Is it okay to erase memories of your past to give yourself a better chance at a happy future? In this work of philosophical short fiction, Harold is an orphan up for adoption. He has been selected to be adopted, which means, in order to be accepted by the family, he will need to have his memory wiped clean and implanted with the preferred memories of his new family. This, they say, will give him a better chance of integrating with his new family and living out a successful life. He, and other orphans, are called one by one to decide if this is a procedure, they are willing to accept so they can be adopted. Harold wonders what it will be like to no longer remember his first kiss, or his love of science fiction. These are the things, he reasons, that have allowed him to cope and grow from his difficult life. His name is called, it is time for him to decide.

Which would you prefer, a gay son, or no relationship with your son at all? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, Robert and Grace are high school friends. Both are bullied. Robert for his long hair and the rumor he is gay, and Grace, for her short hair, and the rumors she is too. Robert is gay, Grace is not. While preparing their midterm English performance, Robert decides he is going to use the performance as the way to finally come out to the school and tell them about the trauma he has been experiencing from his family the last several years. It does not go well as both are sent to the office, and their parents are called in. Robert escapes with his father’s gun. When Grace finds out she steals her mother’s car and goes looking for him. She finds him at a hotel. They briefly talk and the police show up. Before Grace realizes what has happened, Robert has killed himself.

Should a criminal suffering from the remorse of the crime he committed be permitted to be freed of that pain? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, Mr. Henmore’s was convicted of a terrible crime many years ago. He served his time, and been paroled, and is genuinely remorseful for what he did. In fact, his pain is so great, even years later, he suffers severe, almost daily, mental anguish from the knowledge of what he did. His lawyer has gone before the Grand Rectification Council to ask permission to have Mr. Henmore’s memory wiped clean of the crime he committed so as to enter his suffering. After making his case on behalf of his client, it is now up to the Council, should Mr. Henmore forever remember the horrible thing he has done?

Is acceptable to consume art that reflects the “depraved, the cruel, the violent, and the heartless” aspects humanity? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, Felix doesn’t go for “moral relativism.” He believes there is good and evil, that art should not reflect the evil of the world, or enrich artists who are found wanting. Accordingly, Felix has gone about the lifelong process of removing all copies of the depraved art he can find, and afford to buy, in circulation. A police officer comes to his door because his sister in Arizona hasn’t heard from him in months and has asked for a wellness check. Felix explains his abundant video and book collection to the officer who is at first confused, but later begins to understand Felix’s reasoning.

How do we learn from past decisions not taken and imagined futures while not holding on to the choices not taken and causing ourselves despair? In this work of philosophical short fiction, an Uncle Cockroach takes his nephew to the highest point in the land, the top of the refrigerator. From there, they overlook the larger, and beautiful home, and see the humans living in the home. The Uncle tells his nephew the humans can speak, like they do, but that they are unhappy because they have a hidden 3rd eye inside their head that allows them to see the future and the past that may happen. This causes them to dislike the present because they are always comparing it to what their 3rd eyes sees. Suddenly, an angel moth comes down and, on behalf of The Great Arachnid, is told me must forever render cockroaches speechless.

What level of proof is required to believe in the spiritual and the afterlife? What level of proof is required for disclosure to others as material? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, Mariette is a real estate agent that is informed by the seller that the house is haunted by a ghost. Mariette is prone to believing in ghosts, but feels this is information she is not required to tell a potential buyer. However, shortly thereafter, she starts getting strange static phone calls and seeing a woman from an earlier time walking the streets pushing an empty stroller. The situation comes to a head when she does some research that turns up a missing woman and child. Her phone rings again, again providing only static. By talking to the static Mariette is able to determine the sequence of events leading to the murder, and is able to set the wandering ghost free by giving it peace.

How do you decide which laws are just, and which to break? How do you know when a democratic government has passed a law you are comfortable breaking? In this work of philosophical short fiction, the narrator admits he is an addict. He takes a taxi to a vacant part of town, and walks the rest of the way to his source. He knocks and enters the restaurant. Only one other patron, a woman. He orders the illegal dish to serve his addiction, a steak. With a glass of red wine he savors the illegal action of eating animal flesh. Just then the place is busted by the police. The narrator hides, but can see the police interrogating the woman and the doorman. In an effort to get information, the younger policeman begins beating the woman and accidentally kills her. The police decide to cover their tracks by throwing the woman in the back alley and making the doorman promise to never tell anyone what he saw. After the police leave, the terrified narrator slips out the back.

If society could clean the memories of a criminal, and allow them to start a new life, with new life experiences, would they have a new person? Are we more than our memories? In this work of philosophical short story of fiction, John wakes up with complete amnesia in a small white room. His roommate Jack is in the same situation, but has been in the room longer. They are gassed and when John wakes up a doctor explains to him that he was convicted of a crime and, rather than going to prison, he opted to have his memory erased, to have a new memory implanted, and to get an entirely new life. Unfortunately, in order to get a clean slate, the process from memory wipe to new life takes 18 months. John and Jack share a cell. John reads, and Jack draws. Eventually, Jack’s time is up and he disappears, ready to enter his new life. John gets a new cellmate and gets him up to speed. Eventually, John’s time is up and he is gassed a final time before starting his life as a "newborn."

What duties do you owe to those in serious danger? To what level is the risk to your own well-being relevant to helping others? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, the narrator and her friend Tasha live in Florida. Twice a month they do nighttime speedboat drug runs for the Columbians. After completing a pickup, they are running a full boat of marijuana back to the States when they see a distress flare in the middle of the ocean. They decide to help the person in need in the hopes that, in his gratitude, he will not inform on them. They rescue the lone man, dropping him off near shore, and quickly head home. A few weeks later the police show up and arrest the narrator. She is sentenced to a year in prison. Upon parole, she finds out the man she saved was also running drugs, was captured, and traded information about her for his freedom.

How do you know if what you feel is real, or is simply the natural result of a modified belief/desire? Does it even matter? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, Susan and Richard are getting a divorce, but their son is struggling to come to terms with it. They head to the clinic to learn about using the “Davidson Method” to modify their child’s brain so he will be more accepting of their divorce. Alison, the person in charge of explaining their options to them, explains that long term brain modifications in children are not permitted. However, she suggests, as adults, they could use the method to make a long-term modification so that they are happy in their marriage. They reject this idea. The next option, she suggests, is to modify them so that they don’t care that their child is unhappy about the divorce. They likewise, reject this idea. Alison explains to them the desire to make their child happy too, can be modified. The couple rejects the idea and leaves the office, determined to work harder on their marriage, rather than face the horrible prospect of programming themselves not to love their child.

What does it mean to have faith? If you have absolute proof God did not exist, would it change your moral duty to others? In this work of philosophical short story fiction God, literally, lives in a temple as a being among the people. He has guided and instructed them for centuries until, one day, he declares he has nothing more to teach, and leaves. The local clergy go into a period of grief while the cities fall into lawless chaos. The clergy/narrator, likewise, falls into a deep depression as he sees the temples and religious infrastructures quickly fall into disarray. He meets at the “first temple” with the remaining leaders who are equally distraught and lack answers. He burns his religious belongings and falls into a deep depression. His church is ransacked and later turned into an elementary school. In the end, narrator gets a job working at a museum.

How much say should each partner get in deciding to keep, or abort, a pregnancy? Should you believe what your significant other tells you? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, Charles and Muriel are engaged to be married. Muriel surprises Charles by telling him she is pregnant. They had previously discussed, and agreed, they didn’t want to ever have children. Muriel, however, forgets to take her birth control pills and skips a few days. Charles thinks she did it on purpose. Regardless, Muriel now wants to be a mother and is determined to keep the baby. Charles leaves in a huff, but comes back a day later. They keep the baby and get married.

What does it mean to be dead? If you were living in a perfect, but false, moment in time, would you choose to leave it? In this work of philosophical short fiction, Linus and Axel are sitting in Central Park on a perfect October day. They have lived in this same day, seemingly, forever. They know they are both dead. Linus died about ten years later than Axel. It occurs to Linus that if they are both seeing his vision of Central Park, it must be his reality. Linus theorizes that, at the moment of death, our brain activity speeds up dramatically, making it seem like our final moment in time lasts forever. However, it’s not real. Linus decides to end this moment in time and move on.

To what degree do serious issues require serious consequences for politicians who fail to address them? Should politicians who fail to keep campaign promises have greater consequences than not being reelected? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, Brian Greenwald is running a unique presidential campaign. Not only is he a single-issue candidate for stopping global warming, but an ominous figure follows him everywhere with the promise to kill him at the end of his term if he fails to move the needle. The electorate knows this, and elects Greenwald President in a landslide. Everything he does in office is focused on the single goal of lower greenhouse gas emissions. At the end of his first term emissions have gone flat, but not down. By the end of his second term, even after exceptional efforts, global greenhouse gas emissions have failed to significantly fall. Good to his word, the ominous figure kills him for failing to deliver.