Reader's Diary #2026- M. Shayne Bell: The Thing About Benny

M. Shayne Bell's "The Thing About Benny" is a short story with a bit of a science fiction edge, though it's hardly unfathomable. It deals with a world and time where the Earth's plant species are going extinct and two botanists are in search of plants that people are raising in their homes and offices but are no longer found in the wild.

Giving the story an extra quirky and interesting angle is that one of the botanists is named Benny (like Benny Andersson) and obsessed with Abba. He draws inspiration in his detective/science work from listening to their songs on repeat.