A Planet for Rent

Earth is a third-rate planet, and we humans just have to get over it. Civilizations from across the universe have contacted us, taken a look around, and failed to be impressed. The reaction is common to the beautiful, evolved felines of Tau Ceti; the twelve-foot tall, red-scaled, reptilian Collosaurs; the aquatic polyps of Alderbaran; and, the other members of the Intergalactic League. Earth has not been invited to join. Our planet is good for nothing more than raw materials and tourism - especially sex tourism. One of the principal duties of the Planetary Tourism Agency is the licensing of Social Workers - an easily decoded euphemism. The PTA deals in Social Workers and Body Spares, those convicted criminals whose bodies are made available to aliens who find functioning in earth's environment difficult. Body Spares are often returned worse for wear if not dead, and there is naturally no recourse. The Xenoids are in charge. Early on they had to sink Africa to make a point, but after a generation or more on the planet things run for the most part smoothly, with the oversight of the PTA and PSF, the latter the Planetary Security Force. Humans are even allowed their peculiar proclivity of democratic government.

Yoss, the pen name of José Sánchez Gómez, is both a lead singer in a heavy metal band and an iconic Cuban literary figure who has written over 20 science fiction novels. Planet for Rent (2001) is a series of loosely linked short stories interspersed with brief sections addressing aspects of interplanetary colonialism. One story involves a group who attempts to leave the planet in their own, makeshift space vehicle. This intergalactic version of the rafts refugees launched from Cuba for decades is the most direct reference to the Castro era. Most of what Yoss describes applies to the West's treatment of the Third World from a time before the term existed to today. Along with our intriguing genitals, our galactic betters enjoy our music, art, and sports. But there are limits to their tolerance, whether they are dealing with a kid throwing a rock at a Collosuar, a sports figure who seriously challenges a visiting team, or a Security Force member who thinks he has anything resembling real authority.

Yoss's novel is funny and disturbing, with every episode tweaking a nerve. Both his aliens and his humans emerge as fully imagined characters, and the novel ends with a story of how the system ensconced in this future world poisons everything and everyone it touches.

Yoss's novel is the first of two books that kicks off a series of Cuban science fiction from Restless Books. Two more titles are due in 2016.