How much would “walking in another person’s shoes” create greater understanding? How much would it be a punishment for the wrongs done to others? In this work of criminal ethics short story fiction, Christine works at the Virtual Rehabilitation Project (“VRP”). The VRP is a tool that allows criminals to live the experiences they caused from the perspective of their victims. But it doesn’t stop there. Not only do they live the experience of the crime, but they also live the years, or decades, that follow the experience as well, such as the depression and loneliness that follows losing a loved one. Christine uses the VRP to have a white supremacist live the experience of being a black man whose family he killed. She later tricks an influential elected official into experiencing the rape and murder he perpetrated against Christine’s wife.

Would being able to “remember” the future be a gift or a curse? What duties would that create to the future? Could a person without uncertainly ever have hope? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, the narrator (“Author”) goes to a psychoanalyst with a unique problem, he claims he can “remember” the future and that this ability to prevented him from have a fulfilled life. He still has free will, can be purposefully make different choices, however, whenever he does this, he has new memories about the new future he has just created. Additionally, he says, every time he has changed the future, it has been to the detriment of others and made things worse. He even remembers the location and day of his death. After his final therapy session Arthur goes to the location to save another person’s life, and die in the process. However, things don’t go quite as planned and Author ends up, not dying, but losing his power to remember the future.

Are there valid reasons for a government to carry out clandestine killings of foreign civilians in the name of national security? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, Jason is five years retired from the NSA. However, a new story draws his attention, two suspicious deaths, one in China, and one in Russia, related to confused autonomous cars. Jason’s previous work at the NSA involved making “programable luminescent vegetation” that, when exposed to certain frequencies, could be made to change color. The commercial applications are benign, household plants and lawns that change emitting color as easily and as frequently as an LED. However, he believes the NSA has militarized his work and is using it to confuse self-driving cars so they can kill overseas civilians. Jason decides to publicly divulge his work and expose the NSA. However, before he is able to so his self-driving car drives off the road and into a tree, killing him.

If the point of life is to be happy, what’s wrong with creating technology to continually maximize your happiness? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, Liz and Frank have spent their life building up Hedonic, Inc, a company focused on generating happiness, as measured by “hedons.” More hedons means you are feeling more happiness. Frank’s research has culminated in Rapture, a direct neural stimulation tool that allows people to feel the highest possible levels of hedons, without drugs, and without side effects. Liz’s failed research focus has been on using brain reprogramming to solve chronic depression where hedons are a byproduct. She sees Rapture as a tool for turning humanity into hedon seeking zombies. Frank, however, believes, “hedons are hedons.” Even Liz’s depressed son has switched camps, and now screams when he is removed the Rapture machine. In a last-ditch effort, Liz argues for an alternative.

Why do some people look forward to the day of their death? What can we do to better see those people, and understand their perspective? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, Michael is dying of cancer and has refused treatment. On a fateful day a winged woman comes down and attacks him, giving him the power to completely feel and understand the emotions of anyone near death. Confused, but with his new power, Michael finally is able to understand his friend’s artwork, and uses this knowledge to get his aunt to agree to a gallery showing of his work. He also feels the pain of a boy in need of a transplant and agrees to be a donor. Finally, he talks to his estranged sister and is able to convince her he feels that same pain surrounding their parents’ death that she does. Accordingly, she is finally willing to put away her hate for him and accept his offer of a bone marrow donation. Everything comes to a head when a different friend attempts suicide and Michael finds himself in the hospital waiting to help his friend, the boy, and his sister, simultaneously, through various medical procedures.

What is the value in having only a portion of the population be exceptional? What if everyone could be exceptional, would anyone really be? In this work of philosophical short fiction, 2% of the population have a genetic makeup that allows them to be enhanced. The intelligent are very intelligent, the beautiful, like Greek gods. Because of their enhanced abilities, they run the world. An enhanced “Social” meets up with an enhanced “Rational” to tell him about a newly discovered drug that would allow the other 98% of the world to be able to be enhanced as well, but it would cause the 2% to regress to average, or worse. The Rational takes the vial and releases it into the world. The Social kills herself.

How important is the person who controls the stories of the past? What happens when that person changes community stories to meet his needs? In this work of philosophical fantasy short fiction, Acoti is shot with a poison dart while in the forest. With much effort, his friend takes him to Cuadelo, the community medicine man. Acoti is suspicious because he had previously spoken out to the elders that the community petroglyphs seemed to always agree with Cuadelo. Cuadelo confesses to Acoti that he is the one who poisoned him and says he will only cure Acoti if he goes before the elders to confess he was wrong in accusing Cuadelo. Acoti agrees, and is cured, but not before grabbing Cuadelo’s magic wand. Now cured, Acoti goes before the elders and shows that Cuadelo has been using his magic wand to change the petroglyphs (and their community stories) so they always agree with his opinions.