How can the shortest science fiction stories be so effective?
Well, they're effective because they cut right to the core. They don't waste words on long descriptions or backstories. For instance, in 'The last man on Earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock on the door.', every word is crucial. The 'last man' sets the scene of extreme isolation, and then the knock on the door completely flips the situation and makes your mind race with possibilities.
The shortest science fiction stories can be effective as they rely on our shared knowledge of science fiction tropes. We know about time travel, alien encounters, and post - apocalyptic worlds. So when a short story hints at these concepts, like 'They launched the time machine. It disappeared. Then they realized they'd sent it to a world already destroyed by time travel.', our minds quickly fill in the gaps and start thinking about the implications.
