The Button

by Nicholas Ponticello

A button that can destroy the world. The one man that guards it—and the enemy within.

One of acclaimed author Nicholas Ponticello's earliest works, The Button originally appeared online in 2006, one of two short stories describing the dark relationship between humans and the world they've created. Nearly a decade later—and for the first time in e-book format—this revised edition offers readers a rare glimpse into Ponticello's psyche in the years preceding the publication of his recent hit novel: Do Not Resuscitate.

Available for instant download through Amazon's Kindle Unlimited program, or for purchase in Kindle format on Amazon.com.

24 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 4, 2015

About the author

Nicholas Ponticello is an educator and writer in Los Angeles, California. He graduated from University of California, Berkeley with degrees in mathematics and astrophysics and later earned his masters in education from the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Ponticello is interested in exploring the intersection of science, sustainability, mental health, and education, and hopes to encourage more systems thinking and sustainability-themed curricula at the secondary school level.

Mr. Ponticello is also a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators. In 2020, he was awarded the Sue Alexander Grant for his work on a YA novel provisionally titled WHAT IF I DID? What If I Did? is based on his experience coping with debilitating OCD and his struggle to overcome it through years of cognitive behavioral therapy. Mr. Ponticello completed the six-week intensive outpatient clinic at UCLA and went on to become an advocate for the International OCD Foundation. He has written for the IOCDF blog and has spoken on a panel about relationships and OCD at the annual IOCDF Conference.

Mr. Ponticello grew up in Northern California and began his career as the operations manager at KOMENAR Publishing in Oakland, CA. He is a longtime runner, and has coached champion cross-country and track & field teams at the high school level. Mr. Ponticello is also the author of Do Not Resuscitate, a fictional biography that considers transhumanism and the intersection of technology and sustainability. He has studied writing under Kim Krizan (Before Sunrise, Zombie Tales 2061) and Bruce Miller (Handmaid's Tale, ER). Do Not Resuscitate won a Reader Views Reviewers Choice Award, an INDIEFAB Book of the Year Award, and a CIPA EVVY Award. His second novel, The Maiden Voyage of the Destiny Unknown, also won a Reader Views Reviewers Choice Award and was listed as one of 100 Notable Books from the Shelf Unbound Best Indie Book Competition.

Reviews

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very good story. I need to check out more by this author.

[April Ramming]

Short and to the point - right on the button

The short strokes of character and contex build plenty in such a short punch. Push the "Buy Now" button, you won't be disappointed...

[Jeff Raymond · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short read about a man and a button. The man's entire job is to guard the button, but he doesn't know what it's for and it's pretty tempting.

The short story is basically a suspenseful piece that, at its core, is a "will he or won't he" story, but also one about existence in general, how the drudgery of work can impact you, and the trouble with limited information. I liked it a lot, and, at under 30 pages, it's probably something I'd recommend everyone take a flier on.

[shannon Stubbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well did it work?

Pretty good. Not my favorite story by this author but it was still good. I just want to know if he really did press the button or was it just in his head. Maybe we all ended kaput, gone, dead.

[Lana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this short novel to be quite disturbing in the fact that an old man was in charge of the button. He spent every night on duty, on his own, watching monitors for security reasons, with one room in particular, the room with the button inside it. The button which once pressed could eradicate the world, or so he was told. This of course caused a lot of trauma and nightmares in the poor disturbed old man as it did me too. To think that there are so many of such buttons with the power to eradicate whole countries, and which could be pressed by a distressed or disturbed human being. It is a depressing story because it is so real and so damn scary to even consider!

[Nicholas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A dark look at the complexity of the human mind.

[Mini · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oddly charming

I liked it! Good for a free, quick read. It definitely made me think, despite being so short.

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