Set in a near-future emergency department, A Sick System opens with a mother waiting to see her sick eight-year-old son, his parents' only focus being his recovery. Then comes Universal Health Care and treatment is forever changed—as are the lives of those under its thumb. This novella interacts with most of the ideas feeding the current debate: liberalism and conservatism; capitalism, socialism and communism; individual and collective identity; class envy; what it means to be human; justice and fairness; as well as security and freedom. Unlike a classroom, textbook, or political speech, A Sick System treats these issues in the real and emotional contexts of illness and death.