At the '' SF Site '' , Paul Kincaid considered the story " promising " , but ultimately " disappointing since it never quite explores its idea with the courage it demands , and ends flatly rather than with the resolution that could have lifted it . " '' Strange Horizons '' questioned the story 's presence in 2006 's '' James Tiptree Award Anthology 2 '' , as its " gender credentials appear rather weak " . '' Tangent Online '' lauded the story 's " forgiving , we 're - all-in-this-together outlook " ; Abigail Nussbaum , however , called it unmemorable and ' essentially plotless ' , with " ( t ) he ordinariness of Barbara 's problems overwhelm ing the extraordinariness of their setting . " Gunn has noted that , when she wrote the story in 1997 — prior to the Columbine High School massacre — the idea of a school being legally forbidden to prevent students from being armed , and therefore installing technology to monitor students ' emotional state in the hopes of detecting aggression , was intended as satire
Columbine High School massacre
Columbine High School massacre
Nirvana High