Ice Planet Barbarians

Georgie Carruthers finds herself in a foul-smelling room that reminds her of “a cargo bay from some weird science fiction movie” (2). There is a strange bump in her arm, a tracking device. Another captive introduces herself as Liz and explains that numerous women have been captured, all aged 22, healthy, and with no close family ties. One woman, Megan, was pregnant when abducted, and the aliens forcibly terminated her pregnancy. Another captive, Kira, has been fitted with a translation device that she cannot remove; she translates the aliens’ speech for the other captives. Tubes along the walls contain further captives in stasis.

The women have worked out that their captors are traffickers who intend to sell the women. Liz cautions Georgie against screaming. Georgie, overwhelmed, cries herself to sleep.

As several days pass, Georgie struggles with the dehumanization of captivity. There is no place to dispose of waste, and food and water are scarce. There are two groups of aliens. One group works as guards, whom she calls “little green men”: They are “fragile” and make “bird noises” (7). The other group she calls “basketball heads” because of their appearance. The captives are afraid of the “basketball heads” who are violent.