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short story contest

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one million words

Toronto, 2005.06.30

I entered a short story contest back in December. It was with the Toronto Star. Today they announced the winners, and my story was vastly different from anything that was in the winning and "runners up" sections. I mean vastly different - mine was a sci-fi tale involving failed scientists and the discovery that the first alien ambassador to Earth is little more than a 60's space monkey. The winning stories were about things like going to the grocery store and forgetting to buy something.

So, without any need to keep from 'publishing' my entry, here is the story I submitted.

rand()m quote

Selfish leaders increase risk by placing themselves first. It's a fundamental mistake to assume that what is good for us personally is mutually exclusive to what is good for everyone. That kind of zero-sum game is for cowards, and in the end, we all pay the price for this type of latent, toxic leadership.

—Col. Eric G. Kail