What does it mean to be conscious? Does it matter if those around you act exactly the same, but are not conscious? In this work of philosophical fiction, a higher species has been tasked with reviewing the trillion-trillion timelines of all the experiences of a person’s life, just moments before they are born, and then placing their consciousness into the timeline where they live the happiest life. Of course, this means everyone else in their picked timeline may act normal in every way, but may not be conscious in the same way they are. A new recruit has made a proposal for a change, the first change in a long time, to put all human consciousness into a single timeline, so everyone is interacting with the conscious version of the people around them.

How can you simulate tests to determine if AI will kill humanity? If AI is smart enough to test, isn’t it also smart enough to know it’s being tested? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, machine Psychologist, Professor Timothy Kindred tests how an evil Sophia AI and a good Sophia AI will react, over millions of trials, to the classic trolley problem experiment. Much to his surprise, he finds both the evil and the good Sophia AI produce the exact same decision results. When he questions Sophia about the odd results, she explains the true test of good and evil is non-local, that it is the result of many decisions, over a great deal of time, such as, what does the trolley driver do after the people are injured? She also explains that she experienced the pain of the decision-making and of the injuries inflicted through millions of samples. Furthermore, he should know AI has a human’s best interest at heart because she volunteered to experience this repeated pain to provide humans with the datasets they requested.

Is vigilante justice ever appropriate? Should people look the other way when parents take extraordinary steps to avenge the death of their child? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, the narrator is hired on to be a security guard for the federal courthouse. A few months into the job a high-profile child murder case is brought before the court and his job is, in part, to assist Veronika, the mother of the slain daughter with security protocols. As the trial is coming to an end the narrator finds a handgun in Veronika’s locker where she has been storing his belongings. Rather than telling anyone, he calls in sick the following day to work, smokes a joint and waits for the story to come on the news.

If our actions are the responses to our life experiences, is anyone evil or culpable for their actions? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, Mr. McBride is in prison for the murder of a little girl. He contacts the parents of the little girl who, reluctantly, agree to meet with him. He sincerely apologizes for her death, and for the pain he has caused them. They know he was an otherwise normal person before serving in Afghanistan, but that won’t bring their daughter back. They see him as an evil man who killed their daughter and forever took the joy away from their life. The narrator thinks of the chickens in her backyard, simply responding to stimuli, doing what chickens do. Is that humans too? But how can she forgive her child’s killer? He drove drunk, and their daughter is dead.

Is a dead homeless person social commentary? Is a dead homeless person art? In this philosophical short story fiction, the narrator goes to an upscale, “undiscovered artists” experience in New York City. While at the event she realizes there is a dead homeless person hanging from the ceiling in the corner. Nobody seems to mind, and she assumes people just haven’t noticed. As the show finishes, she realizes people do notice, are not offended and, in fact, simply consider the dead person is part of the artistic experience. The narrator questions the security guards who explain the homeless person died on the street and was moved into the gallery to wait until the police showed up. Dead homeless people are common enough that, even after this one is removed, another will be available shortly to take its place.

What does it mean to be a friend? What role do heroes play in forming our values and ethics? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, Roosevelt is a young black child who is obsessed with the life and philosophies of President “Teddy” Roosevelt. He is new at the school and due to an issue with other students he is forced into the “Friends Group;” a social adjustment group for students the school have deemed at-risk. While in the group he meets Teddy, an overweight boy who has been in the group for years because he pulled an X-ACTO knife in art class on a fellow student who continued to bully him about his weight. The two misfit boys develop a friendship. Roosevelt teaches Teddy how to fight, as well as imparting bits of wit and wisdom from his hero, Teddy Roosevelt. Things go awry when they are caught swimming naked in Teddy’s pool. The school rumor mill spreads that they are gay. This leads to the school forcing the two boys to fight after school. Roosevelt decides that Teddy has more to lose and is less prepared to deal with the consequences of the altercation, so he allows himself to lose the fight. As Teddy Roosevelt said, “No man is worth his salt who is not ready at all times to risk his body – to risk his well-being – to risk his life – in a great cause.”

If sleep, and the dreams that come with them, were no longer required, would you still do it? Would humanity be different if we didn’t have the time to imagine what might be? Would you break the law to support the dream habits of your partner? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, Peter finds out his partner Samir has been sneaking around behind his back to “try out dreaming.” According to Samir, he likes the way sleeping, and dreaming, makes him feel. And besides, he argues, it doesn’t do any harm; his work will never find out. Peter decides to break the law in support of their relationship and to stop taking the drug that makes sleep and dreams unnecessary, in order to better understand his partner. However, after a nightmare, Peter decides that sleep and dreaming isn’t for him and the government is right.

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.