening. Rather than elevating independence and personal autonomy as many science fiction writers do, Butler recognizes the complex interdependence of relationships. “Bloodchild” praises the capacity of individuals to accept life on its own terms and lean into the reality that all lives are interconnected. When individuals sacrifice for others and accept sacrifices in return, they are able to create unions that once seemed impossible.

Interdependence ThemeTracker

Interdependence Quotes in Bloodchild

I lay against T’Gatoi’s long, velvet underside, sipping from my egg now and then, wondering why my mother denied herself such a harmless pleasure. Less of her hair would be gray if she indulged now and then. The eggs prolonged life, prolonged vigor. My father, who had never refused one in his life, had lived more than twice as long as he should have. And toward the end of his life, when he should have been slowing down, he had married my mother and fathered four children.

Unwillingly obedient, my mother took it from me and put it to her mouth. There were only a few drops left in the now-shrunken, elastic shell, but she squeezed them out, swallowed, them, and after a few moments some of the lines of tension began to smooth from her face.

“It’s good,” she whispered. “Sometimes I forget how good it is.”

“You should take more,” T’Gatoi said. “Why are you in such a hurry to be old?”

T’Gatoi was hounded on the outside. Her people wanted more of us made available. Only she and her political faction stood between us and the hordes who did not understand why there was a Preserve—why any Terran could not be courted, paid, drafted, in some way made available to them. Or they did understand, but in their desperation, they did not care. She parceled us out to the desperate and sold us to the rich and powerful for their political support. Thus, we were necessities, status symbols, and an independent people.

Years passed. T’Gatoi traveled and increased her influence. The Preserve was hers by the time she came back to my mother to collect what she probably saw as her just reward for her hard work.

I had been told all my life that this was a good and necessary thing the Tlic and Terran did together—a kind of birth. I had believed it until now. I knew birth was painful and bloody, no matter what. But this was something else, something worse. And I wasn’t ready to see it. Maybe I never would be.

“ I saw them eat a man .” He paused. “It was when I was little. I had been to the Hartmund house and I was on my way home. Halfway here, I saw a man and a Tlic, and the man was N’Tlic. The ground was hilly. I was able to hide from them and watch. The Tlic wouldn’t open the man because she had nothing to feed the grubs. The man couldn’t go any further and there were no houses around. He was in so much pain, he told her to kill him. He begged her to kill him. Finally, she did. She cut his throat. One swipe of one claw. I saw the grubs eat their way out, then burrow in again, still eating.”

I shook my head. “Don’t do it to her, Gatoi.” I was not Qui. It seemed I could become him, though, with no effort at all. I could make Xuan Hoa my shield. Would it be easier to know that red worms were growing in her flesh instead of mine?

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Italian Boxer Quits Bout, Sparking Furor Over Gender at Olympics

The Italian, Angela Carini, stopped fighting only 46 seconds into her matchup against Imane Khelif of Algeria, who had been barred from a women’s event last year.

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By Tariq Panja and Jeré Longman

Reporting from Paris

An Italian boxer abandoned her bout at the Paris Olympics after only 46 seconds on Thursday, refusing to continue after taking a heavy punch from an Algerian opponent who had been disqualified from last year’s world championships over questions about her eligibility to compete in women’s sports.

The Italian boxer, Angela Carini, withdrew after her Algerian opponent, Imane Khelif, landed a powerful blow that struck Carini square in the face. Carini paused for a moment, then turned her back to Khelif and walked to her corner. Her coaches quickly signaled that she would not continue, and the referee stopped the fight.

Khelif, 25, was permitted to compete at the Olympics even though she had been barred last year after boxing officials said she did not meet eligibility requirements to compete in a women’s event. Another athlete also barred from last year’s world championships under similar circumstances, Lin Yu-ting, has also been cleared to fight in Paris.

The International Boxing Association, which ran those championships and ordered the disqualifications, offered little insight into the reasons for the boxers’ removal, saying in a statement that the disqualifications came after “the athletes did not undergo a testosterone examination but were subject to a separate and recognized test .”

The association said that test, the specifics of which it said were confidential, “conclusively indicated that both athletes did not meet the required necessary eligibility criteria and were found to have competitive advantages over other female competitors.”

Those rules, which the boxing association adopted for the 2016 Rio Games, are the same ones the International Olympic Committee is operating under as the authority running the boxing tournament at the Paris Games. But the rules, the I.O.C. confirmed, do not include language about testosterone or restrictions on gender eligibility beyond a single line saying “gender tests may be conducted.”

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