Two dark, gory dystopias

September 25, 2024 8:59 AM

In case you're in the mood for two short super-grim scifi stories in which the future is very bad, here you go. "Human Trials" by Madeleine Vigneron, published September 5, 2024 in khōréō: "After the last ship left Earth, Rowan .... returned to what used to be a research lab operated by the government of Canada and was now an escape effort operated by Mariana." "Federal School Safety Act 2029" by Sage Tyrtle, published in the Summer/Fall 2023 issue of Lunch Ticket: "On the first day back at school, when we were waiting for the classroom door to be opened, Emmeline was showing off her Build-A-Gun." For both stories, mind the content notes at the top.
posted by brainwane (9 comments total)

I liked that the publication the first story is in makes audio versions available for at least some of the stories (maybe after they are free-to-read?). It’s a nice feature, although not as dystopian as the story.
posted by GenjiandProust at 9:32 AM on September 25 [1 favorite]

The second story is not realistic, if the right had their way there would not be public schools and private schools would not allow guns.
posted by kzin602 at 9:56 AM on September 25

re: Federal School Safety Act 2029--Sobbing at my desk. I'm a therapist; I work primarily with children and teens--the kids are TERRIFIED of gun violence. They need care, they need to be told they are Naturals at Science, they need to be allowed to blossom into their best selves. How can children learn when they've got a pandemic on one side and gun violence on the other?

Thank you for this post, brainwane.
posted by epj at 10:07 AM on September 25 [8 favorites]

They can’t even find a good cup of coffee since Hodge used the last Keurig pod.

truly the worst dystopia
posted by chavenet at 11:04 AM on September 25 [2 favorites]

Well this is certainly happy happy joy joy day on metafilter.

Damn...
posted by supermedusa at 1:56 PM on September 25

We have dark, gory dystopias at home.
posted by briank at 2:59 PM on September 25 [1 favorite]

yup that was heavy. Particularly the second one which hits close to home because my wife's school just had a grisly suicide and my mom's school just went into 2 consecutive classroom holds because of kids making online threats.
posted by drewbage1847 at 3:06 PM on September 25

People who'd prefer a cheerier story or two: in a July LinkMe thread, I posted links to a John Wiswell story and a Naomi Kritzer story. I'm hoping someone other than me will post them to the front page, per the idea of the LinkMe threads. So please go ahead!
posted by brainwane at 7:21 PM on September 25 [1 favorite]

Oh I forgot that kristi had already posted the Kritzer story! Apologies.
posted by brainwane at 4:21 AM on October 16