One original sci-fi story per day for all of 2023 | Created by screenwriter Timothy Michael Cooper, illustrated using A.I.

Could've Been

Could've Been

I could’ve been anything, if I’d really wanted to. My parents said I was so charismatic (ever since I was a baby, actually) that I could’ve been the next President. But who wants people coming for your neck so much? My sixth-grade comp-sci teacher said I could’ve been a tech guru, but all that fundraising seems like a lot of work. Ask my college band—they’ll tell you I was a maestro on the electric bass, I could’ve gone pro. But the touring life sounds brutal. Yeah, just so you know, I could’ve been anything I wanted to—I had the skills.