There is a 1973 science fiction or fantasy story, depending upon how you define those terms, by Ursula K. Le Guin titled “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas.” Le Guin got the name for the fictional city of Omelas from a fleeting glance in her rear-view mirror at a road sign as she drove away from Salem, Oregon.  Omelas is a utopian place, whose citizens spend their days and nights seeking pleasure, recreating, or working, if they choose.  Everyone has enough to eat and places to sleep without having to toil for it, a true paradise.  However, beneath the city a child is imprisoned in horrible conditions.  It isn’t explained why, but the existence of Omelas is dependent on the continuous torture of this child.  Le Guin was obviously setting up the moral quandary which is the spine of the story. Most citizens of Omelas have accepted the bargain, barely thinking about the shackled child below the streets.  A few, though, are troubled...(Read Full Article)