WML: “Love is the Plan the Plan is Death,” by James Tiptree, Jr.

Tiptree, Jr., James. (1973) “Love is the Plan the Plan is Death.” 6,600 words. Lightspeed Magazine. ★★★★★ Meandering monologue delivered by an alien to his lover. Wayback here.

This isn’t exactly the easiest read, but if you’re confused, well, so is the protagonist. You’re both learning! It bears a second read once you’ve finished and have some more context. The flow is stream of consciousness, but deliberate, and the prose isn’t wasteful and the monologue is purposeful; this isn’t a random chat. Much more is implied than stated, especially concerning the biology of our narrator and the narrator of his world. There’s some fairly explicit sex, but the narrator is an alien and so is his lover. Very earnest, very sad; sort of a romantic Darwinian horror story.