It Could Happen Here: CZM Book Club – “Black Hole” by November Rush

Date: February 15, 2026
Host: Margaret Killjoy (Cool Zone Media & iHeartPodcasts)

Episode Overview

This special installment of the Cool Zone Media Book Club features the short story “Black Hole” by November Rush, pulled from the queer horror anthology Bury Your Gaze, edited by Sophia Azhram. Host Margaret Killjoy leads listeners through the tale—described up front as a psychedelic, tragic love story about codependent, body-jumping, parasitic entities lost and found in each other across countless lives and forms.

The episode explores the visceral body horror, cosmic romance, and metaphorical undertones in Rush’s debut work, reflecting on themes of identity, codependence, the alienation of love, and the human body's fragility.

Key Discussion Points & Story Breakdown

1. Introduction and Context

[02:44 – 04:15]

• Margaret sets the tone: “Hazel pitched this story to me as: what if Alien was about the horror of falling in love? … a space journey through psychedelic, out-of-control body horror… parasitic body jumping, codependent lesbians searching to find each other again and the wake of destruction they leave behind them.”
• The story’s source is established—Bury Your Gaze, a queer horror anthology.

Key quote:

“It’s about parasitic body jumping, codependent lesbians searching to find each other again and the wake of destruction they leave behind them. That sounds like romance to me.” – Margaret Killjoy, [02:55]

2. Reading of “Black Hole” – Act 1: Infection and Transformation

[04:15 – 14:41]

• We’re introduced to Morgan Christie, a human scientist, experimenting with an alien plant.
• Morgan is stricken by a psychedelic, invasive consciousness that floods her mind with ancient, kaleidoscopic memories—of countless lives and relationships with Void, another entity.
• Dread and alienation escalate as Morgan loses control to the invader, Star.
• Star seizes Morgan’s body, seeking to reunite with Void (who is presumed to be hiding among the ship’s crew).

Key quote:

“Morgan is intoxicated by the dizzying rush of unfamiliar memories … most of all the frigid loss, the grief when they are torn apart. The cold of searching, searching for the warmth of hoping, the heat of finding.” – narration, [06:10]

Memorable moment:

• Star’s impression of human intellect: “This is the first time in maybe years she has had access to a mind capable of this level of intellect.” – narration, [06:31]

3. Reading of “Black Hole” – Act 2: The Lovers Reunite

[14:41 – 30:57]

• Star, now in Morgan’s body, prowls through the ship, implicitly hunting for Void (her ancient lover) among the crew.
• Void reveals herself occupying “Cole,” the ship’s anxious tech, donning subtle signals to Star.
• The two entities, in human forms, find a private space and reunite physically and emotionally, remarking on the limitations and sensations of human bodies.
• Discussion of the ethics and consequences of their body hopping, acknowledging the death of the original hosts but rationalizing it as “incorporating their memories with respect.”

Notable moments & quotes:

• Void wears a necklace and clothes symbolizing their shared history:

  “Her uniform hangs awkwardly... her collar is fraying in a very specific way....the patterns ... form a word in a language only spoken several galaxies away, the name of a cult they had founded...” – narration, [16:36]

• Loving and disturbing moments of physicality:

  “Void’s narrow, cold hands slide under Star’s clothing completely and begin to demonstrate what human bodies can do.” – narration, [27:44]

• Metaphorical commentary:

  “Maybe this could be our shot. We could live a thousand years among these humans and not run out of things to be. ... I want to stop running, Love.” – Star to Void, [22:17]

4. Reading of “Black Hole” – Act 3: Death, Contagion, and Collapse

[33:34 – 41:36]

• The rest of the human crew discovers something is wrong—star and void’s predations have become violence and chaos.
• Action sequence: Cole’s body attacks, is shot and mutilated, spreading spores.
• The infection (the parasitic consciousnesses) jumps hosts chaotically; bodies are graphically destroyed or violated by alien fungus and violence.
• Desperate attempts by Star and Void to “save” each other or cling together across dying bodies collapse into defeat.
• Major theme: the horror and finality of trying, failing to merge entirely with someone you love, no matter the destruction.

Memorable moments:

• Descriptions of body horror and alien transmission:

  “She’s drier inside than Jace thought she would be, all the puff of what looked like dust that rises from the crater of her face may contribute to that impression. Not dust ... Those must be the spores.” – narration, [35:40]

• “Oh. Unexpected. There's two of them. Jace fires into the doctor's chest. Morgan sputters and chokes anew.” – narration, [36:53]

• A reflection on codependence:

  “I always felt, even with our bodies pressed together, I could never get close enough to you to slake my thirst. And look at us now. We have become divine, not for the power and expansiveness of us, but for the end of our story, at once one heart and the dagger thrust through it.” – Void, interior monologue, [41:00]

5. Host Reflection and Literary Analysis

[41:36 – 48:22]

• Margaret interprets the story’s duality:

  • As a tale about codependent, consuming romantic love (if you treat Star and Void as the protagonists).
  • As a metaphor for the out-of-body experience and surrender of identity that occurs during intense, new love (if you focus on the perspective of Morgan and Cole, the human hosts).

• Hazel’s (Margaret’s collaborator) take:

  “It felt so relatable to new relationship energy when I often find myself consumed by something that feels so much bigger than my bodily needs. Like, no, I don’t want to get out of bed to eat. I want to keep cuddling.” – Hazel via Margaret, [43:40]

• Margaret emphasizes the story’s effectiveness as science fiction, comparing its thematic ambiguity and sensory overload to the best of the genre:

  “What science fiction does best, you know, is make these like non-subtle metaphors… yet we can’t grasp the entirety of what it’s saying about everything. ... I just really like that about art and I think science fiction is incredibly well poised to do this.” – Margaret Killjoy, [44:45]

• She adds a self-aware note about taste, accessibility, and why the story’s psychedelic style almost turned her off, before encouraging listeners to revisit or reread for deeper meaning.

6. About November Rush (Author)

[46:37]

• November Rush is a tattoo artist and painter based in Montreal, with “Black Hole” as her debut story.
• Listeners can follow her visual and literary work on Instagram and Bluesky (@novemberrush, @novemberrush.bsky.social).

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• “The love of void is unlike anything Morgan has ever felt. The confusion of her self-destructive love for the metamorphizing Void calls an old human story to mind.” – narration, [07:33]
• “I want to stop running, Love. And I want to hop less, as little as possible.” – Star, [22:20]
• “Void ... says, ‘I would know you anywhere and anything.’” – Void, [20:05]
• “We are aspirational and cautionary. God creatures should be parables. Star's tiny fungal corpse will be processed and expelled invisibly by Jace's body. Void won't even have a smear of mucus to weep over. The emptiness of a cold universe stretches away from her on all sides. The end.” – narration, [41:00]
• “What science fiction does best, you know, is make these like non-subtle metaphors yet that are still somehow psychedelic… we feel its meaning and we can point to pieces of it, but we can’t grasp the entirety.” – Margaret Killjoy, [44:45]

Important Segment Timestamps

• [02:44] Opening remarks and story context
• [04:15] Story introduction—Morgan’s infection
• [14:41] Star and Void’s reunion, body horror, intimacy
• [33:34] Action/horror climax, crew’s struggle
• [41:36] Literary reflection and thematic breakdown
• [46:37] About the author segment
• [48:22] Outro and credits

Tone and Style

The discussion is irreverent yet deeply analytical. There’s a warm, wry sense of humor throughout, but the reading of “Black Hole” is vividly unsettling—its horror and romance rendered in lush, strange prose. Margaret and her collaborators walk a line between literary criticism, personal reaction, and genre enthusiasm.

For Listeners Who Missed the Episode

• This episode is a full-cast/host readthrough of “Black Hole,” a tragic science fiction love story interweaving body horror with queerness, identity, and cosmic loss.
• Margaret’s commentary provides analysis, places the story within the sci-fi tradition, and reflects on queer, codependent love depicted as both transcendent and catastrophic.
• If you like psychedelic, dark fiction that explores love as both transformative and destructive—particularly through the lens of marginalized identity—this episode offers both a wild ride and meaty discussion.

“Take care. Love the ones closest to you. I’ll see you next week. Fuck ICE. Bye.”
– Margaret Killjoy, [47:45]