We meet weekly to discuss one or two short stories from the science fiction genre, exploring and responding to the ideas found in the story. The stories we read are literary, contemporary, and short.
This week, we are reading on the theme of utopia and social planning with two very short stories by Benjamin Rosenbaum:
"Ylla's Choice" (~2 pages)
http://www.strangehorizons.com/2002/20020121/yllas_choice.shtml
"Falling" (4 pages)
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=18373109&site=eds-live
"Ylla's Choice" is possibly the shortest piece of utopian fiction ever written, but provides plenty of food for thought. "Falling" explores similar themes in the "post-capitalist spiderweb hypercity of Frankfurt in the 2050s." Each story presents a different vision of attempts to reconcile the promises of social planning with the optimization of individual self-determination. Benjamin Rosenbaum has been nominated for both the Hugo and Nebula, the two most prestigious awards in science fiction, and his work has also appeared in esteemed non-genre publications such as Nature, Harper's, and McSweeney's.