This is a good short-short story, very much in Brin’s best style of clever foresight of technology-meets-social-issues. I won’t spoil it by telling what it’s about. Just take the 10 minutes to read it.
Originally shared by David Brin
Potential Hugo nominators: yes I know it’s late. I’m lousy at this promotion thing. But at last I have posted — for your kind interest and perusal — my best story of 2013. “Insistence of Vision” is available here for a limited time, mainly for the convenience of members of the World Science Fiction Convention.
http://www.davidbrin.com/insistenceofvision.html
All others should (strictly speaking) buy a copy of the special 2013 Science Fiction Issue of MIT Technology Review! Or my third story collection in 2015! But no one is going to chase you down, either way. We don’t have the technologies portrayed in this story… yet….
(http://www.technologyreview.com/twelvetomorrows/)
“Insistence of Vision” portrays a very near future, when tech allows us to “solve” the problem of imprisoning convicted criminals. Oh, but sometimes the world can improve… without getting better across the board. Nothing comes without a cost.