“Love is this glitchy thing that makes us unique, that perseveres throughout time,” said Klein of the very human story that accompanies the hard science fiction narrative in The Punch Escrow. Ultimately, the events that lead to Joel’s replication are not a technological error they are a human one. Relationships and love play an unexpectedly vital role in The Punch Escrow. But people still find work and they’re still gainfully employed and they’re still able to play games and have fun and have relationships and have love. I wanted to write a story that showed … that life as we know it continues to exist on its current trajectory, even in an age that’s automated and artificially-intelligent and where all the jobs as we know them go away. While the near-future Klein has imagined has its perils, especially for the Joels, Klein aims to provide a counter for the dystopian trend ubiquitous in pop culture right now. “ starts with me hating dystopian scifi,” said Klein, “especially these days when we need something positive to look forward to.” The Punch Escrow follows both Joels as they struggle to come to terms with what has happened to them, and try to outrun International Transport, the corporation desperate to keep the true secret of teleportation technology away from the public. Joel’s life is thrown into peril when, during a run-of-the-mill teleportation to Costa Rica to meet Sylvia for their second honeymoon, he is accidentally replicated. The Punch Escrow tells the story of Joel, a regular dude living in the year 2147. Joel spends his days training computer programs to be more human and half-heartedly trying to fix things with his workholic wife Sylvia, who has a mysterious, time-consuming job at International Transport, the corportation responsible for operating teleportation hubs around the world.

The Punch Escrow by Tal M. Klein