Mario sez, "Michael Swanwick does this way cool thing where he writes a short short story, then puts it in a bottle and seals it, then destroys all other drafts and incarnations of the story, thus creating a unique object that you would have to destroy if you wanted to read the story."
After the story is placed in the bottle, I sign and date the glass with a diamond-tipped pen. Then I cork the bottle and Marianne covers the top with sealing wax. After writing a letter of provenance, I destroy every copy, physical or electronic, other than the one inside the bottle. It is now, in the original, unspoiled sense of the word, unique.
Finally, I give it away. Usually to a charity auction or such, but sometimes to a friend. The owner of the bottle, whoever he or she is, can either read the story or else possess the object — but cannot do both.
(Thanks, Mario!)
