At the Trough
In the year 2051, America looks much different from today. Nearly everyone lives in apartment mega-complexes, called Plexes. These self-sustaining, environmentally friendly complexes are miles long and contain all the commercial needs of its residents. Education has changed, as well. Brick-and-mortar schools are gone. So are teachers and classrooms. Instead, students watch video modules performed by actors and are assessed through interactive “edugames.” Jennifer, a twenty-three year old student who is nearing the end of what was once considered high school, has a rare achievement: a GPA of 5.0, The Perfect Five. Her girlfriend, Melody, discovers that Charles Winston, a former teacher who once wrote a scathing critique of the new school system, lives in the same Plex. Tentatively, the trio agrees to meet on the roof of the Plex, in a tiny triangle of space not under camera surveillance. There, they will read, write, and learn. But tensions within and without threaten to pull them apart. The corporate forces who control education are already watching them, and are not pleased.
Short Fiction:
“Belongings” in Broadkill Review. February 2022.
“What Happened to Moschops?” in Daily Science Fiction. October 2021.
“The Seventh Trap” in Crunchy With Ketchup. August 2021.
“Hoping for Red” in Escape Pod. December 2018
“Little Me, Big Me,” a finalist for the Arcturus Review Fall Fiction Contest. Read it for free here.
This story, titled “Immortal Amelia,” took 2nd place in On The Premises magazine’s issue #15. Read it here for free!
Here is a link to my Amazon Author page. Within it, you will find links to some of the following anthologies:
- The Big Bad
- Villainy
- Told You So
- Song Stories Vol. 1
