Unknown Number by Blue Neustifter (Twitter, 28th July 2021)1 is a story which is presented as screenshots of a text message conversation. The initial exchanges between the two people profoundly disturb the recipient because of the amount of personal detail that the sender knows about them. However, as the story progresses (spoiler), we subsequently discover that the sender is a male physicist who has developed a device that allows him to contact his other selves in the multiverse (hence his intimate knowledge). Later on we learn that he is looking for a timeline where his other self successfully transitioned to become a woman, so he can question them about their life and discuss his own gender dysphoria. Gaby, the person receiving the messages, has completed that transition.
This piece has a novel presentation and a neat idea, but it takes a while to get going (i.e. to get to the point that Gaby accepts what is happening), and then goes on for too long. It is also quite a wandering, narcissistic conversation, and occasionally descends into twitter/bumper sticker philosophy (“life is a fucking hard thing, and sometimes it’s happy, and sometimes it’s miserable; “life is hard, capitalism sucks, the world is dying”, etc.).
This is an original piece in some respects but the SFnal idea at its heart is amateurishly executed.
* (Mediocre). 2,600 words. Story link.
1. This was a finalist for the 2022 Hugo Award in the short story category.