Um, yeah, no. Thanks for the reminder!

(9) What if your job was to collect emotions from the poor?

“Collections Agent” in Manawaker Studio’s 100-Word Project

www.patreon.com/posts/100-wo...

(8) What if .. you travelled to the Andromeda galaxy and no one was home when you returned?

“Intergalactic Imperative” in Year’s Best Canadian Fantasy & Science Fiction Vol 3 (orig published in Astral, Alien Fiction)

www.indigo.ca/en-ca/years-...

(7) What if you were kidnapped to be a sentient bioreactor?

“Blackout” in @nightshadesmag.bsky.social

www.nightshadesmag.com/blackout/

(6) What if .. you had to skate across Europa?

“Galilean Crossing” in Manawaker Studio’s Flash Fiction podcast (first published in @analogsf.bsky.social)

podcastaddict.com/episode/http...

(5) What if … you just wanted to give everyone the day off?

“Abdication Day” in Androids & Dragons

androidsanddragons.substack.com/p/abdication...

(4) What if you had to swim across Lake Ontario … the one on Titan?

“Ontario Lacus” in @analogsf.bsky.social Sept/Oct 2025

(3) What if human civilization spread through the galaxy … and then the ties were cut?

“Surface of Last Scattering”
In @perseidprophecies.bsky.social summer 2025

www.patreon.com/posts/issue-...

(2) What if you came down to Earth, just to swim in the ocean?

“Skinny Legs” in @utopiascifi.bsky.social June 2025

www.utopiasciencefiction.com/2025-archive

There’s a lot of universe to keep track of!

I am sad for you, and for all of us.

Thank you for your time spent dealing with this, your stance, and sharing how it all turned out.

You may be able to order one online from the manufacturer. (A locksmith recommended this to me.) Here’s an example: www.sentrysafe.com/support/lost...

No need to apologize - I am happy to have learned something new!

I’ve heard public servants (in your country & mine) say that they can’t justify spending public money other than on “the best science”. So lottery seems to be politically untenable.

Nothing wrong with the telescope AFAIK. But very high oversubscription means lots of people spending lots of time submitting and reviewing unsuccessful
proposals. www.stsci.edu/contents/new...

This is what ALMA does, I think? I see the advantages, although it doesn’t get at the huge amount of time spent writing (and reviewing) proposals that won’t be accepted..

(Interestingly this is not wholly dissimilar to the situation in short fiction, with the big differences being that stories are mostly not written for one specific market, and resubmissions are generally not allowed. And of course the barrier to entry is lower.)

Very true, all good points. Other ideas for throttling (a cap on numbers with first-come-first-served, limits by region, institution, or career stage) also seem bad. And I don’t think a lottery would fly. But continually increasing proposal numbers is also unsustainable, right? Is there a solution?