What does it mean, or show, when something happens that is absolutely unexplainable? In this work of philosophical fiction, the narrator has a simple problem, her house plants are getting mysteriously watered. Her husband and daughter swear it’s not them. A home camera shows nobody is secretly watering the plants. After tearing apart the pots, it’s clear there isn’t a contraption or trick to water the plants automatically. In desperation, the narrator tries a tool to remove ghosts from the house. Nothing works. Finally, in her frustration, to end the mystery, she takes the plants to the town dump to rid herself of her confusion. The next day she noticed someone has started cleaning the fridge…

How would society change if easy/inexpensive technology were created to remove a fertilized embryo from the mother and grow the baby in an incubator? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, technology is created that allows women to easily, and at almost no cost, have a fertilized embryo from the mother, and have the child grown and born via an incubator. This has significant advantages for the woman, but also for society as it allows women to easily transition from an unwanted pregnancy back to their own life while the government grows, and adopts out, their unwanted child. Given that, in the society in the story, abortion, and contraception are illegal, this new technology gives rise to a boom in unwanted babies awaiting adoption. In response, the government creates a “Draft.” The draft requires all men to register and, if randomly selected, accept an unwanted child and raise it as their own, by penalty of law. When a man with six “draft babies” commits suicide, his politician father (now in his 70’s) finds himself their new caregiver.

Does basic income encourage laziness? What obligations does a country that willingly accepts a refugee has to the person they accept? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, Sbongo is an African refugee who escaped to Turkey and was granted asylum in Germany. His life immediately improves as Germany offers him “basic income,” more money than he has ever received in his life. Initially, he spends his days walking the streets, enjoying a simple life. However, over time, he becomes jealous of the wealth of those around him. First, he gets a job at a Kebob store and loses his basic income stipend. Later, he is fired and ends up homeless. After hitting rock bottom he gets into a job training program, gets a job doing street maintenance, and starts to feel the pride of the money he earned.

Could you sentence your own murderer to an eternity in hell? Would you ever be willing to accept his apology and repentance? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, Alli was brutally murdered in an alley by a relapsed drug addict she once showed kindness to. Twenty-five years later he is put to death for her murder and ends up in Abeyance, the place people say when they have unfinished business. Alli is waiting for him and, under the rules of the afterlife, Alli is able to decide where Josh will spend eternity. When Josh sees Alli he explains that he spent his life repenting of her murder, is truly sorry for the pain he caused, and found God. Furthermore, he was on drugs at the time, and starved for affection due to a truly horrible childhood of physical and sexual abuse. After hearing all this, Alli must still decide his fate.

What causes a person to cheat on their spouse? How do you know if someone is truly repentant for their actions, or if they are only repentant because they were caught? In this philosophical short story fiction, Jacob is in a stable, if unexciting marriage to Dina, the mother of their two children. However, Jacob is also having an affair with the younger Sasha, the neighborhood barista. Jacob feels some guilt for his actions but heads off to meet and have sex, with Sasha on her break. After intercourse she opens his phone and finds out, for the first time, he is married. Sasha tells Jacob he must tell his wife of his infidelity by 4pm, or she will call herself. Jacob rushes home, a truly penitent man, ready to confess his wrongdoing, and beg for forgiveness. However, moments before confessing to his wife, he sees on the news that Sasha has been killed in a car accident.

What is fair and equitable justice? Is the point of justice to deter crime, to punish those that commit a crime, or to educate criminals so they can integrate successfully back into society? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, the country has chosen to adopt the “Law Of Vindication.” If a drunk driver hits and kills someone with their car, their punishment is to be hit and killed with a car. The same reciprocal punishments exist for all serious crimes. Furthermore, it is a crime to not assist the government, when necessary, in providing reciprocal punishment. The parents of a murdered child MUST murder the child of their killer. In this story, the narrator is in an unhappy marriage and decides his best chance of getting away with killing his wife is to kill his neighbor’s wife and wait for the law of retribution to require that his wife be killed as punishment. Of course, things don’t go quite as planned, and the law is interpreted differently than he expects.

Should you abandon your dream to pursue where your true talents lie? Is a lifetime following your dream to be a painter a successful life if it turns out you simply don’t have an eye for art? Where do our dreams come from? When should they be abandoned? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, a young boy is in the government waiting room waiting to be assigned a new “dream.” He strikes up a conversation with other people in the waiting room. Some of them are anxious to get new dreams implanted into their brain as they have not found success. Others don’t want to let go of the failed dream they were originally assigned because they believe, in their heart of hearts, it is what they were born to do. The government is indifferent to the desires of the people. Society has needs, people have innate talents, and the government, as far as they are concerned, should focus on getting people to follow the dreams they are good at, as well as the dreams that are most needed by society. This story was the winner of the Fall 2020 After Dinner Conversation Writing Competition.