À procura de uma história curta sobre um "buraco" que comercializa arte / ficção que as pessoas criam de realidades alternativas (como trocar seu ensaio do ensino médio pelo manuscrito de uma alternativa premiada que você escreveu).
Não tenho certeza sobre a data de publicação (poderia estar em qualquer lugar do 70's-00), já que eu estava lendo muitas antologias na época (10 anos atrás) e não sou tão bom em lembrar nomes.
Acredito que seja "Like Minds", de Robert Reed, publicado pela primeira vez na edição de outubro / novembro da 2003 de Fantasy & Science Fiction, e coletado na antologia da 2012 Outros mundos além destes.
O personagem principal, de fato, troca um ensaio do ensino médio por um romance premiado, como visto nessas citações:
Then Josh says, "A book, a novel."
Words cause a multitude of realms to work together, the Authority suddenly engaged. A deceptively quiet voice asks the obvious: "Who is the author of this book, this novel?"
Josh can say any name. But he takes a deep breath and blurts, "Me."
...
"Are there other criteria?"
"Like what?" Josh had thought that he came prepared, but he feels sick with nervous energy, almost too anxious to think."
"I pick random examples," the Authority cautions. "But you may narrow the category in significant ways. For instance, what is the author's age? How well did this novel sell? And did the author win any awards or commendations?"
"Awards?" He hadn't quite thought of that. "You mean, what...like the Nobel Prize?"
"Exactly."
...
"Okay. I wrote the novel in my thirties, and I won the Nobel Prize and the Pulitzer, too."
Ele também recebe memórias de uma versão de si mesmo que se tornou líder mundial e um vídeo pornô dele em um trio com um colega quente e seu professor de álgebra.
Em troca:
"You must give your gifts now, sir. Since you are requesting three examples of your genotype's accomplishments, you must surrender three works from your own life and accomplishments. Please."
This can be a trauma. Sometimes the client examines his own gifts with a suddenly critical eye, and all confidence collapses. How can a tiny soul measure up against Nobel winners and God-like despots?
But eighteen-year-old boys are blend of cockiness and unalloyed ignorance. Without hesitation, Josh pulls three offerings from a long gym bag: a fat rambling term paper about the role of robots in the War of Ignorance; an eleven-page story about a misunderstood adolescent; and a comic book written by him and illustrated with help from a popular software, the superhero wearing Josh's face and his unremarkable fantasies about violence and revenge.