"Scherzo with Tyrannosaur" is a science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 short story

Short story

A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...

 published in 1999 by Michael Swanwick

Michael Swanwick

Michael Swanwick is an American science fiction author. Based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he began publishing in the early 1980s.-Biography:...

. It won the 2000 Hugo Award for Best Short Story

Hugo Award for Best Short Story

The Hugo Awards are given every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...

 and was nominated for the 2000 Locus Poll, Asimov's Reader Poll and Nebula Award.

Plot summary

The story follows the paleontological director of Hilltop Station, a research center set in the late Cretaceous period. It begins as Hilltop Station throws a fund raising ball and the director must keep patrons happy as well as prevent employees from illegally using their knowledge of the past for profit. When the director engages in unethical activities, he is forced to cover his tracks with complex time paradoxes and visits from his future self.

External links

• Scherzo with Tyrannosaur at BestScienceFictionStories.com - short story reviews and resources.