I had heard about this particular short story before, but had avoided reading it for a) lack of interest in Marcus Cole, and b) being squicked by the premise.
Now that I've actually read it: Marcus's situation - 300 years away from all he knew - is very poignant, and makes you question Ivanova's decision to keep him frozen. (He has a point complaining, too.) I'd say it was mostly because of her sense guilt. BUT. The solution Marcus and the story come up with is indeed as squicky as I feared. Cloning Ivanova, adding her memories up to Marcus' death and keeping the truth from her so Marcus has an Ivanova of his very own - really, JMS? Basicallly Marcus creates a new life - because cloned! Susan is not the late Ivanova, whatever he tells himself, we're all individuals, and this is a new person - to finally get his romantic reward. :( I suppose the one thing that separates Marcus from Warren Mears in Buffy is that cloned!Ivanova has no programming to punish her when she does something he does not want. I hope.
Because squicked me thinks directly after this story ends, NeoSusan wants to check on her old friends, finds out the truth, tells Marcus she never wants to see him again and strikes out on her own. That gets the bad taste out of my mouth. Somewhat.
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Now that I've actually read it: Marcus's situation - 300 years away from all he knew - is very poignant, and makes you question Ivanova's decision to keep him frozen. (He has a point complaining, too.) I'd say it was mostly because of her sense guilt. BUT. The solution Marcus and the story come up with is indeed as squicky as I feared. Cloning Ivanova, adding her memories up to Marcus' death and keeping the truth from her so Marcus has an Ivanova of his very own - really, JMS? Basicallly Marcus creates a new life - because cloned! Susan is not the late Ivanova, whatever he tells himself, we're all individuals, and this is a new person - to finally get his romantic reward. :( I suppose the one thing that separates Marcus from Warren Mears in Buffy is that cloned!Ivanova has no programming to punish her when she does something he does not want. I hope.
Because squicked me thinks directly after this story ends, NeoSusan wants to check on her old friends, finds out the truth, tells Marcus she never wants to see him again and strikes out on her own. That gets the bad taste out of my mouth. Somewhat.