The God Machine — Robert Fisher

In a world where everyone either works directly for God, or they work for those who do, Walter Dodge is hardly unique. For ten hours a day, six days a week, Dodge sits at his desk in the bowels of the Hub, idling his life away, playing in the virtual worlds while he waits for the information to tick in from the mines. Then he enters it manually into God's database before returning to the endless entertainment of the virtual worlds, waiting for the last tick, and with it the chime that tells him he can go home. And that's what he would have done until the day he died, if it weren't for a chance of timing. One evening, a rare glint of sunlight catches his eye as it reflects off a broken grate set in the monolithic facade of North Central City's Cathedral. It's a small thing, but Dodge starts thinking about the nature of God, and it raises questions in his mind no one was meant to ask, questions that even the most ordinary citizens might try to kill him for asking aloud. But his obsession grows, and his meddling changes the world forever, making Walter Dodge the most beloved name in history for some--and the most hated for others. Inspired by the The First Line's 2010 first lines, Robert Fisher has created an original science fiction tale that explores what happens when a world loses its God.