Following is an attempt at trying out Mary Robinette Kowal’s sci fi satire flash fiction writing exercise from Brandon Sanderson’s lecture series.

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Distraught, the happy-go-lucky Jockey underwear salesman sits down on the cold metal stools at the newly opened space mall’s cafe on the Moon. No matter how he tried, none of the moon-living-humans (MLHs) wore, or wanted to wear, underwear. With his tight space pants digging into his crotch, he looks down at his coffee coaster that had a moving image of Neil Armstrong, giving him an idea.

The whole no underwear thing, after all, started 100 years ago with Neil having to pee through a tube. He quickly drafts and sends an Ad contract to the Armstrong AI for an Ad spot starring Neil, saying how he would not have had to pee into a tube had the Jockey Space Underwear existed then.

The contract is approved by the Armstrong AI, and Ads immediately start running, even on the Armstrong coaster in front of him. Jockey underwear sales figures increase on his headset, putting a smile on his face. But then, to his absolute horror, the sales of tubed space pants are increasing much more rapidly. Some of the MLHs even start cancelling their underwear orders.

The happy-go-lucky salesman screams in shock and asks the Armstrong AI to cancel the Ad. It reminds him of the hefty fine for foreclosure in his contract. The salesman instead alters the lines to “Freeing Mankind Since Centuries” with an image of Neil raising both his hands freely, smiling, with the words “No tubing needed” on the side. The Armstrong AI approves it, and the new Ads start running.

And finally, the Jockey underwear sales start ticking up. And up. And up it went. The salesman finishes his coffee and stands up, looking happy again. He straightens his tubed space pants and walks off.

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I hope you enjoyed this attempt at writing a sci fi satire flash fiction. If you are new here, I’m Ashik Satheesh, and my last published novella is called The Wedding Chase, a short romantic comedy set on the night before a wedding in Kerala, India. The bride goes missing. The police groom chases her down. Two wedding crashers get mixed up in the chaos. It’s light, funny, and full of heart. You can read the ebook for free or buy a print copy at iashik.com/twc. I’d love to hear what you think!