PHOTO PROMPT © Roger Bultot
The big, rusty pot on the top of the cabinet was everything that had ever been wrong with Henry’s life.
The state rated him as a “Standard” just like Mom and Dad, nothing horrible, nothing exceptional. He was the default an enlightened society blamed things on to prioritize other groups.
He was a Standard, so allowed one marriage, one career and one child. They were all Standard except Mao elected to retranslation camp to become prioritized as an Outsider N-5.
He rated a divorce after twenty years and in old age, everything the state valued was still out of reach.
Cover image for my novel “A Wobblegong and His Boy”
It’s Wednesday and time again to participate in this week’s edition of Rochelle Wisoff-Fields’ Friday Fictioneers. The idea is to use the image up top as the prompt for crafting a poem or short story no more than 100 words long. My word count is exactly 100.
I’ve been watching clips from the recent New Democratic Party (NDP) convention and especially the much ridiculed Equity Cards and couldn’t help but be reminded of George Orwell’s prophetic novel “1984.” After much deliberation, my wee story emerged.
To read other stories based on the prompt or to contribute one of your own, visit inlinkz.
My new science fiction boy’s adventure novel A Wobblegong And His Boy was published last Friday in both Kindle and paperback formats. No reviews or ratings of the book on Amazon yet, but someone left a single four-star (out of five) rating on Goodreads. A great out-of-this-world adventure for the young and the young at heart. Buy a copy for the adventurous boy or girl in your life or even for you.
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I didn’t follow the referenc to Mao. This doesn’t seem like Chinese communism
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I made the name up on the spur of the moment. No connection.
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Standard sounds alright by me…
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Unless you get extra perks by being anything but Standard.
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i can’t imagine living in that kind of society. it must be horrible indeed.
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Horrible and possibly not that far off.
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A dismal existence.
Are suicides up in this dystopian future or do they have a way to protect their assets?
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Depends on whether people are so programmed that they never think of suicide or not. In George Orwell’s “1984” the protagonist was working on a dictionary for the government that did NOT include any of the words they didn’t want people to know. All classic books, newspapers, and so on were similarly edited. The perfect slavery is when they control not just your body but your mind. Think social media but times a million.
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This has a clear 1984 vibe. And also an emerging 2026 vibe in far too many places. Be average, accept your place, and don’t question the elites.
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To be fair, that’s kind of been the message of government regardless of political party. You should see some of the clips from Canada’s recent NDP convention. It’s absolutely nuts.
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Sounds pretty dreadful, I would say. Hmm. But your book looks good, James.
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Thanks, Chris. Hope you plan to buy and read (and review) it. 😀
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I shall put it on my list!
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Thanks.
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Sounds like a sterile and hopeless existence.
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That’s the way I read it too, Lisa.
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Dear James,
Living in the average grey life. Sounds dismal.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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It does indeed.
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