"The Goat Variations" is a 2009 science fiction novelette by Jeff VanderMeer. It is about an alternate reality president of the USA and his experiences with 9/11.
That Famous Goat Book!
This story relies heavily upon knowledge that President Bush was reading a children’s story book when the planes attacked on September 11, 2001. This may not be of interest to a lot of people, especially non-Americans, but there are some funny one-liners and scenes that are reminiscent of The Minority Report. I thought it was a cool story – you’ll have to decide for yourself.
Non-Spoiler Summary
A new president / king of the North Americas and Britain has just been sworn in when he is rushed off to a secret cavern beneath the Pentagon. It is here that he discovers the existence of thousands of “adepts” – illegal humans who have visions of the future. One of these adepts has just given the government the plans for a time machine, and the rest have hinted at something terrible which will happen in September of that year. Later, while the President reads a book to school children he is given some strange (and alternate-time-bending) news. The real question is: what will he do with that information?
Some Interesting Tidbits
- Word count: 5,853 (9 pages)
- Did you know that Jeff VanderMeer grew up in the Fiji Islands? Yep. You can learn more about this science fiction author on his web site.
- Special thanks to Free SF Reader for pointing out this story.
Where To Find The Goat Variations
- This short story first appeared in the April 2009 anthology Other Earths
.
- You can read "The Goat Variations" for free online at John Joseph Adams web site for his anthology Other Worlds Than These
.
Craving More SF Stories Like This One?
If you liked "The Goat Variations" then you may also enjoy “The President’s Brain is Missing” by John Scalzi – about a president of the United States whose brain isn’t in his head anymore!
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