Alternate worlds: in which food is no fun

In this world, food is not enjoyed, or even thought about. A perfectly balanced combination of nutrients is devised personally for each individual based on their body chemistry, and taken as one might take a vitamin. No one prepares food, or eats together, or eats anything at all other than this daily requirement. In this …

Your darkest secret

I've been listening to Solaris, by Stanislaw Lem, and it is so far amazing. Imagine your darkest, most embarrassing, strangest thought. The thing you are most ashamed or guilty for thinking--maybe it just popped into your head, unplanned, as thoughts often do. Now imagine that thought made flesh, and following you around for all to …

Alternate worlds: in which love is mandatory

Jimmy wakes up on the morning of his 18th birthday and drives to the clinic for his mandatory injection of love serum. This is a special medicine that makes him fall in love with the next person he sees. This is required of all adult citizens, once per year. It is very unlikely that the …

Alternate worlds: in which I didn’t burn my bacon

Incoming, a series of posts about alternate realities that we almost lived in. Or maybe some we never had a chance to live in... In this alternate world, I didn't leave the bacon in the oven for nearly an hour and come out with black strips of salty carbon. In this world, I remembered and …

Rewriting someone else

In 1Q84, a writer is rewriting the novel of a dyslexic teen who dictated the entire thing to a friend. He finds passion in rewriting it, because the story is very appealing to him and he wants to improve the writing to bring out the nugget of goodness within it. I wonder if I could …