After Dinner Conversation

Can a marriage be irrevocably broken before it even begins? In this work of marriage related ethical fiction, the story starts with the narrator holding uprooted azaleas in his hands, with a shotgun pointed at him. His wife and child watch from the upstairs widow of the house behind him. In the moments before his end, he recounts the story of their marriage and its failure; his wife’s father giving him an antique pocket watch on their wedding day, and accusations from that same father, shortly thereafter, of infidelity. He recalls the birth of their child as well as the death of his wife’s father. And finally, he recalls the infidelity and fights that lead to the narrator moving into the arms of his co-worker mistress. Everything has gone wrong and none of it, at least according to the narrator, is his fault.

Is the purpose of all art to help us see a bit of the eternal? What might you learn about yourself if you saw a transformative piece of art? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, Ro’sed is a journalist sent to interview of the eclectic restaurant, “One Hour.” He meets the owner who offers to cook him a dish while they do the interview. Over the course of the strange hour the owner talks about his philosophy and history with food, and with art, and his belief that “art is man’s attempt to imitate god.” The owner has no partner, no children, and few friends; he doesn’t even have a dog. He has dedicated himself to cooking and learning what is possible when you pour your entire being into an artistic endeavor for a lifetime. Of course, the food he cooks for Ro’sed is amazing, and the experience transports him to his own childhood and his dreams of being a great fiction writer. He wonders why he has compromised on his life and questions why he was unwilling to purpose the focused artistic excellence the restaurant owner has found.

Would you rather have youth, or power and money? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, a 20-something software engineer, after an extensive physical exam, is brought into meet the elderly head of the mega-corporation he works for. The wheelchair bound owner makes him an offer; they will switch bodies. The wealthy tycoon gets the young man’s body, and nothing else, while the young man gets the old man’s body and all the wealth and power that comes with it in the remaining years. The young software engineer has a sister in need of money medical expenses, and he thinks of all the good he could do. He accepts the offer and they switch bodies. The young man almost immediately regrets his decision.

What would you do if you were responsible for following orders, and giving the command to start World War III? In this work of cold-war-era philosophical short story fiction, Comrade Lt. Colonel Petrov is at work on his day off. He is in charge of the USSR’s most cutting-edge satellite monitoring system when an alarm sounds that five nuclear missiles are on their way from the US to the USSR. The call comes from command to confirm the launch. While everyone at his station sees the missiles, he refuses to confirm the launch has occurred. Why five missiles? Wouldn’t a launch against the USSR be massive? It just doesn’t make sense. Petrov refuses to report what the screens clearly show and, it turns out, prevents a retaliatory strike based on incorrect information. He goes home to his wife, unable to tell her how his top secret day went.

Is the time we spend with family ever a trivial pursuit? Is is okay to lie to your children to keep them innocence and happiness? In this philosophical short story fiction, the narrator’s daughter finds a few ants wandering around the kitchen. The narrator innocently tells his daughter “all life is precious.” She immediately takes this to heart and starts encouraging the ants to come into their house with food. The narrator’s wife is not happy about the ants that have taken over the house. The narrator, a teacher currently teaching Our Town to his class asks them for their advice. They suggest an ant farm for their daughter, and a white lie to his daughter about the ants leaving as he kills the remainder with poison. He does this, but his daughter finds the traps and the trail of dead ants.

To what extent should medical AI make life-and-death decisions? In this work of philosophical medical/AI short fiction, a group of young boys are out for a birthday. They are all drinking and, inevitably, get into a serious car crash as they plummet off the side of a bridge. The car automatically signals the accident and emergency medical drones and ambulance are immediately deployed to the wreck. There is limited time the medical drones must choose. Some of the boys live, some die. The deciding factored turned out to be that the drones are programmed to prioritize saving the lives of minors over adults. The boy who died, the one who has the birthday they were celebrating. Note: this story is a part of our legacy-of-excellence program. It was first published in the November 2020 issue of After Dinner Conversation.

What are positive externalities, and what role does someone have to provide a person, not with what they want, but what they need? In this work of philosophical short fiction set in the Middle Ages, a traveling wise man and his apprentice come to town. The local townspeople pay what they can in exchange for the knowledge the learned man can provide. Why won’t my crops grow? Why are my teeth falling out? Why is my steel too brittle? Finally, a merchant comes to the man and offers him huge sum of money and a veiling threat so that he will provide “advice” to his daughter not to marry a lowly guardsman. The traveling advisor refuses to give this advice, while explain to his assistant that the best advice is sometimes it is best to give your customer what they need, not what they want.Note: this story is a part of our legacy-of-excellence program. It was first published in the November 2020 issue of After Dinner Conversation.