That’s the price you pay for trying to grab the last place in the list of stories! Sure, it makes your story stand out more, but it doesn’t actually make it better...
Having said all that, I have just cast my vote for the very last entry.
Winner
@The Judge - Careers Destroyed got my vote because of the excellent use of the source material to describe the queue in the wings, but it was also very funny and very well written.
Joint second place - only just pipped at the post -
@BT Jones - Reanimation Assessment was a profound and heartbreaking reflection on gender dysphoria in a fascist state, but it could have been the story of anyone who doesn’t fit the accepted norms under any type of government.
@Peter V - Going Through the Motions was well-written, funny, and did exactly what it said on the tin.
Honourable mentions (who were all only just knocked down from second place by the outstanding contributions above)
@Edoc'sil - well written, my kind of funny - I love physical humour.
@sule - a thoughtful and likeable time travel story which neatly sidesteps any paradox, and also explains without saying anything why the protagonist is in prison.
@Hugh - Thank goodness we can rely on the trickster Coyote to sling a spanner in the works! A moral story about the importance of not letting the popular narrative determine your actions, although I don’t know if that is exactly what the author had in mind...
@chrispenycate - a well written, thought-provoking, bitter tale about the perils of getting what you wish/vote for, though admittedly the implication is that the situation was imposed on everyone... At the risk of being controversial, I have to admit that this made me think of Brexit.
@Shyrka - An effective slice of proper science fiction. I loved it.
With more than 40 entries this month, it was a bumper crop; although I’ve only been a member for a few months, so my experience doesn’t stretch back very far... I really enjoyed reading all your stories, so thank you to everyone for making this a fabulous 75-worder to take part in!
