Fairy Tale Spotlight: How's the Night Life on Cissalda? [Short Story Review]

[I spoil the main points of the story but not the actual ending.]

"How's the Night Life on Cissalda?" is a short science fiction story written by Harlan Ellison. It was published in 1977. This is another comedy story.

The idea here is that there is a scientific excursion team sent through time and space to alternate versions of Earth. One traveler, interestingly named Enoch, finds a version of Earth that's been taken over by a race of gross looking aliens called the Cissaldans. These ugly creatures give off some sort of aura or pheromone that makes people want to have sex with them... forever. Like they just have sex with them nonstop until they starve to death. Enoch is pulled back to his own world while engaged sexually with one of this creatures.

The way these creatures travel through space is through spontaneous teleportation. They just think of where they want to be and then they poof into that spot. They are always looking for people to have sex with... forever. When Enoch brings back his own Cissaldan, that creature sends a telepathic thought to its home planet, and suddenly every man, woman, and animal on Earth ends up having their own Cissaldan to have fun with... forever.

Most of the story is a comedically written. It goes over all the different people in the world who are stopping what they are doing and having sex with these things. My favorite was the cameo appearance of William Shatner who, acting like his Captain Kirk character, went out of his way to make contact with them. That made me laugh. But the point here is that all activity on Earth suddenly stops because everyone wants to have sex, and nobody is going to stop having sex until they die. It is literally the end of the world.

I actually did enjoy reading "How's the Night Life on Cissalda?" and I do recommend it. It is a funny idea, and it's really just there to put a smile on your face. The ending is a bit dark, but it doesn't subtract too much from the comedy that leads up to it.

This blog was written on August 28, 2024.

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