I Read Stories: Pandora's Formula by Hannah Yang

 

Pandora’s Formula by Hannah Yang in Strange Horizons

In school Minju was Em’s bully. Now they’re on honeymoon in Mexico. They hear the news. Scientists have released a formula that creates a poisonous gas, one that just kills humans. Worse, it creates a chain reaction in the atmosphere that will cause it to spread until the entire world is uninhabitable. It needs some knowledge and equipment, but not a lot, nothing that can’t be bought off the shelf.

So what do they do with their honeymoon? They had to save, they’re on a budget that Minju seems determined to break. Em is worried, considers going home. People react in various ways, not coming to work, not going to activities. The human race is at the mercy of the most bloody-minded member.

Once Minju bullied Em, was her worst enemy. Once Minju was the one in school who stood up to teachers who were unfair. Once Em wanted to be like Minju and now they’re married.

Read This: A story of how childhood cruelty blossomed into adult love despite obstacles, and reactions when threatened with owning destructive power
Don’t Read This: The apocalyptic threat is too oblique a commentary on the relationship to make sense and vice versa