By Mika Lynch-Lee
Edited by Elim Chan and Liam Mason

“Can you get that?” Lou yelled to the cubicle next to her, irritably typing away on her keyboard. The shrill ringing of the phone was giving her a headache. That, or it was adding to the massive headache she was dealing with already—a former president had just been convicted of over 30 felonies, and Lou was heading the account on his fate. It was her job to draft and propose the fate of the man, while keeping in mind how the fates of everyone else involved would be affected depending on her choices. It was a lot more work than anything Lou had ever taken on. But her recent promotion put her at the top of the list for this account. And it was what she had been wanting, or at least she thought so. 

Being a Fate Agent was a lot easier when she was choosing if a college freshman would transfer after their first year at university, or choosing how the universe would reward a dedicated volunteer. While these decisions were important for the individual’s life, there was more room for Lou to pick and choose as she pleased. The amount of power Agents held wasn’t something Lou took lightly. Some matters, like punishing a toddler, were ignored by the Fate Agents entirely, delegated to the parents of the child. Other matters were labeled as uninfluential and were therefore not taken on by Agents—matters such as what happens after you eat a bad sandwich, or how your mom reacts when you box dye your hair black.

Lou’s favorite case had been this girl named Esther. She couldn’t afford to get the healthcare she needed, some treatment for her chronic illness, though Lou never understood the specifics. Esther had spent her weekends operating a lemonade stand to raise money for her treatment, and so Lou had found a way to reward the girl’s efforts by having the local news cover the story. Some generous supporters donated a few thousand dollars to Esther’s family. As long as the cost stayed the same, the money would cover six months of treatment. This had happened over 5 months ago, and Lou kept checking in on the girl to make sure she was still getting the treatment. 

So while Lou was familiar with dealing with a certain level of importance in each case, there was something new and intricate about this one. Lou was used to having to consider what the agency called “Ripples”. Ripples were a term for the naturally occurring effects that happened because of the decisions made by Fate Agents. They weren’t dangerous… necessarily. The more individuals involved in a situation, the more Ripples that needed to be taken into account. If an Agent failed to consider a Ripple, it could create a Wrinkle. Wrinkles carried permanent, extreme, and undesirable effects. Lou was lucky enough to have never created a Wrinkle. Though they were uncommon, they were still something every Fate Agent feared. 

The majority of Lou’s anxiety regarding this case was due to the importance of keeping track of every Ripple. A person could hardly be convicted of 34 felonies and not be at the center of an intense Ripple. Lou had written down what she considered to be every possible Ripple, then began drafting her proposal on how she believed the man should be fated. 

Lou glanced up at the poster above her desk; it was the same one hanging over everyone else’s. “For the people. For good.” A weak looking man was kneeling in front of a muscular man. The muscular man stared down his nose, pointing at the kneeling man, who had handcuffs around his wrists. To Lou, the poster showed her the power she held as a Fate Agent. Though Agents lacked the power to control someone’s actions, they had the power to influence those actions’ effects. Lou knew this was why murder existed. The Agents couldn’t prevent the murder, only deal with the aftermath; this usually involved convicting the individual and sentencing them to prison. Lou believed her work was focused on helping the world, sometimes on serving justice. Fate Agents must do what is best for the people. Whether it’s choosing what happens to a teen vandal, or choosing what sentence the judge will give a murderer. 

It becomes more complex, however, when the Agents are dealing with a war, a genocide, a virus. But oftentimes those matters were dealt with by workers higher up in the agency. Only Agents who have proved their decisive nature and smart, forward thinking were privy to meetings on these matters. Lou only knew the little bits and pieces that made their way to the other Agents. Her colleague once stopped her in the bathroom to tell her some rumors about one of those meetings. Lou remembered standing there, needing to pee badly but curious to hear the chatter, “… so it looks like it will just have to run its course. Of course this will be horrible for the country’s citizens who are under attack, but I guess this is the best way.” 

The best way?

It seemed to Lou that war was often left raging, genocide was often left committed, and viruses were often left spreading. The narrative was that it was all for the best. Lou supposed that was true. She lacked the context of the important meetings and did not understand all the millions and billions of Ripples to consider. Her biggest problem in her work, besides her anxiety, was a lack of confidence. Consequently, she constantly asked colleagues and bosses for their thoughts on her cases. While it annoyed the others, it made her work incredibly thoughtful and thorough. But she felt that her lack of confidence would make her a most unhelpful Agent in the big meetings. She only hoped that the deaths occurring were somehow helpful, somehow beneficial to the overall good of the people. 

Emerging slowly out of her reverie, Lou stretched and stared back at her computer. Ignoring the sound of the phone, which had started ringing again, she read over her proposal for the former president’s case. Her overall plan so far was: 

1. Send the man to prison. Lou hated how many famous people seemed to get away with being assholes. She supposed every Agent had their own way of handling things, often implementing delayed effects. But the biggest reason she was excited about this case was the chance to do what she had always wanted, punish someone who really deserved it. Lou had watched many of the high profile cases get handed to her superiors and had resented how lightly they dealt with them. Her promotion had given her the ability to serve real justice. Sending the former president to prison would certainly humble the man. It would show him that his money doesn’t mean he’s exempt from consequence.

2. Lose him his supporters. One of the biggest reasons the man was getting away with all these horrible crimes in the first place was because there were people who actually supported his agenda. Lou certainly did not, and had watched the way many others in the country did not when he was president. It was not her job to influence politics, but she was well within her right to influence the public’s reception of a celebrity’s actions. The larger the personality, the larger the consequences. Besides, somehow he was running for the presidency this year and Lou thought the safest thing to do was make it impossible for him to be reelected. Her research had found a truly evil plan that the man intended to enact if he was reelected. It involved removing what seemed like every right and act of legislation she could think of that the country had in place to help people. It also involved adding in plenty of his own legislation that sought to further his religious and bigoted beliefs. Lou didn’t know how this man had even been elected the first time around, she just knew she had to stop the second time.

3. Remove his platform. This seemed similar to Lou’s second step, but it had its own effects. By getting the man banned from various outlets and websites, she hoped he would have a hard time furthering his agenda. Lou hoped this would isolate him from communicating with any supporters he had left. 

This whole plan had taken Lou days, each number detailed with the specifics of how it would be done, who would be most affected, and her justification. She was supposed to present the plan to her boss the next day. For once, she felt confident in her plan. She hadn’t asked anyone for their thoughts. Her determination to serve justice, to prove her understanding of her job as a Fate Agent, to exercise God-like power, had given her a motivation she hadn’t felt before. 

“Lou?”

Lou’s gaze whipped behind her, and she instinctively turned off her computer. 

“Huh?” 

It was Debby.

“Boss wants you to go to his office.”

“What?? But my proposal isn’t until tomorrow!”

“No, not for that. I think it’s just a check-in or something. I’m not sure.” Debby was speaking quietly, worry laced her words.

“Oh, okay… Thanks Deb.” 

Lou closed the door behind her slowly. She held her computer to her chest, and was twisting the ring on her thumb, moving it around and around. 

“Hello Lou.”

“Hello.” Her voice sounded quieter than she intended.

“Please sit. I wanted to talk about your current proposal.”

Lou sat down. The chair was quite low and her knees stuck up above her hips. She felt out of place. Fidgeting with the necklaces on her chest, she looked up at her boss. His pale skin and strong build reminded her of the man from her poster. This made her feel rather like the weak man in handcuffs.

“Okay. But I haven’t finished yet. I mean, I have most of it, but there’s still some stuff left to add.” 

“That’s not a problem. It’s probably best if you don’t do any more work on it.” 

Lou’s stomach flipped, her heart starting an intricate gymnastics routine under her necklaces. She was being reassigned. The case was going to another Agent. 

Her voice caught in her throat, “Please. I’m so close to being done. I can show you what I have and maybe you can still consider it. I’ve done so much research… please don’t give it to someone else.” She knew she sounded feeble and felt her head becoming hot. 

Her boss smiled. It was a patronizing smile and Lou felt a rush of unexplained annoyance. Why was he reassigning her case when she had worked her ass off for the promotion that guaranteed it to her?

“I will not be reassigning your case. We have decided to suspend any undesirable fate for your client at the present moment. Instead you will give a favorable one. As I take it, your plan involves only an undesirable fate.”

Client? What did he mean by client? Never had anyone referred to the subjects of the Fate Agents as “clients”. They were always just “your case”. 

“What- what do you mean?” 

“I mean that your client has contacted us. He has requested that we do not enact anything that will harm him.” 

His voice was not light, friendly, and inviting like normal. It was serious and set. His mouth stretched in a tight, close lipped smile that his eyes didn’t share. 

“Contacted us?! What do you mean?” Lou knew she was missing something, and hoped her boss would explain it soon because she was becoming increasingly bemused.

“Something that you will learn as you move up as an Agent is the way we conduct our decisions in relation to those down on the planet we oversee. Not everyone on the planet is oblivious to our influence. While there have been many people who have sensed our power, there are only a few people who are aware of the secret. It is not surprising that influential figures are in contact with Fate Agents. It is a secret kept within the 1%, see? They don’t want the average person to know about us or there would be chaos. You can imagine how it would be if everyone was constantly trying to change their fate.” He let out a cruel chuckle.

He tried to share a knowing look with Lou. Her eyes were wide as ever and her forehead sported many wrinkles. This was a Ripple she had never thought about, one she was completely unprepared for. Her hands were fidgeting again.

“But I don’t understand. How can they change their fate? What do you mean they request—or how can we not give them the fate they deserve?”

“It’s a complicated business. As you know, it is our job to do what is best for the people. And so when someone asks us to spare them from an undesirable fate, or else they will enact even worse actions upon a population, you can imagine which path we are keen to take.”

 “So they blackmail you?”

“It is not a threat. It is an exercise of power. They have the power to ruin more lives than the average person. They have the power to ruin more lives than just their own. Your client, for example, explained what he would do if he became president again had we sabotaged him with a prison sentence.”

“Sabotaged? That makes it sound like we’re the ones in the wrong. But he can’t expect to do horrible things and not face consequences? And how can anything be worse than the plan he already has?” 

“Well for instance, under his threatened laws, someone like you wouldn’t be allowed to even step foot in the country. Not without telling a few lies anyway.” He raised an eyebrow and Lou realized he was referring to her girlfriend. 

“But consequences—he can’t honestly expect none.”

“But he doesn’t expect none. If he expected none, he wouldn’t ask us to change his fate.” Her boss was calm, but Lou’s feeling of incredulity was rising. 

“Ask us? You mean threaten us.” 

“More like threaten the country’s population.”

Lou was done. Done with the idea that just because someone was powerful, they got to decide everything in their lives.

She was beginning to realize that the 1% had a privilege seemingly invisible to everyone else. The privilege to manipulate their destiny. She knew Agents were constantly manipulating fates, in the sense that they chose them. But the idea that some people were out there with the privilege of controlling something as existential as fate, giving themselves an advantage over others, made her sick. To think of the millions in poverty, forced to exist on the same planet as greed and privilege. To exist on the same planet as people exempt from consequences… It meant she didn’t have the power she thought she did.  

“But this is stupid!” Lou burst exasperatedly.

“Lou!” Her boss was surprised. While Lou was usually unafraid to be honest, she always kept her tone and comments reserved. But she didn’t care now. The injustice of it all, the fact that it had been kept a secret, was making her feel more sick than she already felt.

“It is! I earned this promotion! I earned this case! I earned my shot to decide a truly influential fate! I deserve to see my proposal through!” She didn’t let her tears leave her eyes but they could be heard in her voice.

“That’s not how being an Agent works,” her boss said firmly, his face stony all of a sudden. “Now, either you can rewrite a proposal that follows the directions of your client… or I will reassign your case.” 

“I- I can’t. It isn’t fair… to manipulate an evil man’s fate. When other people are dying! When they’re dying of things that we can help solve! Can’t we at least do more for those people? Why aren’t we changing their fate?”

Lou was finding her voice again, even though her tears had since fallen. 

“But I suppose that’s why these wars don’t go away, why people are killed every day! Because you’d rather go along with evil than work against it. You’d rather placate these people than punish them.” Lou was yelling like never before. Yelling and yelling and crying and moving her arms about and trying not to faint.

“Fine.” Her boss had also had enough. “I will send through your proposal. I will let you see what happens when you punish the wrong people.” 

His words were ominous but Lou knew her plan would work. She knew that all this man, her “client”, needed was a concrete, unfavorable fate. 

“I know it will work.” 

“We will see. You will see.”

Lou knew it was time for her to go. Her boss’s anger was palpable. She felt ashamed for yelling, and worried her colleagues would hear about this conversation in the same way she always heard about theirs. But it was time someone didn’t follow the orders of whoever was in power. It was time someone stood up for the man in the handcuffs. 

It was a while before her proposal was enacted. The night after it had passed, Lou celebrated with some wine. Coincidentally, the election results were also being revealed that night. Despite the lateness of its implementation—her proposal had only gone into effect that day—Lou was positive it was significant enough to disrupt the results. She sipped straight from the bottle and watched on her personal Fate Agent screen to see what would happen. Lou wanted to watch how the man whose fate she controlled would react to losing. The bottle was gone before the results were out. Blurrily, Lou’s eyes tried to focus on the screen. She saw a pie chart, 10%… 44%… 46%… But who did each percentage belong to? Her eyes moved to the pictures. A man’s face, the man she had worked so hard against, was staring at her from a small photo contained within 46% of the chart. A majority. He had won. The bottle of wine wobbled and fell over, it rolled off the coffee table, smashing on the floor. In her scramble of dread, she stumbled over the glass, wincing as each piece cut her feet. She pulled them out and fell to the floor, drunk and exhausted.

It all happened fast over the next few days. Law upon law upon act upon act upon regulation upon regulation. Lou had never seen such backwards legislation enacted, she’d only ever watched it be removed. Thousands were deported, acres were given over to fracking and logging companies, and hundreds of millions were without healthcare. 

Lou watched desperately as an entire country went up in flames. It was miserable to be frozen from above, forced to watch the consequences of what had seemed such a good idea. At home one night, another bottle of wine gone, Lou’s eyes stayed glued to her monitor. She fumbled with the buttons, frantic to find some piece of hope in the country she had seemed to ruin. She had to find Esther. But her searches only brought up an empty hospital bed. Why couldn’t she find the girl? After more searching, Lou realized in horror that Esther was gone. The treatment had gotten too expensive. Esther couldn’t hold on anymore. There was nothing she could do.

Lou was barely hanging onto life herself. Desperate for something, maybe a reversal of time, she went to her boss. She begged, sobbing desperately. 

“Why… why did you let me do this?” 

“Some things can only be learned in practice. Do you see now why we make the decisions we do? Why not everyone can get the fate they deserve?”Lou thought about it, then realized the answer he was looking for. 

“For the people.” 

Her decisions were made “for good”.