Publication day, Science fiction

Workforce Reduction

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In Another Time Magazine has published my short story “Workforce Reduction.” In her acceptance letter, editor Agatha Grimke wrote, “This was very well written and a fun piece, and we really liked the way you told the story through executive emails.”

Thank you, Agatha! This is my first shot at epistolary fiction, and it was a blast to research and write. Not sure how you’d classify it — dark sci-fi? satire? Whatever you call it, I was extremely pleased how my observations on religion and current events dovetailed into the story arc.

“Workforce Reduction” draws on my days working in Organizational Development for an insurance company, where I analyzed workflow and designed new procedures. That’s where I first learned about Dr. Jerry Pournelle’s Iron Law of Bureaucracy. In addition to being a science fiction author, Pournelle was an influential OD scientist. His Iron Law says, “In any bureaucracy, the people devoted to the benefit of the bureaucracy itself always get in control.”

In other words, bureaucracies tend to become self-serving. I can attest to the accuracy of that law. Boy, can I ever. My story features creepy aliens and back-stabbing bosses, but Pournelle’s law is the real antagonist in this story.

Available now on Amazon in Kindle or paperback.

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