Is it dishonest to have someone “pilot” your dates? In this work philosophical short story fiction, Simone works for Connect2, a dating service that allows “pilots” to be inside the mind, and control the body of, paying customers that are on dates. By piloting hosts to be the best versions of themselves, they are able to help their clients have successful dates that lead to long term relationships. However, things go wrong when Simone is piloting Alexis, a long-time client who ends up on a date with someone she knows in real life. Simone pilots Alexis through a sexual encounter with her friends, and gets fired from her Connect2.

What would be in the personalized room of your greatest terror? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, Winston’s father suggest he read 1984 because he shares the same first name as the main character. Winston reads the book, and its themes of War is Peace, Ignorance is Strength, Freedom is Slavery, and wonders what would be in his Room 101; the room that contains are greatest fear? Years later he is serving in the Middle East with a military contractor and find himself in a tense situation with a little girl, holding a baby with a bomb strapped to her chest, and realizes his greatest Room 101 fear has come true.

What if there are infinite possibilities, but not for you? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, the billionaire Lathar Jackson visits Ethereon Flux to try out their groundbreaking technology, the ability to observe, and send paying customers to, better parallel universes of their lives. Every choice we make creates a parallel universe where that choice was made and, for the right amount of money, Ethereon Flux will allow you to see them, and move into the best one. However, when Lather is hooked up to the machines, they realize he isn’t generating parallel universes; in short, he isn’t exercising free will. He is not actually making choices! Ethereon Flux detains Lathar for study as the government has concerns that it might not be allowed to punish criminals that were deemed not to have exercised free will. After doing more and more absurd things in an attempt to unsuccessfully prove he has free will, he dies in the facility.

How does our mind make meaning of fragmented childhood memories? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, the narrator recounts his childhood association with foul-mouthed Dave, a “spaz” who was frequently sent to the “Spaz Box” by teachers. The narrator does a meta-analysis of his childhood memory of watching Dave get violently attacked by his older brother. He also does an analysis of his childhood memory of Dave saving (or was it pushing?) a little girl who broke her arms in a fall. Through a review of his childhood memories, the narrator attempts to piece together the truth, while also understanding that even his most vivid memories may be incorrect.

How should we treat the unhoused (zombies)? In this philosophical short story fiction, Chad is a new employee in the city parks department. On a rainy day, a park-goer reports a zombie has locked himself in the park restroom and refuses to leave. In this world, zombie’s do not eat brains or attack people, but carry a disease that causes them to continue thinking, speaking, and functioning, after death as their body slowly decays around them. The Court has said zombies have the right to urban camp at night in parks when there are insufficient shelters, but they are not permitted to stay in the parks during the day. As part of his duties, Chad heads to the bathroom and meets the zombie John Smith, who has locked himself in the stall. He is trying to stay out of the rain as rain causes his skin to decompose faster and, ultimately, will cause him to discontinue sooner. Despite the horrible smell of rotting flesh and grotesque deformities of decay, Chad speaks to John with empathy and John agrees to leave the stall and move on.

When is it okay to lie to your child? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, Peter is on the phone with his wife, who is at the veterinarian’s office with their dog, Bingo. Bingo has swollen a plastic object which is stuck in his stomach and may not pass. Their young son, Max, is frantic with concern about the family dog, however, the father is concerned about the almost $1,000 bill that will come with a potential surgery to remove the item. Peter leaves the final decision in his wife’s hands, but lies to her son and tells him they are going to do the procedure and that it will be quick and painless with a vacuum cleaner type object to pull the item out. Peter decides to stick to his lie and distract his son by offering him a soft drink as a treat.

How does our limited life span determine our choices and our view on the preciousness of life? How would these views change if we lived forever? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, a traveling salesman sits at the bar after a long day drinking bourbon. He is approached and cleverly pitched a new product he has discovered on a distant rim planet, Life. The product stops the aging process. The first batch is free, and the salesman returns eight years later to get into the distribution business.

Must you follow cultural traditions to respect them? In this work philosophical short story fiction, the English educated narrator has returned to her African village to potentially fulfill the role of accepting Sekuru’s spirit and serving as the conduit to the tribe’s past, and advisor and protector of the community. The only problem is, she doesn’t want the role and doesn’t entirely believe in the rituals and ceremony. The tribal elders accus of her “acting white” and rebuffing their culture and traditions. She believes, however, that she can respect her culture, while rejecting the aspects of her culture she finds outdated. In the end, she decided to fake it, and go forward with the ceremony.

Are extra-judicial killings always murder? Can equality ever be progressed through violence? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, a military intelligence officer with a family history of military service goes to personally drop off the results of a Freedom of Information Request made by Fierce Lee Human (“F. Lee”), a café radical, and communist sympathizing college professor. However, things don’t go quite as planned as the government document being requested turns out to be proof that F. Lee worked with communist spies during the Vietnam War to assist in the shooting down of a helicopter containing the intelligence officer’s father. After a brief debate about communism, the narrator takes matters into his own had and shoot F. Lee, killing him.

What is worse, the attack, or the revenge for being attacked? Can forcing trauma another create empathy? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, the ladies book club has morphed. It has become a project for sexually assaulted women to hunt and assault random men in return. They do this, they say, to teach men to live in fear and understand the fear women experience every day. The story centers around Ben, a man lured into a back alley who is then tased and sodomized with a broomstick by the book club women. However, unlike the other men, Ben researches and learns about his attackers, rather than going to the police, plans his revenge. After weeks of planning he lures one of the book club leaders, Marion to his car. He is planning to attack her, just as she is planning to attack him. A fight breaks out, Marion gets the upper hand, and kills Ben.

Is it okay to lie to children? How to know when faith in the unprovable is acceptable? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, the narrator’s daughter calls a secret meeting with her mother to ask a very serious question, is Santa Claus real? She recently saw that her present says, “Made in China” rather than being made at the North Pole. She is the moment her mother has dreaded the first steps of her daughter growing up. The narrator explains to her daughter that she wants Santa Claus to be real, but he isn’t. She also explains to her daughter the concept of “faith” both as it relates to Santa Claus, and as it relates to the manger scene they have set up for the holidays. In both cases, she explains faith in them may be good enough. Her daughter accepts this answer, related to both.

Is the love in a long marriage different? In this philosophical short story fiction, Lorene and Frank have been married for 30+ years. They raised a child together, and are settling into their golden years. Frank collects stamps and, while Lorene has a degree in Geology, she has spent her life as a homemaker. However, now in her 50’s, she has begun to realize her life needs more excitement and, more importantly, that Frank won’t be able to give it to her. He is to old, too risk-adverse, and too set in his ways. He says marriage is forever, and that he loves her, but Lorene wants more. The often quip and bicker. Finally, Loreene declares her intention to divorce and join an archaeological dig in Montana. Frank is upset, and confused, believing this is a reckless whim, but he is also hurt she is leaving. Regardless, he says, his vows are forever, and he will be waiting if she decides she wants to come home.

When there is a dating age difference, what are the factors that matter? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, the narrator’s husband is in Afghanistan for another tour of duty supervising his men. She is at home taking care of their 17-year-old son, in his Senior year of high school. The narrator learns her son is seeing/dating his English teacher, the 24-year-old who goes by MS. MS was married, but her husband was a soldier who recently died. She follows them after school where she watches them lay out a blanket in the park. She considers calling her husband for advice, but decides he will simply say she is getting worked up over nothing. She wonders if she should call the police, or contact the school? In the end, she decides this is likely a “harmless blip” in her sons life, that they are providing each other comfort in shared times of need, and things will end naturally at the end of the year when her son goes off to college.

What is the best way for those discriminated against to “change hearts and minds?” Should those discriminated against fight back or focus on helping others see the errors taking place? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, the narrator is simply going about her life riding the bus home from work. A few stops later, a wolf gets on the bus, pays the bus ticket, and has a seat. The woman has heard about wolves and is apprehensive. At the next stop a few teenagers get on the bus. They see the wolf and immediately begin teasing it. The wolf refuses to fight back until, eventually, the narrator stands up for the wolf. The teenagers get off and the woman speaks to the wolf. Police, having been notified of a disturbance, get on the bus and begin the process of arresting the wolf based on the call received. The narrator, and the other bus patrons, stand up for the wolf and explain it was the teenagers who initiated the altercation. The police leave. The wolf explains to the narrator that if he defends himself, he will be confirming the stereotypes about wolves and that it is only through others standing up on his behalf, that opinions can change.