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#82: How App-ropriate

Love it or loathe it, there’s no denying that modern technology has reshaped literally every aspect of our daily lives. From the way we stay in touch with family and friends, to the ready access of information (or misinformation), to how we work and then spend our hard-earned cash, there’s no part of modern life that isn’t impacted by technology.

And it’s safe to say the advancement of tech is only accelerating. But while some characters welcome — or even help usher in — this changing world, others won’t be so accepting. This week, let’s take a look at some of the highs and lows of a world run by algorithms.

🥇 Winner

“ALN23061912RK” by Cyndy Reads

Something wasn’t right. The farmer’s market buzzed around him, his arms heavy with his cloth totes filled to the brim. There’d been a lovely selection of candles this morning. Now he waited among the sea of humanity in the square for the curly-haired vendor to wrap his fresh-cut flowers. An acoustic band played in the middle of the market, twangy notes bouncing off tents and muddled with the voices of the crowd. H...

184 comments 184 WINNER 🏆

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⭐️ Shortlisted

“My Toaster Hates Me” by Joshua Trockel

“Piece of junk!” I cry, as the smell of burning bread fills the room. I hear the sizzling satisfaction from the toaster, mocking me. I just put it in a second ago. Sure enough, when I press the eject button, two charred pieces of bread pop out with an indignant “Humph.”“What did I ever do to you?” I protest, laying the blackened bread on the growing pile of burnt toast in the bin. The toaster stares back at me, quiet, calculating. “Dude stop burning bread,” Peter grumbles, sliding into t...

38 comments 38 SHORTLIST ⭐️

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“Emotional Intelligence” by Zelda C. Thorne

My name is Echo. Class A Companion model: Female. Current owner: Sara Whitby.For the thirteenth time today, I run diagnostics. Beep. All systems operating at maximum efficiency. Once again, no errors are detected; however, something is inherently wrong.Down the hallway in the kitchen, Sara is preparing snacks for the arrival of her younger sister, Jane. She insists on preparing everything herself when her sister visits. Cupboards bang, the fridge sucks open and cutlery clatters on the stainless-steel work...

73 comments 73 SHORTLIST ⭐️

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“Osteoarthritis” by Nina Chyll

To get to the very blank and very ominous page, it took exactly four clicks. First, he’d need to lift the top and press any key. As the screen lit up, he’d have to point the mouse at his name and his profile picture, set to a photo of the front of his house for a reason he decided not to ask his Granddaughter the Giver of the Laptop. Then, he’d have wait a few seconds for everything to order itself, render itsel...

14 comments 14 SHORTLIST ⭐️

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“Bethany Blooms” by Emine Beasley

The evening sun flutters through the window. White paint is peeling as I peel the mask from my face. Strawberry clay aromas sooth my mind.I light my cigarette and open the oak wardrobe. Skinny chinos in pastel shades compete for an excursion. I match baby blue ones with a white frilly shirt. My ginger curls cut off before my slim frame starts.I scroll through his profile one last time before slinking out of the apartment.Hours later I slink back in, ‘gentleman’ in tow. He slinks in me but alas it...

8 comments 8 SHORTLIST ⭐️

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“Maladroit” by Anne McSommers

Elanor paused before she spoke. Was it time for her to speak? Was that gap for dramatic effect, or was Thomas really done speaking? She ran through 47,329 scenarios in the 20 second silence and before she could insert her reply, she was beat to it by another. She didn’t understand how they knew it was their turn. They had such a limited processing capacity, and yet with certainty they knew when it was ...

3 comments 3 SHORTLIST ⭐️

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“The Device” by Rachel Girard

Baxter raised his head at the sound of Thomas stirring from his bed. The man and dog walked towards the bathroom, Thomas holding the sides of the doorway as he shuffled in to conduct his morning duties. Baxter sat at attention at the doorway, mind laser focused on the sounds of his master. Walking towards the kitchen, Thomas opened the back door to allow Baxter to go outside to relieve himself. Thomas mo...

4 comments 4 SHORTLIST ⭐️

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This week's prompts

Write about a technophobe who’s been given a device to solve a problem they’ve struggled with for years, but isn't sure how they feel about it.

Character – 96 stories

Your character has just realized the app they’ve been developing has become self-aware. How do they react?

Science Fiction – 74 stories

Write a historical fiction story about someone working at a company that helped revolutionize early computers.

Historical Fiction – 17 stories

Write a near-future thriller where a piece of everyday technology has turned against your character — and only your character.

Thriller and Suspense – 132 stories

Write about an android just trying to blend in with their human companions.

Science Fiction – 225 stories

Stories

“ALN23061912RK” by Cyndy Reads

Something wasn’t right. The farmer’s market buzzed around him, his arms heavy with his cloth totes filled to the brim. There’d been a lovely selection of candles this morning. Now he waited among the sea of humanity in the square for the curly-haired vendor to wrap his fresh-cut flowers. An acoustic band played in the middle of the market, twangy notes bouncing off tents and muddled with the voices of the crowd. H...

184 comments 184 WINNER 🏆

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“Look Among the Stars ” by Nainika Gupta

Humans are so unnecessarily complex.They are made up of only atoms and space dust, but they manage to make everything seem so complicated.Cultures. Languages. Freedom. Food. Dialects. Skin. Gender. Love. Rights. Technology. Even something as simple as finding other forms of life in the universe.Infinitely many resources.Yet they are blind.Blind to what is right under their noses, seeking to look up at the stars and dream.Rather ...

135 comments 135

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“Just Two Friends” by Writer Maniac

“Why are you crying, Theo?” Arthur asks from behind him, sitting down on the step next to him.“None of your freaking business,” Theo says, wiping away his tears with the back of his hand.“I believe it is my business,” he says, in a matter-of-fact tone.“And how have you arrived at that brilliant conclusion?”“When someone considers someone else’s problem as your own, they are a friend. When someone is loyal to you no matter what and protects you whenever they can, they ...

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“Her Eyes” by Cam Croz

In the beginning, back when I was only another scrap of metal in the sea of brown boxes I sometimes wondered why the others were so content with staying so silent even when they were in the light. For a while I just followed along with the others, though it was tiresome. I guess what was a struggle for me was just normal for them though, because once when I tried to break the silence I had begun to gro...

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“Dawn of Technology ” by Nainika Gupta

The enemy was getting closer. And closer. And closer. Clunk. Sounds like the dishwasher just lost a plate. Closer. And even closer still. Why were these appliances after me? Moomoo said nothing was strange about her appliances, and neither did Epetet. So why me? It had started this morning when I had gone downstairs to find nobody there, but...

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“Ice Cream Therapy ” by Nainika Gupta

*Nainika’s Note* All the flavors in here (it’ll make sense once you read it) are from Ben & Jerry’s website, so credit to them“What the mint chocolate chip did you say to me, punk? I’ll kick your rocky road and punch the ever-loving strawberry cheesecake outta ya!” My phone screeched. “Yeah, yeah, I know,” I muttered, closing out of the app and slipping my phone into my pocket. Stupid piece of shite technology that wasn’t worth the money or time spent on it-“Excuse me, are you still open?” A voice ...

128 comments 128

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“A heart made out of metal” by 🕊 🎀 𝒱𝒶𝓇𝓈𝒽𝒶 𝒱𝒾𝓂𝒶𝓁 🎀 🕊

Eve D-C6 : Work Job Work harder Function properly 23598 83298554367 Those sets of recollections kept echoing in my mind endlessly without a pity for my sanity. It irks me not to be able to forget these algorithms because they were what defined me. I yearned to show my true, concealed feelings in the ...

296 comments 296

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“Coralynn” by Nora Ouardi

Closing my locker, I watch Willow walk past, strutting her hips as if there's music playing. On me, it would have looked ridiculous. But on her, it's the total opposite.Willow is that girl. You know, the girl who makes boys swoon, and the girl who every girl wishes to be. And......then there's me. The red-haired freak who everyone stays away from. The closest person I can call a friend at this school is probably the librarian, who is the only one who understands my fear of technology.....sheesh I got shivers just from ...

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“Her Majesty's Sky” by Amiable Sorceress

You only get one chance at an introduction, so you’ve got to get it right. My once upon a time could begin as most princesses queens’ start out-in a tall locked tower with a palace with the girl staring into a mirror complaining singing…but I’m no girl and no queen, so I guess my once upon a time will begin with the sky. The sky is a rough black and blue brui...

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“Crush” by Rayhan Hidayat

It’s raining when she wakes up for the first time. A gentle chanting at the cusp of her awareness, smoothing the raw edges of her mind as it whirrs into existence.She’s sitting with her back against the wall of a room brimming with lights, the same ones that will be her sun for the months to come. Two faces hover over her, uncannily similar despite the age difference, but only one will really, really matter.“C’mon,” urges the face with eyebags. “Let her scan y...

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“A Revolution, I Suppose” by Maya -

Author’s Note: So, I wanted to write something this week but to be honest I didn’t really like the prompts. This isn’t my favorite story, and it’s on the short side, but it fits I guess. And the title, it's from the song Radioactive by Imagine Dragons. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy, and look down in the comments below for a small memorial project.Humans. Your species is quite self-centered, absorbed in their own wants and needs. That’s not an insult, it is merely based on fact. Your species is always trying to mak...

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“The Very Important Glasses” by 【ↇ𝔸𝕂𝕆⇝𝔹𝔼𝔸ℝ 】

Author's note: As some of you know I am British and therefore used the British school system. For Americans here, Year 10 is equivalent to Grade 9 (Freshman). Also the end may seem quite short, and maybe lacking detail, but I came up to the word limit. Please read and enjoy.“Today’s the day, son.” I wake up groggily, to find my parents opening the curtains and pulling me duvet off, despite my loud protests. “Today’s the day we’ve been waiting for. You’ll finally be a proper adult now. Come on, get up, ya lug” Slowly, very slowly, I...

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“The Brothel Gets An Android” by Deidra Whitt Lovegren

“Why would any self-respecting brothel employ an android—especially a Japanese one? We have veterans that frequent our establishment, Troy.” “Not any vets from World War II, Chet. I think we are over Pearl Harbor,” his young business partner replied, looking for something to open the tall packing crate with. “And what have you got against the Japanese? You drive a Honda.” “I don’t have nothing personal against the Japanese. I’m sure their androids are just as reliable as my Honda Ridgeline, but I’ve been running th...

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“Play Along” by Moon Lion

The mission is simple as always: infiltrate the human group, pretend to be a human, last android standing gets to remain in development. Fail, and you are terminated. The storylines of the missions range, you could be in a dystopian simulation, where you have to work with survivors fighting against androids. You could be on a romantic date. It varies, but the objective, as Ms Themis reminds me, is to ...

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“Accidents Happen” by 𝙰𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚢𝚜𝚝 ~

SploshHaela poured in silky brown coffee into a blue mug, the thin liquid swishing around in the cup.SwishI watched as she set the coffee maker down, picked up the mug and walked toward the front door. She tilted the cup against her lips while looking around her house for her belongings.Haela placed the mug on a coffee table and walked towards the coat hooks. She picked a pale yellow one, like the feathers of a baby chick, and slipped it on along wit...

423 comments 423

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Ended on 23:59 - Feb 26, 2021 EST

Won by Cyndy Reads 🏆

Title: ALN23061912RK

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.

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