Set in a near-future emergency department, A Sick System opens with a mother waiting to see her sick eight-year-old son, his parents' only focus being his recovery. Then comes Universal Health Care and treatment is forever changed-as are the lives of those under its thumb. This novella interacts with most of the ideas feeding the current debate: liberalism and conservatism; capitalism, socialism and communism; individual and collective identity; class envy; what it means to be human; justice and fairness; as well as security and freedom. Unlike a classroom, textbook, or political speech, A Sick System treats these issues in the real and emotional contexts of illness and death.