Don't Press Charges and I Won't Sue

"Don't Press Charges and I Won't Sue"
Short story by Charlie Jane Anders
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreScience fiction short story
Publication
Published inBoston Review
Publication dateOctober 30, 2017

"Don't Press Charges and I Won't Sue" is a science fiction story by Charlie Jane Anders. It was first published in Boston Review, in their 2017 Global Dystopias anthology.

Synopsis

Rachel is a trans woman who is drugged and kidnapped by an organization called Love and Dignity for Everyone that forces detransition by means of brain transplants, transferring her mind onto the cadaver of a male. Whenever she tries to speak, the cadaver speaks instead, twisting her screams and cries for help into grunts and docile appeals. During the process, she discovers that the person supervising her torture is her childhood friend Jeffrey. Several flashbacks provide background details about their lives and their relationship, including Rachel's engagement with Sherri, a woman Jeffrey had tried but failed to court.

Rachel pointedly stares at Jeffrey, who tries but fails to avoid her gaze. He asks the organization's president, Mr. Randall, for recusal, but Mr. Randall persuades him to continue with the procedure. Rachel makes the cadaver call out for Jeffrey. After she makes the cadaver scream Sherri's name, Jeffrey, in a breach of protocol, barges into the room and tries to quiet her. Rachel manages to headbutt Jeffrey and grab his utility knife, using it to stab Jeffrey and free herself. She escapes the facility and flees into the surrounding wilderness, all while the cadaver pursues her. She attempts to slow it down, but it shrugs off any obstacles in the way. As the cadaver gets closer and closer, she wades into a roaring stream, stops at a waterfall downstream, and jumps.

Reception and awards

Gardner Dozois compared it to Kafka's The Castle.[1] Publishers Weekly considered it "astoundingly good".[2]

In 2020, Anders stated that she has only read the story aloud once, as she finds it too traumatizing; as well, she reported that "other trans people have told [her] that they had to lie down after reading it."[3]

YearAwardCategoryResultRef.
2017 James Tiptree Jr. Award — Honor List [4]
2018 Locus Award Short Story Finalist [5]
Theodore Sturgeon Award — Won [6]

Origin

Anders has described the story's genesis as her own anxieties over the then-pending inauguration of Donald Trump.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Gardner Dozois Reviews Short Fiction, by Gardner Dozois, in Locus; published February 12, 2018; retrieved May 1, 2019
  2. ↑ Global Dystopias, reviewed at Publishers Weekly; published December 4, 2017; retrieved May 1, 2019
  3. 1 2 Never Say You Can’t Survive: How To Get Through Hard Times By Making Up Stories, by Charlie Jane Anders, at Tor.com; published May 12, 2020; retrieved December 14, 2021
  4. ↑ "Bergin Wins 2017 Tiptree Award". Locus. March 14, 2018. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  5. ↑ "2018 Locus Awards Winners". Locus. June 23, 2018. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
  6. ↑ "2018 Campbell and Sturgeon Awards Winners". Locus. June 25, 2018. Retrieved July 30, 2025.


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