Be Three, by Jewelle Gomez (sci-fi short story, 2015)

[lb_lee]

"There will always be two voices; I didn't know that at first. I'm sorry. Your work will be to find the balance, to know when to follow which voice. One will be rash, angry, cold, dangerous; the other is sensitive, empathetic, innocent. Both are valid when in balance. But you cannot let go of one and follow only the other. You'll... you won't survive. You won't survivie unless you can carry all the realities!"

Blurb: After merging into one being at the end of Lynx and Strand, the new woman, Tryna, discovers that it's not as simple as just becoming a tabula rasa...

Why is it worth your time?: When we tripped over this sequel to Lynx and Strand in the sci-fi library, we couldn't read it fast enough! Fusion between singlets is an unusual enough twist on the "we fuse, the end" premise, for it to not BE the end, and for Tryna to struggle with being one person... this is a story that rarely gets told, and it's good! Give it a go!

Plural Tags: abuse low focus, fusion/integration, identityblending, setting-specific, voices

Content Warnings: none

Access Notes: Available as ebook, hardcover, and softcover. It's also available to borrow on archive.org!

Misc Notes: This is a sequel to Lynx and Strand, but there is absolutely NO WAY TO KNOW THIS if you hadn't read Lynx and Strand already; nobody mentions it ANYWHERE, far as I know.