Diabolical Plots
#137, July 2026
“The Last Optician” by Ann Calandro
“Euthanasia Influx” by Rowan Hill
Reviewed by Philip Hutson
“The Last Optician” by Ann Calandro is a long piece of flash fiction at 1563 words. It is a vignette of life in a country under a Corporatocracy quickly moving to feudalism. Under the control of the corporation, even basic rights are gone, as shown with the need for a travel pass to move from zone to zone. Each zone has everything required to fulfill the basic needs of a citizen, and what is not there they can order online. The corporation needs to keep the citizens working as much as possible to keep it profitable; if a citizen is traveling, they are not working.
The story uses the lack of choice in eyeglasses and opticians to show life under the rule of a corporation. Every decision of the company is based purely on profit. Because of that, the choice of frames for glasses is limited to one brand, which does not handle complicated prescriptions.
There is one note that really shows the way the world is: when asked if there was anything new in optometry, the optometrist replies, “It’s all just marketing now. There’s nothing new.”
The story presented a view of a country-wide version of the long-extinct company town. It struck me how much the story sounded like the USSR, GDR, or modern-day North Korea, and is more of a cautionary tale of communism.
“Euthanasia Influx” by Rowan Hill is a tale of a dystopian future where the world has been destroyed by a worldwide drought. As shown in its opening line, the story starts as a simple tale of assisted suicide: “The attractive blonde technician responsible for your death smiles lovingly.” The justification for this individual’s death seems to be a standard, currently acceptable, reason: “Crippling arthritis, an insidious thief, stole your hands long ago.”
The first hint at the condition of the world is revealed with the question, “Did they extra her water rations?” Later, you find out that there was a worldwide drought and that many animals are extinct.
The process of dying, in this future, is helped with the volunteer reliving memories via some unstated method. The story continues with Michael reliving the summer day when he had proposed to his wife, Marta. The transition to the memory, for Michael, is wonderful, as the narrator describes it as “Glorious,” and would make for a gentle end to a long life. Michael is able to continue reliving the memory until memories of playing with his grandkids intrude.
He realizes that even with his dilapidated body, he is still able to contribute and enjoy his time with his family. He realizes that he has made a horrible mistake, and finally the narrator reveals that the death isn’t to relieve suffering but for “[his] body, its nutrients for a hungry population.”
“Euthanasia Influx” was a good story of a horrible possible future. Even in an ugly dying world, the protagonist found beauty in the world and joy from his family, reminding us that time with our loved ones is time well spent. I found the idea of a pretty face for the death facilitator a good touch. One of the most horrific scenes of the story was described thusly: “Your heavy head was the only body part not anesthetized, so you could replay your dearest memory,” while the machine digests his body.
As acknowledged by the author, the story pays homage to the classic 1973 dystopian SF film Soylent Green by exploring the idea of the volunteers who change their minds.
Philip Hutson’s ramblings and poor attempts at storytelling can be seen at https://tr8t.com