Visual imagery of blood and the process of pregnancy and childbirth
The story “Bloodchild” is filled with the imagery of blood, with scenes of visual portrayal of extractions of the Tilc young from a human body, eerily similar to an actual childbirth. The representation of pregnancy is furthered with the ending with Gan’s impregnation and her promise to always stay by him.
"That was the way the grubs were anchored and the way they fed. They took only blood until they were ready to emerge. Then they ate their stretched, elastic egg cases. Then they ate their hosts."
Visual imagery of a cage
On the planet Tilc, humans are kept contained in controlled areas, being able to live seemingly normal lives, but forced to fulfill their duties of bearing the Tilc children. Gan’s friend Qui doesn’t want to accept their way of life, angry that they are living in the Preserve. Despite the efforts to convince themselves otherwise, the imagery of confinement and cage is prevalent. Humans are often times compared to animals used and discarded by the Tilc.
Imagery of the silence
The story “Speech Sounds” portrays a world of silence, the only language being the body language, after all the humanity lost their cognitive abilities of speech, reading and writing. There is no verbal dialogue in the story, the lack of speech and the presence of silence is suffocating until the very end when Rye reveals to the children that she hasn’t lost her ability to speak.
Imagery in the “Amnesty”
The “Amnesty” is a story that despite its immersive narration, has a simple plot: a woman working for an alien species that invaded Earth interviews other potential workers. The core of the story lies in the visual portrayal of the alien species called “Communities”, who are visually described as having a plant-like appearance.
