Designing Fate

by J.F. Garrard

In the year 2093 Lisa decides to walk into a store to create a 500 Model Series child. As a good parent, she was willing to pay the price for genome modification in order to obtain the best DNA sequence possible for her child. However, what happens when a designer child clashes with a normal child and prejudiced parents? Should Lisa pay the price for her child's mistakes?

Warning: Story includes violent imagery.

16 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 2, 2015

About the author

JF Garrard is an award winning speculative fiction writer, editor and publisher. She is the President of Dark Helix Press, serves as the President for the Canadian Authors Association’s Toronto Branch, Festival Coordinator for LiterASIAN Toronto, and Deputy Editor for Ricepaper Magazine. Her portfolio of books and short fiction is listed on jfgarrard.com and you can find her on Twitter, Instagram, Tiktok @jfgarrard.

Reviews

[J.M. Northup]

Better Than Expected

I knew this was going to be an interesting read, but it was better than I expected. The DNA manipulation was right up my alley, but the story woven by the author around that concept was great. It went beyond my hopes, which thrilled me.

Initially, I wondered what I was getting into since the formatting was lacking. It was presented more like a school paper than a true short story, but the tale was consuming. In the end, odd punctuation didn't matter because I was captured. My only real complaint - couldn't it be longer!? LOL

I'll be checking out more by this author and definitely recommend others do the same. This is 1 of 3 in this short collection... I'm off to read the rest!

[Precious Sullivan]

Designing Fate presents a thought provoking glimpse into a future where parents can genetically engineer their children. Lisa’s decision to create a “designer” child opens the door to questions about perfection, prejudice, responsibility, and the consequences of our choices. At only 16 pages, it offers a compact but provocative speculative fiction experience that encourages readers to think about where scientific possibility and human judgment might collide.

[Stephanie Anne]

I loved the concept of this short story, but I wanted it to go further than it did. There was the potential for some good tension, character development, and horror, but everything was so rushed. It was frustrating that there were more descriptions of the characters appearances than there were of their thoughts and actions.
2.5