January Fifteenth

January fifteenth – the day all Americans receive their annual Universal Basic Income payment. For Hannah, a middle-aged mother, today is the anniversary of the day she took her two children and fled her abusive ex-wife. For Janelle, a young, broke journalist, today is another mind- numbing day interviewing passersby about the very policy she once opposed. For Olivia, a wealthy college freshman, today is ‘Waste Day’, when rich kids across the country compete to see who can most obscenely squander the government’s money. For Sarah, a pregnant teen, today is the day she’ll journey alongside her sister-wives to pick up the payments that undergird their community – and perhaps embark on a new journey altogether. In this near-future science fiction novella by Rachel Swirsky, the fifteenth of January is another day of the status quo, and another chance at making lasting change.