The funny thing about idiocy is, you're not if you admit you might be
In regards to this tale, I think I saw the parallel the author was trying to make, between this and the oil industry, which has major problems. I have mixed feelings about the end result. On one hand, the depiction of college apathy (I was a Student Events planner once, I can relate) hits right home, as does the self-discovery involved in our hero's "college experience". Furthermore, the author wisely depicts the problem as a situation of shared blame, without utterly blaming the dragons themselves. And his descriptive language is top-shelf stuff: real clean, real lean, real mean.
Stephen's reading just gets better and better.
Now here's the part where I cringe, because I've submitted to Escape Pod before, and intend to in the future. But Stephen, you're a very level-headed guy, so I think you won't mind some honesty:
This tale radiates a little too much anti-establishment dogma. The author needs a pulpit, not a word processor. Once again, another story winds up on Escape Pod that sees enlightened but hopelessly out-gunned anti-capitalists at war with Evil Industry. I'm starting to worry about Escape Pod; if a political bent is beginning to emerge. I'm no conservative, but I'd like Escape Pod to continue to be something your average moderate, and hopefully conservatives, can listen to. The last thing I want to do is encourage censorship, but between this and "Smooth Talking", I'm officially casting my vote for less preaching. If the stories are going to continue to be political, then we need more from the other side of issues' viewpoints.
And I'm seconding Wakela's position. More sci-fi, less fantasy (granted, they're ambiguous terms these days, but I think this one is squarely fantasy). If I get another tree-hugging eco-sermon in the next few weeks, I swear I am going to saw down an Elm.