Sci-fi short story IDentification: Final War Edition
November 16, 2023 4:16 PM
Hi all,
I've been trying to identify a particular sci-fi short story today, and coming up empty. Maybe the hive mind can help. It was read aloud to a group of middle or perhaps early high school kids in the 2000s.
I remember the story plot roughly like this.
A young man is drafted into some sort of military unit. They fight some sort of ritualized war, perhaps on a yearly basis. I remember that this was instituted after a "final war of 1999," or something like that.
I remember the war is fought between representatives of the AMericans and Russians? I'm not really clear on why they do this every year, but I definitely remember some sort of computer/probability thing rating each side's chances of winning. The protagonist is American and eventually manages to "win," the war, at great mental cost.
HE is lauded and presented with the keys to the city, but is messed up by the experience. I believe at the end of the story it's heavily implied he commits rape or otherwise lashes out at someone.
ChatGPT and Google have both been unhelpful. I'd love to know what this was, for morbid curiosity.
I remember the story plot roughly like this.
A young man is drafted into some sort of military unit. They fight some sort of ritualized war, perhaps on a yearly basis. I remember that this was instituted after a "final war of 1999," or something like that.
I remember the war is fought between representatives of the AMericans and Russians? I'm not really clear on why they do this every year, but I definitely remember some sort of computer/probability thing rating each side's chances of winning. The protagonist is American and eventually manages to "win," the war, at great mental cost.
HE is lauded and presented with the keys to the city, but is messed up by the experience. I believe at the end of the story it's heavily implied he commits rape or otherwise lashes out at someone.
ChatGPT and Google have both been unhelpful. I'd love to know what this was, for morbid curiosity.
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posted by Alensin at 5:00 PM on November 16, 2023