The Ministry of the Eye

The Ministry of the Eye by Dale Bailey, published in Lightspeed Magazine April 2015
Description, by Lois Tilton [Locus]: "Dark dark fantasy. Gerst works in Acheron, as everyone does, in a white-collar position which he won by turning in his brother. But one day he catches a rare glimpse of beauty—an oil slick in a mud puddle, which says something about the esthetic level of this version of hell. From that moment, his feet are set on a downward path, because in hell there is always a lower level." Category:Best Novelette