Short Fiction Fridays #4: Modern Problems

Immortal vloggers, skincare routines, iPad kids, and more...

Speculative fiction often looks to the future, near or far, but rarely does it actually predict the future. That unpredictable future is now our present…

For this week’s list, I’ve collected five stories and one poem with the theme of Modern Problems. While timeless stories have their place, I love the grounded, familiar nature of the following works. They’re full of holographs and hand sanitizer, magic and SEO, nightmare realms and the Glendale Galleria.

“Lily, the Immortal” by Kylie Lee Baker

When a famous vlogger dies without leaving a will, her video editor girlfriend discovers just how little the world cares about reality, and how far corporations will go to make a profit. Cherry-flavored, artificial, and surprisingly sweet.

CW: Illness, death

Lily, the Immortal - Uncanny Magazine

In Lily’s last vlog, she says she’s not scared of dying. I know it’s a lie because her gaze drifts off camera and she blinks three times, like there’s something in her eyes. Lily was always a bad liar, but I am a very good editor, so her six-point-five million loyal subscribers never have to…

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“Girl Oil” by Grace P. Fong

Aspiring actress Chelle grows jealous of her friend Wenqian and her seemingly effortless beauty. They compete for love and audition callbacks, but when Chelle uses a new skincare oil to melt away her body, she starts to see the situation differently. Emotional, clear, and moving.

CW: Disordered eating, body dysmorphia, colorism

Girl Oil | Tor.com

The second place winner of the LeVar Burton Reads writing contest, as co-presented by FIYAH Literary Magazine and Tor.com! Chelle’s friend, Wenqian, has everything Chelle doesn’t. A slim figure, pa…

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PRINT: “Hopper in the Frying Pan” by Izzy Wasserstein

In a cyberpunk near-future run by ads and surveillance, a trans Hopper is arrested after spoofing the identity of a serial killer. Painful, high-adrenaline, and smart.

CW: Police brutality, transphobia, death, torture

All the Hometowns You Can't Stay Away From by Izzy Wasserstein — neon hemlock

In her debut collection, Izzy Wasserstein pries the lid off fourteen different worlds from an already impressive short fiction career. In these pages, you’ll meet ne’er-do-wells and orphans, investigators and revolutionaries, diplomats and doctoral students. Wasserstein has a gift for putting her finger on the meaty parts of grief, the catalysts of change, and the pain points of community…

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“Tyrannosaurus Hex” by Sam J. Miller

During a pleasant outdoor brunch, parents discuss the dangers of technology, while their children summon it from the depths of a non-Euclidean augmented reality plane. Tyrannosaurus hexadecimal is hungry. Horrifying, disturbing, and includes the perfect phrase “feral Mickey Mice.”

CW: Mentions of torture and death

Tyrannosaurus Hex - Uncanny Magazine

“Well of course we fought it,” Hunter said, raising his voice to be heard in the crowded restaurant patio. “Who the hell wants their kid staring off into space seeing God-knows-what all the time, instead of learning how to live in the real world?” “Same way our parents fought like hell to limit our tablet…

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“The Gambler” by Paolo Bacigalupi

Ong, a reporter whose environmental justice articles are falling flat, is given a celebrity interview to help boost his byline. The more he watches the bright nodes of the maelstrom swirl around shock and spectacle, the more he wants to write about flowers. Stubborn, vulnerable, and optimistic against all odds.

CW: Police brutality, death of a parent, mentions of child abuse as a news story

The Gambler - Shareable

My father was a gambler. He believed in the workings of karma and luck. He hunted for lucky numbers on license plates and bet on lotteries and fighting…

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POEM: "CONELRAD 1960 / COVID 2020" by T. D. Walker

A dual timeline poem narrated by a child in fearful isolation in 1960 / a parent in fearful isolation in 2020. Sun-drenched, yearning, and surviving.

CW: References to mass death events, depictions of the COVID-19 pandemic

CONELRAD 1960 / COVID 2020

Time-struck, I fell into what had once been possible,

(“There’s nothing like the taste of Blue Bell—”)

white-ridged watermelon rinds, hammocked magnolias,

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THANK YOU FOR READING

If you enjoyed any of these stories, please support their authors and the magazines that published them. I’d also love to hear any suggestions for future list themes! Drop me a message and I’ll curate a little collection for your Friday.