Just Like You

Oh-Four-Two-See was to be the prototype unit for a revolutionary new line of Syntech models and the promise of a much needed economic boost for a struggling nation. On the night of the nation's elections, a radical anti-Syntech movement assumes power and Oh-Four-Two-See discovers exactly how closely he resembles his human designers.As a synonym for diamond, “blue rock,” promises marriage and an engagement ring. The phrase also evokes music, spanning both the blues and hard-driving rock. “Blue rock” also holds an element of fire, as in anthracite, or “hard coal,” as well as a fiery pounding, as happens with a ritual hammer-stone. Like the process of forming diamonds itself, these 80 love poems compress passion and betrayal, with results resembling fossilized ferns in bedrock as well as the protracted metamorphosis into crystalline jewels or flames.