We’re very happy to introduce V. Zixin, author of “The Better Ends” in The Future Fire #74, who joins us for this week’s microinterview.
Art © 2025 Carmen Moran
TFF: What does “The Better Ends” mean to you?
V. Zixin: “The Better Ends” was born out of my love for America. I grew up here as an immigrant. It’s a story so common as to be archetypal to the national identity of the United States. Certain promises are made in pursuit of that identity. One is that you will be just like anyone else. Another is that you are utterly unique, and that is worth celebrating. The nation is stronger when it is diverse, and yet only real when it is whole and undivided. The alien is loved, feared, and suppressed in equal measure, and I cannot help but find this contradiction tantalizing.
TFF: Do you have a lucky charm?
VZ: Yes, my editor! He’s been reading my stories since high school, and I’m still honored that he takes the time to go through and provide sanity checks for whatever new tangents I send him. So much of writing can be solitary that having a consistent first reader is worth its weight in gold.
Extract:
We were both teenagers at the time. Or near enough, anyway. Neither of us knew when our birthdays really were. Children didn’t seem to be born in Shenzhen. They materialized around alleyways and market stalls before being adopted by the proper enclaves. I was dressed up in a set of scratchy overalls and had found a nylon jacket that almost matched the shade of leather I was looking for. The cardboard cutout on my head was supposed to be a cowgirl’s hat. I was wearing a pair of boots that my brother had died with.
Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2025/09/new-issue-202574.html.
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