is not that it reveals some horrible “what-if” future; it’s that it reveals the painful absurdity of our immediate situation. In Josh Bales’ story, the character Donovan is ready to blow a hole in someone to get his wife’s oxygen concentrator fixed. A vital part, the compressor, needs to be replaced, but it’s a specialized design—extras aren’t easy to come by. Our hero, Mallory, goes on a desperate journey to find such a part. She navigates roads that are under the control of corporate drones, dodging a toll and getting detained in response. Advertisement Advertisement