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In the mid-twenty-first century, it is not difficult to see what direction the world is headed. But the exact destination is hazy, inviting procrastination and doubt. GPESS+NK.01 dispels the fog, giving Thomas a view of the coming years that is crisp, unequivocal, and frightening.
Five Camels for the Simplification is a social-ecological speculative fiction novelette by Writers of the Future Award winner Lance Robinson. The near-future story weaves in climate science, rangeland ecology, environmental economics, and the political economy of a world falling apart.
"Thomas's mind went back to his childhood and the Wailing Twenties, the aftermath, and the horrors of '32.... As they watched the fifth and final simulation play out, another question-this one huge and ugly-coalesced in the midst of his thoughts: What kind of world would his daughter Koshee inherit?"
Thomas Jillo is an ecologist and single father for whom the illusion that the world will sort itself out has been shattered. A preview of the coming "simplification" of the world's political and economic systems shocks him awake and begins to drive his struggle for just and resilient livelihoods for his community. But knowledge that the suicidal momentum of the global system is beyond his feeble influence haunts him as he struggles to leave his daughter a world that might, somehow, still be worth living in.
Five Camels for the Simplification is a short read, perfect for readers who believe science fiction should make you think and feel.
Lance Robinson
As a social scientist, Lance Robinson specialized in the human dimensions of ecological stewardship. As a science fiction writer, environmental themes and musings about human beings' economic, cultural and spiritual relationships with nature are often woven into his fiction. His short stories have appeared in magazines such as Analog, Riverside Quarterly, and Chaos Theory: Tales Askew. In 2023, he won first place in the Writers of the Future contest, and his winning story appeared in L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 40. His own collection of short fiction-Chasing New Suns-was published in September 2024. Lance currently makes his home in Robinson-Superior Treaty territory on the traditional land of the Anishinaabeg peoples and Fort William First Nation on the shores of Lake Superior in Ontario, Canada. He can be found at lancerobinsonwriter.com.
More by Lance Robinson
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