When Lee Melanius is older, he wants to go to the Sun. Bound by a calling to understand the world around him — yet finding himself detached from it in every way — our hero encounters sleepless drifters, maniacal medicine men, nationalists, empty theatres, and of course the local watering hole (which doesn’t feel too local). A heartfelt philosophical poem, Man Hero Oak Machine begins with hope and ends with spontaneous combustion.

A long short story by Luke Delin.