I came to this issue by clicking on other Valente's stories besides "Silently and Very Fast". Mantis Wives by Kij Johnson was... a gory allegory? I'm unclear and I didn't quite care for it. Pity, because Ponies, of the same writer, was too a gory allegory that is awesome in it's absolute cruelty. ...
Amazing short form story. Creepy science fiction at it's best.