On a routine shift, a miner is exposed to something...different. The company doctor says it's just in his head, and he's right, but that doesn't mean it's a good thing. There may be a Workman's Comp claim here. See what you make of it - read "The Black Spot."
"The Black Spot" is a VERY short speculative flash fiction, and is also available in the collection "Still Even More Things I Could Get OUT OF MY MIND."
It's so short that it might not show up in a standard preview, so here's a little of it:
It grows on you.
I saw the black spot on my pressure suit when we came back in at the end of shift. I thought it was just a smear of oil from my drill. No contamination warning alarms went off in the airlock, and no one ever thought there was anything in The Belt, so no reason for concern or quarantine. I just wiped it away with a rag during suit maintenance.
I must have gotten it on my thumb...
