Bloodchild

So I decided to take a break from Kindred and read Bloodchild, one of Octavia's short works. Let me tell you... this story is crazy. It is about a race of huge centipedes called the Tlic and their birthing process. The Tlic basically reproduce by putting their larvae into hosts which are a source of food for the young. When the larvae hatch, they send out poison to their hosts to kill them and then they eat them. It is pretty messed up.
The usual hosts that the Tlic use are starting to grow defenses against the larvae which is when Humans enter the picture. The Tlic create a symbiotic relationship with the Humans making them willing hosts in exchange for not treating them like slaves and breaking up their families like they usually did. The government sets aside a patch of land for the Humans to live on while they still exploit them.
T'Gatoi, a government official, is very close with her human family that birthed her. Gan, a son of the family, is promised to be the birther of her eggs. Gan is understandably extremely scared of this after he hears a story about an extremely violent birth. He wants to kill himself instead of being a birther. If he does kill himself, his sister will have the responsibility of carrying the eggs, so he decides not to commit suicide.
This whole thing is just messed up. However, this bizarre story intrigued me and kept me reading until the end. Also, I think I will have nightmares.