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Online US magazine Slate is releasing a series of short stories by well-known fiction writers that detail what they foresee the future will look like under US President Donald Trump.
The Trump Story Project, as it’s called, has already kicked off with a tale about immigrant deportation by acclaimed author Héctor Tobar and will feature work by South Africa’s very own Lauren Beukes.
“[Trump is] a classic fascist dictator who suppresses the media and spreads blatant lies and propaganda,” the award-winning sci-fi and fantasy writer told City Press via email this week.
She says that instead of writing a short story for the project she came up with an “application form for an imaginary lifestyle rewards programme called Patriot Points”.
The terrifying fictional form offers a slicing critique of Trump’s nationalist, jingoist position as the US’s new president, and starts off by requiring wannabe members to supply their social security numbers (the American version of ID numbers) as well as their social media account names and passwords for spouses and dependants. It awards points on how “authentically American” people are, with the most points awarded to people who speak American English and the least to people who speak Middle Eastern languages. There are even points if you were a cheerleader in high school, own an American flag or hunt.
In section five, the form requires applicants to agree or disagree with questions like “Good walls make for good neighbours”, “National security is more important than human rights”, and “Economic interests supersede environmental issues”.
And, of course, the devil is in the detail. The fine print at the bottom of the form reads: “I hereby indemnify the Patriot Points Programme, the US government and all rewards partners against any complaints, damage, injury, acts of harassment or violence or human rights violations that might occur against me or my family based on the information I have freely provided here.”
Beukes says she is currently working on a new novel and recently completed a short comic for British sci-fi comic 2000 AD’s 40th Anniversary. She will be attending the Rockerfeller Foundation’s Bellagio residency in Italy in March and doing FanCon comic con in Cape Town and the Kingsmead Book Festival and Woordefees this year.
A TV show based on her acclaimed novel Broken Monsters is in production and director Morten Tyldum has been attached as a possible director for the film version of her book The Shining Girls.
Other writers included in The Trump Story Project include Nisi Shawl, Jeff VanderMeer and Ben H Winter.
Follow Beukes on Twitter at @laurenbeukes to find out when her full contribution will appear on Slate.com
