by Joanne Rixon
Sometimes it’s hard to see the future. And we don’t mean in the sense of fortune telling or prophecy. We mean imagining a world where humans survive, and to some extent thrive. We’ve read a lot of narratives where our prospects look bleak. The chances of a perfect world are slim but does that mean all hope is lost? In their short story “The Big Easy,” Joanne Rixon shows us a future where things are pretty okay. As we follow Ellie Mathieu during one six hour shift at her coffee cart in Tacoma Washington, we learn about the world in 2075. The world building is woven into Ellie’s simple daily tasks and what she sees during her shift. It’s a story that is refreshing in that it is hopeful, without being naive. It’s not about some great utopian future, but it’s also not a complete apocalypse. It’s a future, much like today’s world, where you must appreciate the little things and do what you can to improve your community while at the same time learning to live with the fear of what tomorrow might bring. This is a future where human connection is valued over automation. Where people work to live instead of live to work. A world that keeps culture alive through food. We said this story isn’t hopeful, but in a way it is. It’s a world where people have started to get their priorities straight and that’s hopeful enough for us. Read it at http://strangehorizons.com/fiction/the-big-easy/.