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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#184: Technical Difficulties

If you’ve ever experienced technical difficulties, you know the boundless frustration it can cause. Glitches, bugs, constant buffering, or — worst of all — no connection whatsoever; these small inconveniences can throw our days off balance (and make us want to pull our hair out). Taken to the extreme, technological failures and a breakdown of the internet infrastructure could have far-reaching and devastating consequences on a global scale.

This week’s prompts are inspired by technostress and issues of connectivity, inviting you to take your frustration out on the keyboard — or even imagine a world without the internet! 😱

And psst! While we have you, remember to check out your free digital copy of PROMPTED — a new literary magazine, featuring winning stories from weekly Prompts contests just like this one, edited by Reedsy professionals.

This week's prompts

Start your story with someone saying “Houston, we have a problem.”

Dialogue – 41 stories

Set your story during a complete city or nation-wide blackout.

Thriller and Suspense – 51 stories

Write a story about a character who is experiencing glitches in their reality.

Mystery – 81 stories

Write about someone who has chosen to disconnect and live an analog life.

Character – 36 stories

Write a story where a character has to decide whether to press the button or not.

Science Fiction – 70 stories

Stories

“Day at the Zoo” by David Beeson

Submitted to Contest #184

Day at the Zoo “Houston, we have a problem,” mumbled long-time facilities and IT manager for the Wild Animal Park, Steve Urbanick as he feverishly flipped switches on the master power control board. “Snikeys,” yelped master electrician Susan Tate, “it’s the Peter Principle at work. Our illustrious, money-grubbing CEO decides to install cheap, untested equipment just before tourist season and bingo, we have a h...

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“Tired of This ” by Kimberly Walker

Submitted to Contest #184

Tired of This Hey, Houston, come here…look! M*@T%^*F++K Damnit… Houston, we have a problem! Look, someone is doing it again right now. How the heck are they getting in? They are being bold as hell this time. A remote predator hacked me, and they attempted to steal $500 through a fraudulent payment. They tried to create a payment from my PayPal account for services not received from a company I have never heard of. Luckily, I looked at the computer when it was happening. It would have gone unnoticed if I didn’t look over at that moment until...

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“Huston, we have a problem” by Winslow White

Submitted to Contest #184

“Huston, we have a problem,” I mumbled to myself. “What?” I looked up to see my wife standing, hands on hips, a puzzled look on her face. “Oh, sorry, I was talking to myself,” I replied sheepishly. “You said, Huston, we have a problem.” She stepped a little closer now, concern all over her face. “What’s going on?” &nb...

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“Luddite” by Alan Ross

Submitted to Contest #184

A LUDDITE IN THE MODERN AGE I’m not REALLY a luddite. (A word coined in the 19th century when people disdained any new technology). I don’t dislike new technology, I just have a hard time comprehending it. When I wake up and find Ricky. my grandson, playing ping-pong with my father, when neither of them have a ping-pong table and they’re 3000 miles away from each other, it just freaks me out. I’ve plumbed hundreds of miles of pipe in my life and carpentered a forest of wood on many doze...

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“Blue Moon Summer” by Graci Melbourne

Submitted to Contest #184

Trigger warnings: cursing, discussions of abortion (non-graphic), light drinking. “Hey, Houston, we have a problem.” Adam stands behind the screen door, head hardly visible behind a shedding ristra. His drawl is twangy and slow. “Dry off and get in here.” “‘M finishing my drink.” “I’m sure any woman in the next mile will finish it for you.” Adam, normally high and smiley, frowns. His curls are twisted and crunchy from the chlorine, kinky like the ties on a bread bag. “Come on, Jesse. For real.” “Gimme a sec.” Jesse takes a sip for emphasis...

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“Whispers in the Fogs” by Leo Gindl

Submitted to Contest #184

Whispers in the FogsWhitechapel, London, 1889. The city’s up-and-coming electrical lights have been a guiding hand for many people living in the capital of the Victorian Era. But where there shines a light, darkness is being cast not far. This is a grim tale of a man’s journey through the less favorable streets of London. A tale spun by fate. A tale that went unnoticed in history, for it shed light on a person so obscure to our daily lives, that most see the name and think of nothing more than the poor souls that were lost in the Autumn of T...

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“Hidden in the Darkness” by Flash Gonzalez

Submitted to Contest #184

The blackout happened years ago. At first, it seemed like a normal blackout that would get fixed in a few hours. But after a few days, the power was still off and people were starting to get worried, they shrugged it off at first thinking it was just taking longer than expected. The power never returned, however, no one had ever gotten any answers from the electricity company and soon the company stopped answering calls all together. This left everyone in the dark and confused as to why the company didn't answer them. Omri sat near the ...

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“Just A Little Glitch ” by Aspen Ostrom

Submitted to Contest #184

There was a split second, in which the TV screen turned black. Amy sat on her crusty old couch and took part in smoking a paper cigarette as she watched her fourth episode that night. She couldn’t quite remember the name of the show, all she knew was that it brought her some form of comfort– at least as much comfort as an addiction can bring to one. The little glitch was accompanied by a shrill beep; a sound that would plummet into the distance and remain unheard once her show resumed. The swift error did not cause her distress, fo...

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“Blackout!” by Mahtan Runya

Submitted to Contest #184

Tires squealed and rubber burned as William Anderson tore up the back country roads. A resident in America’s Pacific Northwest, he had been at work when the power had shut off. No flickers, no warning, no explanation. As far as he had been aware, there had been no storms that had occurred, and over the past two days, the news had just got worse. The gas stations were shut down due to no power, the generators at the grocery stores were running on fumes, and the power company couldn’t say anything more than ‘we’re working on the problem, plea...

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“Nothing but blackness” by Robert Cook

Submitted to Contest #184

I wake up in the middle of the night frustrated that I can’t sleep. I turn to the left alarm, and it reads 1am UGH! I turn to the right and see my wife Patricia laying down next beside me. God she always looked so pretty when she was asleep. I lay back down and stare at the ceiling after what seemed like twenty minutes I decide that I just can’t do it and get up. I go out of our room and down the hall on the left that’s Penelope and Emily’s rooms. I open the door just a tad to see them sleeping soundly together. My precious little girls from...

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“Origin of a Villain” by Peter Sugiharto

Submitted to Contest #184

See! I know the faithful day will soon arrive. Not later, not fifteen years from now, but today! Back then, when YouTube was good, some people started to theorize that the end of the world, or cataclysm, would happen in 2012. Eleven years from now, it had become only a rumor. Since then, the internet has become an integral part of our everyday life. Smartphones, smart tv, or even smart home. Everything is smart, but people are only smart when we choose to be smart. My friend told me, "Imagine if the armageddon we wait for is not because...

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“They're Here for Us” by John Blanton Jr.

Submitted to Contest #184

Bang! Bang! Bang! Hank peeks through the peephole and sees a short, dirty malnourished man with a dingy old cane. “Go away, Tom, I just got home from work, and I am not in any mood for you today.” Bang! Bang! Bang! Tom smacks his cane on the door. “They’re here, they’re here for us; Hank, let's go hide.” “No, Tom, they are coming for you and your drugs if you don’t get off them.” Tom was the town crazy. Every day he would run around town telling everyone how “they” took him and were coming back for them al...

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“Nowhere to Go” by Linda Casson

Submitted to Contest #184

The first sign of trouble was the silence from our aging analog radio. Frida and I woke up most days to a rock ’n roll classic floating out on the air, great songs we had known the lyrics to forty years earlier. It was the missing music that woke me. Once my eyes were open, our bedroom was suspiciously dark, and when I looked out the window, the traffic lights on the streets below weren’t working. The paltry morning traffic was unsettling for a typical New York workday. It was raining hard. The face of the bedside clock had stopped at 2am...

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“Peach Soda” by Jaye Hunter

Submitted to Contest #184

New York City Summer 2035 Taker says freckles are a commodity. That was his answer when I said I didn't like mine—something about a privilege to show how long I've spent in the light, like the everybodies who live on the skylevel roofs or out in the flats instead of us asphalt-and-shade nobodies. I said he should learn what "commodity" means, instead of just reading the word somewhere and using it halfway out of context. (At least he's reading again.) You can't buy or sell freckles, though I wish I could. I accumulate them fa...

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“The city of stars ” by Maya Murray

Submitted to Contest #184

TW: murder The whole city is required to go to the festival of lights since we are celebrating ten years of success in our new world. I love it here, cars do not exist, and we have electric trains. The city is filled with plants, trees, and green grass. Our electricity comes from water, the sun, and wind. We live in houses made of recycled materials. We live on Gliese, a planet similar to Earth, also known as Zarmina. We are Zarminians. When the Earth was dying, some of us were sent on a mission to find a new home, and 10 years ago, 50 of...

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$250

Prize money

279

Contest entries

121

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Feb 10, 2023 EST

Won by Michelle Oliver 🏆

Title: All the Lonely People

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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