For those interested, voting results are now visible in the poll by percentage (see below, click on view results).

Special thanks to all of you who participated: the entrants for sharing their stories with us, the visitors who commented and gave thumbs-up votes for finalists, and those who voted in the poll to select the winner.

Contests like this are fun. The thing that continues to amaze me is how varied the stories are even though they all begin with the same first sentence. We had such a wide range of speculative genres and of tone and mood. In the end, surprise and humor seemed to win out.

For those who may have missed Liv’s winning entry, here it is again:

By Liv K. Fisher

Kendall didn’t care if the other candidates thought he was power-hungry—nothing could stop him from going after his destiny… even if his destiny was a chicken pot pie.

It was all quite embarrassing, really. Kendall hadn’t *wanted* to enter an eating competition. But his mother had demanded it. Apparently, being a part of the galaxy’s lowest social class meant placing oneself against those of the like.

The wealthy, cyborg judge would watch, amused, as each citizen stuffed their face, and the person who appeared most desperate would win a six-month supply of food. This happened twice every year. Twice, every year, and it was broadcast—live—on television. And Kendall hated it.