The United States

The United States of America is the broad-strokes setting for the story (the specific location within the U.S. where the action takes place is never explicitly defined). The relationship between this broad-strokes setting and one of the story's key themes - specifically, its exploration of interactions with "the other" - is important to note. This is because various aspects of America's history are defined, at least in part, by violent relationships between a community that perceives itself as a core, or dominant, community, and a community perceived by that dominant community as "other" - different, threatening in both violent and non-violent ways, and therefore a danger to be confronted and perhaps ultimately disposed of. This combination of setting and theme is a key component of why this story can be considered an allegory.

The Research Station

Much of the action in the story's main narrative...