“The Jack of Coins” by Christopher Rowe

Card picked: 9♦
Found at: Tor.com

When the man came closer, we saw that he wasn’t a policeman at all. His uniform was something else altogether, something epauletted and braided and polished here and there to a high shine. He made us think of the illustrations from playing cards. The King of Clubs, some of us thought, or the Jack of Coins.

The story is set in a vaguely dystopian police state. Our narrator is one of a band of teenage punks, not yet actual rebels. And Jack, who doesn’t know his real name, does know of other places where things may not be better but are certainly different. The teens take in Jack and in exchange are given a shift in their perception of the world. We’re left wondering exactly where Jack came from—it certainly wasn’t just from across the forbidden park. And maybe he isn’t even *quite* human. He’s certainly unflappable as well as a little naive.

Rowe does a nice job of some quick and dirty world building for this fairly short story. Coins (as in the Jack of Coins) have been used as a card suit in the past and is still used in tarot. Funny thing, this story involves card throwing and it’s the second time this week that I’ve run into that in my reading. Therefore, you know I have to include a video of my favorite card thrower, Ricky Jay.