Sean McMullen's "The Precedent" (novelette, environmental dystopia, free): "Victims" of global warming witch-hunt its culprits

It's an easy read, but is very dark. Modeled after any number of class-persecutions in history.

Story summary.

In the year 2035, the world has turned green, everyone born before 2000 is automatically a "climate criminal", those born after the tipping year are the "victims" & current rulers. To keep their conscience clear, the current rulers don't summarily execute the older folk; they instead hold monkey courts that sentence most to death with trials sometimes lasting just a minute.

This story is narrated by Dr Jason Hall, an 80 year old climatologist facing such a court. Through his eyes, we will see the horror of concentration camps. He will be the first individual pardoned by such a court, but will discover that this is not a happy outcome...

Fact sheet.

First published: F&SF, July/August 2010.
Download full text from Suvudu.
Caution: Recent F&SF fiction tends to be online only for a couple of months. Save it to a local file if you want to read it later.
Rating: B.