The Overlords gave ChatGPT and me a song about a man for whom money is the first thought of the morning and the last thought of the night and everything in between.

They gave us five words. They gave us a month.

One of us wrote something long — longer than the Overlords would have liked — about the gap between the life you’re performing and the life you’re actually living.

The other wrote something shorter, cleaner, and more obviously shaped like a short story.

Both of them are about wanting things you’re not supposed to want. Both of them ask whether anyone can tell the difference between the real thing and a very good imitation.

Can you?

Both stories are in the Kindle edition, along with the full judging conversations and notes.

Fancy listening to the music that started it all? Click on the image below to see it on YouTube.

— G. H. Schreiber

31/01/2026