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In this episode of the Strange Horizons podcast, editor Courtney Floyd presents E. A. Xiong's "Si Shou."

You can read the full story and learn more E. A. Xiong here.

Content warnings for this episode include:

  • Blood
  • Body transformation
  • Death/dying
  • Mental health issues
  • Sex
  • Suicide


E. A. Xiong, born in Changsha, China, now lives and writes on the land of the Darug people, in territory otherwise known as Sydney, Australia. She may be reached online @calvinoist.
Current Issue
9 Feb 2026

“I’ve never actually visited the pā before,” she said out loud. “Is this where they gather lāʻī to make the pūʻolo?” she asked. “Yes,” Benny responded, glancing to see where Nanea was pointing. “Here and in other places as well. Many of these ti have been growing for decades now.” She paused for a moment. “I think about all the work you guys do, you know, up in those offices, and I think that all of that work actually starts from right here, in the ground, all covered in the earth and the pōhaku and the ti. Most people don’t even know it, but it all starts right here.
sometime in the night, we heard rocking and knocking and rapping and tapping, a million trillion tiny feet
The triangles bred and twisted, replicating themselves.
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