The year is 2209, and the hour has grown late for the human race. ↵↵Famine and disease have drastically compounded the misery of a warming planet. ↵↵With many billions scrambling after the Earth's depleted resources, a multinational agency known as the Authority has instituted a population-control policy known simply as Labor. ↵↵In an effort to stem the tides of procreation and instill a measure of gender equality in the birthing process, men must survive a deadly 24-hour gauntlet of chaos and destruction in order to earn the privilege to become fathers. ↵↵The Authority regulates every aspect of the birthing process, from ensuring that male subjects abstain from alcohol and prescription drugs to delivering each man a quota of sleepless nights. ↵↵Such is the case for Bryan Norton, whose wife's due date has just fallen into testing range. Very soon, they will experience the joy of the birth of their son. ↵↵Norton has endured the year-long process of qualifying for Labor. He has sacrificed his health and comfort for the chance to become a father. ↵↵But the greatest test still lies ahead, and the chances are slim that he'll ever hold his son in his arms. ↵↵Daniel Powell's new dystopic novelette Survival poses an enduring human question: How far would you go to be with your family? ↵↵Drawing upon influences as diverse as Richard Connell's The Most Dangerous Game, Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron and Stephen King's THE RUNNING MAN, Survival is a chilling narrative on the nature of parenthood in turbulent times.