A speculative short story offers a brief account of one of history’s most consequential conflicts.

The Meme War begins with the seemingly benign death of the world’s wealthiest man: a “wizened, bespectacled octogenarian grandfather of technology” who dies in his sleep. Only a few hours later, a younger tech magnate—and the new richest man on Earth—is assassinated. Not long after, the subsequent new wealthiest man is killed by a drone-delivered grenade. Transcripts from the secret trial and execution of the first assassin reveal that he claimed to have fallen under the influence of “the Meme.” This Meme—which as a result becomes widely disseminated—has a simple message: to kill the wealthiest people on the planet in order. The 1% begins to take security precautions, but even so, the richest figures start to fall, one after another, in all manner of ways. The governments of the world attempt to institute martial law in order to get the situation under control, but nothing can stop the Meme from spreading like wildfire throughout the populace. Narrated by a man of means who watches this history unfold with horror, the story delivers an account of a French Revolution for the internet age. Kent’s prose is precise and slightly formal, befitting the formerly patrician teller of the tale. Here he describes the simplicity of the Meme itself: A “pixellated photograph of a weathered, backstreet wall upon which just ten words dispersed over five lines had been scrawled, apparently in human blood.” In its structure and concept, the story is reminiscent of the work of Jorge Luis Borges. Character is secondary to the notions that underlie the narrative. Indeed, the stripped-down tale—which has only 19 pages—might serve as a meme itself, communicating a rather simple idea and leaving readers to do with it what they choose. While the prescription it provides may not be the most convincing solution to issues of income inequality, the story succeeds in responding to a contemporary crisis in a way that feels imaginative and over-the-top while still speaking to something recognizable—and not at all flattering—about human nature.

A timely fable about the power of an idea, written in a fun, sensational way.