Clarkesworld Magazine Crabs Don't Scream by H.H. Pak (audio)
Oct 15, 2025
In a fantastical tale, a clerk recording the last moments of Earth slips through time, adopting a borrowed identity. Torn between duty and the allure of a human commuter, they grapple with ethics and personal desire. Amidst bureaucratic changes, they're drawn into a void encounter with a monstrous worm that threatens the archives. With a timely rescue and promotion, the clerk ultimately seeks solace as a crab, embracing love and solitude on Tea Garden. This poignant story explores the balance between responsibility and human connection.
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Identity As Curated Construct
- The clerk's body is an artificial median built from trillions of data points with one stolen human face.
- This reveals identity as a curated, rule-breaking construct rather than innate selfhood.
Value Of Messy Records
- Clerks archive human lives across formats to preserve entropy and idiosyncrasy.
- The repository's refusal to standardize protects nuance but creates chaotic labor for clerks.
Small Acts Outweigh Grand Endpoints
- Admin's imposed 'major turning points' compress history into palatable pivots that clerks resent.
- The clerk argues genuine historical significance lies in messy, small human acts, not grand endpoints.