“A Cup of Empathy” Out Now
My story features in issue 10 of Wyldblood Magazine
“A Cup of Empathy” came to me during breakfast at our local cafe. “What if a coffee shop could serve emotions” I thought. What might that look like? We’re already so dependent on something as simple as coffee to function (wait, that’s everyone right, not just me?) so if we could lliterally buy liquid focus, how would that change our society?
From that came two ideas—the first being this story, following Connie’s day as a Barista at Emotive, and her glimpses of the darker side of her society.
And from there came another idea—Emotiv—a serial novel I’ve been working on for many months. I’ve had this story on submission since I started expanding it into a novel, but I’m so happy it’s finally found a home, and so proud that Wyldblood chose to publish it.
“Plain Gratitude, no whip.” The patron glares through his bushy eyebrows.
My eyes flick automatically to their bracelet—black stripe, one dash. I bow in respect and tap the order screen between us. “Would you care for an extra shot of Empathy, sir?”
“No.”
Well yeah, that tracks. It’s a shame, too—we had a fresh batch of Empathy today. I enjoyed a small cup earlier—my only employee perk. Frank subs us a free daily drink, so long as it improves our performance, but they’re usually the cheaper varieties. I like Empathy; it helps me get a feel for the client’s mood. Sometimes I’ll take a shot of Vigilance if it’s been a really rough night.