Diabolical Plots #58, December 2019
“Consequences of a Statistical Approach Towards a Utilitarian Utopia: A Selection of Potential Outcomes” by Matt Dovey
Reviewed by Tara Grímravn
On offer this December from Diabolical Plots #58 are two short SF stories. They share no common theme and fall on very different areas of the SF spectrum but readers will enjoy both.
“Consequences of a Statistical Approach Towards a Utilitarian Utopia: A Selection of Potential Outcomes” by Matt Dovey
What happens when the government steps in to ensure every member of society is happy and maintains that equilibrium based on statistical data no matter the cost? That’s exactly the question that Dovey tackles here. In this sequence of five futuristic mini tales, a woman gives birth to her 22nd child, a man’s promotion brings both happiness and pain, and a road traffic controller enjoys his job a bit too much. Elsewhere, a woman deals with separation from her spouse while another man grieves for the loss of his cat. In each scenario, a Happiness Moderator is present to enforce and maintain established levels of societal happiness, taking action deemed appropriate to each situation.
Dovey’s story is meant to unsettle its readers and it does a great job at it. This dystopian tale is a combination of Big Brother government and The Stepford Wives, opening with a seemingly normal and joyous event. The end of that first vignette leaves one with a sense of awe over the fact that Michelle had borne no less than 22 children as it moves on to the next scenario. It’s at this point that one starts to get the idea that government-enforced happiness comes at a huge cost. The vignettes that follow drive this point home even further.
In the end, this story stuck with me, leaving me to ponder questions about those who might be brave enough to fight back in Dovey’s so-called “utilitarian utopia,” those not featured in the presented scenarios. When a story leads my imagination on a wild goose chase like this regarding things beyond what’s contained in its pages, it’s safe to say that it’s done its job in capturing my attention. I highly recommend this story.
“The Problem from Jamaica Plain” by Marie L. Vibbert
Civil law attorney Jasmine is on break when she gets a very strange call. The woman on the other end of the line thinks she may have killed someone. Before Jasmine can get any more information from her, the woman hangs up. Moments later, she calls again and asks about an abandoned child. Once again, though, she hangs up before Jasmine can ask any further questions. So, she calls the woman back. When the woman, Elle, asks her to come over and see for herself what’s going on, Jasmine accepts. When she arrives at Elle’s apartment, Jasmine listens to the events that led up to the disappearance of Veronica, Elle’s girlfriend, and the appearance of an infant wrapped in Veronica’s clothes. Jasmine doesn’t realize it yet but, from here on in, things are about to get much stranger.
Overall, Vibbert’s is a great story. Readers will appreciate its unique twist on the Invasion of the Body Snatchers. However, I had issues with the dialogue. In some places, the dialect is written out while it’s not in others. Where it is written, it’s distracting and hard to read, especially since often only half a sentence is written in dialect. For me, I know what a Bostonian accent sounds like but I struggled to “hear” the speaker because I was trying to follow the written dialect. It doesn’t at all ruin the narrative and it is honestly the only downside to this tale. Aside from that, I quite liked it.