Last Mile Optimism — Protocolized

A story about Lacey and her mentor Denis exploiting a loophole in the city's last-mile delivery protocol, where unclaimed packages become legally claimable after a set time, framing theft as protocol compliance. The narrative explores the tension between rule-following and moral doubt as characters operate within the letter of the law while subverting its intended purpose.

Related resources

Fiction

A Chronicle of Lumina

In this issue of Protocolized, a Luminian protocolist named Selene describes life aboard a civilizational satellite where a grand game called the Mosaic—a glass boardgame designed to hold civilizational tensions in equilibrium—structures daily ceremonies and intellectual practice across eight circles of disciplinary expertise. The issue also announces a talk on Public Intelligence with Kevin Kelly and updates on the magazine's science fiction contest.

fiction protocol-watching protocols

Apr 2025

Timber Stinson-Schroff

Fiction

A Visitor’s Guide to the Disposition

This is a polemical visitor's guide to a mysterious geographical site called the Disposition, written by an anonymous author who has observed it for forty years and disputes official narratives about its nature and nomenclature. The text rails against deliberate campaigns of misinformation and mischaracterization by institutional authorities, establishing the author's preferred terminology and framing as the correct interpretation of this contested place.

fiction memory protocol-watching

Jun 2026

Elizabeth Maher

Fiction

Caduceus City

A homicide detective investigating a Nobel Laureate's death at a sprawling biotech campus discovers that Caduceus City's meticulously protocolized systems and public-facing transparency mask internal corruption and workplace abuse. The narrative explores how protocol compliance and institutional polish can obscure darker institutional practices.

fiction protocol-watching protocols

Feb 2026

Randy Lubin