Why this story springs to mind: If you haven't been physically or mentally active for a while or feel otherwise out of balance...or when you are in a meeting at work.
Title: "Division of Labor"
Where read: Lightspeed Magazine, July 2013
Length: 3,948 words
Summary: In a near future, the ability to specialize has gone to extremes. If you don't use a body part, you literally lose it (and that's considered desirable). If you don't use a skill, i.e. math, that also dribbles away — out your nose. Of course, there will always be those rebels who try to buck the system, and that's our protagonist.
Memorable: The portrayal of the incremental loss of physical and mental capacity culminating in release of viscous liquid and meeting rooms designed with drains for this inevitability. A visceral result of an overemphasis on efficiency.
Origin:
Pairs well with: "Bartleby, the Scrivener" (1853) by Herman Melville, the classic disgruntled worker tale
About the author: This is Benjamin Roy Lambert's first published story. Big congrats to a fellow Returned Peace Corps Volunteer!
Title: "Division of Labor"
Where read: Lightspeed Magazine, July 2013
Length: 3,948 words
Summary: In a near future, the ability to specialize has gone to extremes. If you don't use a body part, you literally lose it (and that's considered desirable). If you don't use a skill, i.e. math, that also dribbles away — out your nose. Of course, there will always be those rebels who try to buck the system, and that's our protagonist.
Memorable: The portrayal of the incremental loss of physical and mental capacity culminating in release of viscous liquid and meeting rooms designed with drains for this inevitability. A visceral result of an overemphasis on efficiency.
Origin:
"The idea came in the most literal form possible, which is that I was working very hard at a desk job and felt my physical condition deteriorating. So I just extrapolated from that." — Benjamin Roy Lambert in the Author Spotlight in Lightspeed by Earnie SotirokosQuote:
“The problem is, the only people who get ahead now are the people missing arms and mouths, people who can’t see color, or taste anything anymore. That’s who our heroes are these days.”Personal attachment: Like many writers with day jobs, I often find myself writing about office perils and find these stories fun, although I've heard editors aren't too keen on them as they see too many. I really enjoyed this story and was happy to see it break out. It's another reminder that if you write it well enough there are no rules.
Pairs well with: "Bartleby, the Scrivener" (1853) by Herman Melville, the classic disgruntled worker tale
About the author: This is Benjamin Roy Lambert's first published story. Big congrats to a fellow Returned Peace Corps Volunteer!
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