What is a central theme in the text?

Human Nature

The traumatic experiences and impossible scenarios in which the characters are thrust call into question the definition of humanity and what makes us scared. Each of the different characters find themselves in scenarios that act upon their fears, commenting that fears are relative to the individual and their past life experience. For instance, Paul’s fear of the Wild Wheel creatures stem from his personal regret for having started the turn of events that got his friends killed in “Dark Carousel.” In Mal’s case in “Thumbprint,” though, she took part in the gruesome war crimes, so her fear is of losing the goodness in herself. Many of the stories force the characters into life-threatening scenarios. The inclusion of this insists that humans are afraid their own demise. In the very least, they fear people who threaten their way of life.