Terminological Twists
Protocolized's debut fiction contest challenged writers to take a technical term — from internet engineering, governmental policy, or the broader world of protocols — and make it the focus of a story. The results ranged from deadpan satire to speculative horror, from close procedural drama to sweeping alternate history.
Each piece is a kind of translation: a piece of infrastructure rendered human, a standard made strange, a spec turned into a scene. Together they make an argument that protocol vocabulary is already rich in narrative possibility — you just have to read the RFC differently.
All stories are published on the Protocolized Substack and freely readable. A print edition and EPUB will be available soon.
Contents
- 1.Noise Ordinance — Spencer Nitkey
- 2.The 40-Hour Work Week — Étienne Fortier-Dubois
- 3.DHCP — Amita
- 4.Time to Die — Ralph Witherell
- 5.Fine Print — Griffin
- 6.The Air Gap — Jack Lord
Contributors
Related resources
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The Librarians
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