All Mimsy Were the Borogoves (short story)
All Mimsy Were the Borogroves was the first story in the Bernice Summerfield anthology Nobody's Children. It was written by Kate Orman.
Summary
Bernice Summerfield's vacation on Phaaag Zenbrou is interrupted when Mim diplomat Lwpha seeks her help in saving the Mim's children from Draconian forces who have annexed the colony world of Proxima Longissima as part of ongoing war efforts.
Plot
Holidaying on the vacation planet Phaaag Zenbrou, Bernice and Jason enjoy an intimate session together while Peter is being looked after by his grandfather, Isaac. Unbeknownst to the pair of them, they are being observed by a Mim shapeshifter, Lwpha, who later introduces themself to Bernice as a diplomat who seeks her assistance in rescuing the Mim's children from the colony world Proxima Longissima, which has been overrun by Draconian forces.
Crash-landing on Longissima in a spaceship, Bernice and Lwpha infiltrate a Draconian camp with Lwpha disguised as a Draconian guard and Bernice their prisoner. They are introduced to the Draonican zoologist Cheset and observe her experimentations on a deceased Mim child in her efforts to prove the Joyce-Gate hypothesis that Mim are non-sentient, which would allow the Draconians to use a slew of new weapons otherwise prohibited by law. During this time, the base is attacked by Mim resistance fighters.
All of the Draconians are killed, including Cheset, while Bernice and Lwpha are separated. Lwpha recovers after several hours and soon locates Bernice, who has been drifting out to sea. The Mim resistance arrive and apologise for getting the pair caught up in the attack. Lwpha introduces Bernice to the borogove of Mim children and, alongside another Mim, Spong, they help to safely evacuate the children from the planet. The trio are attacked by Draconian laser beams and Spong is killed. Stranded on the water world, Bernice finally decides to take and send a photograph into the network which will ensure they are retrieved.
to be added
Characters
- Lwpha
- Bernice Summerfield
- Jason Kane
- Isaac Summerfield
- Peter Summerfield
- Jekhet
- Jarith Kothar
- Cheset
- Spong
References
- Lwpha initially disguised themself as a Kapteynian madder-lily ornamental plant in Bernice Summerfield's hotel room.
- The Mim have such a thing as a sinking theatre.
- Lwpha hails from the Mim colony world Proxima Longissima. The Mim name for it translates as "Holiday Home". Another Mim colony was on Teegarden's star.
- Bernice is holidaying on the planet Phaaag Zenbrou which is home to the native Zenbrouli.
- Bernice noted that Lwpha was whistling "I Am the Walrus", and later sang "I'm Walking Backwards For Christmas".
- A Lacaillian prospecting vessel passed through Proxima Longissima's Oort cloud.
- One of the Draconian bases was on Ushumgallu.
- Bernice thought that the Mim got their name from the word "mimic", however, Lwpha informed her that they actually got their name from the ancient human word "coy".
- Xebec were native marine life on Proxima Longissima.
- Bernice and Lwpha took on the identities of Frymer and Kherue respectively.
- City Fourteen was a location on Proxima Longissima.
- The Joyce-Gate hypothesis suggested that the Mim were not sentient and rather sock puppets to entities from another dimension.
- Lwpha took on the form of a water-based "sea dragon" from Ninmah 5.
- Lwpha joined the Enmity.
- Knaubetj the Three Horned Face was the Draconian Spirit of Chaos.
Notes
- The story's title is taken from Lewis Carroll's poem Jabberwocky, albeit misspelling "Borogove" as "Borogrove".
Continuity
- Every living thing on the Mimsphere was destroyed. (AUDIO: Freedom of Information)
- Bernice refers to her and Jason's hypothetical future child as "Keith" or "Keithette", and later recalls the events of her previous interaction with her child Keith from the future. (PROSE: Return of the Living Dad)
- Jarith Kothar was the Draconian ambassador. (AUDIO: The Judas Gift, AUDIO: Freedom of Information)
- President Fiona was in charge of the Earth Embassy. (AUDIO: The Final Amendment)
- Lwpha compared leaving their children to the Draconians to Bernice leaving Peter Summerfield to the Fifth Axis. (PROSE: The Fall, et al.)
