After Dinner Conversation

Which would you prefer, a gay son, or no relationship with your son at all? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, Robert and Grace are high school friends. Both are bullied. Robert for his long hair and the rumor he is gay, and Grace, for her short hair, and the rumors she is too. Robert is gay, Grace is not. While preparing their midterm English performance, Robert decides he is going to use the performance as the way to finally come out to the school and tell them about the trauma he has been experiencing from his family the last several years. It does not go well as both are sent to the office, and their parents are called in. Robert escapes with his father’s gun. When Grace finds out she steals her mother’s car and goes looking for him. She finds him at a hotel. They briefly talk and the police show up. Before Grace realizes what has happened, Robert has killed himself.

Should a criminal suffering from the remorse of the crime he committed be permitted to be freed of that pain? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, Mr. Henmore’s was convicted of a terrible crime many years ago. He served his time, and been paroled, and is genuinely remorseful for what he did. In fact, his pain is so great, even years later, he suffers severe, almost daily, mental anguish from the knowledge of what he did. His lawyer has gone before the Grand Rectification Council to ask permission to have Mr. Henmore’s memory wiped clean of the crime he committed so as to enter his suffering. After making his case on behalf of his client, it is now up to the Council, should Mr. Henmore forever remember the horrible thing he has done?

If society could clean the memories of a criminal, and allow them to start a new life, with new life experiences, would they have a new person? Are we more than our memories? In this work of philosophical short story of fiction, John wakes up with complete amnesia in a small white room. His roommate Jack is in the same situation, but has been in the room longer. They are gassed and when John wakes up a doctor explains to him that he was convicted of a crime and, rather than going to prison, he opted to have his memory erased, to have a new memory implanted, and to get an entirely new life. Unfortunately, in order to get a clean slate, the process from memory wipe to new life takes 18 months. John and Jack share a cell. John reads, and Jack draws. Eventually, Jack’s time is up and he disappears, ready to enter his new life. John gets a new cellmate and gets him up to speed. Eventually, John’s time is up and he is gassed a final time before starting his life as a "newborn."

Is acceptable to consume art that reflects the “depraved, the cruel, the violent, and the heartless” aspects humanity? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, Felix doesn’t go for “moral relativism.” He believes there is good and evil, that art should not reflect the evil of the world, or enrich artists who are found wanting. Accordingly, Felix has gone about the lifelong process of removing all copies of the depraved art he can find, and afford to buy, in circulation. A police officer comes to his door because his sister in Arizona hasn’t heard from him in months and has asked for a wellness check. Felix explains his abundant video and book collection to the officer who is at first confused, but later begins to understand Felix’s reasoning.

What level of proof is required to believe in the spiritual and the afterlife? What level of proof is required for disclosure to others as material? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, Mariette is a real estate agent that is informed by the seller that the house is haunted by a ghost. Mariette is prone to believing in ghosts, but feels this is information she is not required to tell a potential buyer. However, shortly thereafter, she starts getting strange static phone calls and seeing a woman from an earlier time walking the streets pushing an empty stroller. The situation comes to a head when she does some research that turns up a missing woman and child. Her phone rings again, again providing only static. By talking to the static Mariette is able to determine the sequence of events leading to the murder, and is able to set the wandering ghost free by giving it peace.

How do we learn from past decisions not taken and imagined futures while not holding on to the choices not taken and causing ourselves despair? In this work of philosophical short fiction, an Uncle Cockroach takes his nephew to the highest point in the land, the top of the refrigerator. From there, they overlook the larger, and beautiful home, and see the humans living in the home. The Uncle tells his nephew the humans can speak, like they do, but that they are unhappy because they have a hidden 3rd eye inside their head that allows them to see the future and the past that may happen. This causes them to dislike the present because they are always comparing it to what their 3rd eyes sees. Suddenly, an angel moth comes down and, on behalf of The Great Arachnid, is told me must forever render cockroaches speechless.

How do you decide which laws are just, and which to break? How do you know when a democratic government has passed a law you are comfortable breaking? In this work of philosophical short fiction, the narrator admits he is an addict. He takes a taxi to a vacant part of town, and walks the rest of the way to his source. He knocks and enters the restaurant. Only one other patron, a woman. He orders the illegal dish to serve his addiction, a steak. With a glass of red wine he savors the illegal action of eating animal flesh. Just then the place is busted by the police. The narrator hides, but can see the police interrogating the woman and the doorman. In an effort to get information, the younger policeman begins beating the woman and accidentally kills her. The police decide to cover their tracks by throwing the woman in the back alley and making the doorman promise to never tell anyone what he saw. After the police leave, the terrified narrator slips out the back.