"One Wonders How Some People Think These Methods Up"

"Bounty."

By Ken Poyner (born 1956).

First appearance: Daily Science Fiction, September 30, 2021.

Short short short story (2 pages as a PDF).

Online at Daily Science Fiction (HERE).

     ". . . got him flush in the back with a .38 slug."

"What's in a name?" soliloquized Juliet. In the future what's in a name could mean the difference between cashing out and cashing in . . . .

Main characters:

~ James:

  "Neither James nor his wife apparently knew it was James day."

~ Ned:

  "In the end, Ned collected the $450 for his catch."

~ Mrs.:

  "Most people resented the success of her secrecy."

Resources:

- The author has pages (HERE) and (HERE); his ISFDb bibliography is (HERE).

- The idea that society could deteriorate as catastrophically far as the one in today's story was also memorably highlighted in Robert Sheckley's "Seventh Victim" (HERE).

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