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Analysis Of Charles Stross's 'Rogue Farm'

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In "Rogue Farm," Charles Stross tells the story of Joe and Maddie 's encounter with the farm, a creature who is not a unique being but rather a collection of individuals. Because of the farm 's monstrous looks and lack of resemblance to humans, Maddie and Joe instantly develop a sense of hostility towards it. Maddie especially takes issue with the farm. She screams at it to get off Joe and Maddie 's property and is terrified by the farm, which causes her nightmares. Maddie is also bothered when the farm starts planting down feeder roots so that the farm could blast off to Jupiter. Yet, despite a strong sense of animosity towards the farm, Maddie, at the end of the story, gives up her individual body to be a part of the farm. Why did Maddie 's perception of the farm change? Laurel Bollinger would explain Maddie 's change in perception by stating that her personality was more inclined to join the farm. In "Symbiogenesis, Selfhood, and Science Fiction," Bollinger examines the notion of symbiogenesis, the process in which organisms combine to form "an entirely new organism", and its appeal (Margulis in Bollinger 43). She would conclude that Maddie always had qualities that made her predisposed to "plural selfhood," which Bollinger defines as having multiple selves combined into one body (Bollinger 43). But, Stross 's portrayal of Maddie suggests she joined the farm after learning that she could still maintain an "autonomous selfhood," which is the ability to preserve one 's
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