"Conceda-nos este dia" , uma pequena história de Nancy Kress ; publicado pela primeira vez em Asimov's Science Fiction , setembro de 1993 , disponível no Arquivo da Internet ; reimpresso na coleção de Kress Dúzia de Taça .
Aqui estão alguns trechos da história mostrando como ela se encaixa na descrição.
A história é sobre um homem encontrando Deus em uma lanchonete.
When I finally found God, he was slumped at the counter in a Detroit diner, stirring his coffee. The dissolving creamer made little spiral galaxies. He had a bad sunburn. I slid onto the next stool.
O "homem" que estava procurando por Deus é, na verdade, um membro da comissão julgadora.
Na história, Deus é um artista e a Terra é sua criação.
"Nonetheless," God said, surly now, "from the Committee's viewpoint I did everything right, so why bother me, man? I filled out the application in triplicate. I listed my previous work. I filed by the deadline. I submitted work that met your bureaucratic guidelines: neatness, originality, aptness of thought. What's more original than kangaroos? Or a hundred years' war? A hundred years for a single war! So why hassle me now?" "Maybe," I said, looking at the fat man, who had noticed the hooker was asleep and was kicking her viciously, "you could have worked a little harder on 'neatness.'"
Deus está frustrado com a forma como o trabalho está indo e quer acabar com isso e começar de novo, mas o homem que ele conhece lhe dá uma idéia sobre como resgatar seu trabalho.
"The rules say you have a thousand years to revise, before the next round of voting. Off the record, let me say I think you should consider fairly substantial revision. The Committee liked certain aspects of your work, but the consensus was that the tone is uneven, and the whole lacks coherence." [. . .] "Look, son," I said, "don't take criticism so hard. Instead, use it. You're still in the running, and you've got a thousand years. Rework the more outré stuff to bring it in line with your major themes. Tone down your use of color. Make the ending a little clearer. That's all I'm suggesting. Give yourself a fighting chance."