Things With Beards’ is a science fiction short story by Sam J. Miller. It captures the struggles of Cal, an ex-convict who returns to New York City after a trip to an alien planet. Cal finds it hard to fit into society, as he struggles with hiding his identity being alien-infected. The story uses the protagonist’s double life of concealing his extraterrestrial transformation along with his homosexuality during the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. The narrative uses speculative fiction as an allegory to discuss social stigma.
Cal
Authors: Sam J. Miller No Year(s) tags for this post.
