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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#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.

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 – 95 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 – 130 stories

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

Science Fiction – 221 stories

Stories

“A Robot for A Best Friend” by AVAN SHIPECK

Submitted to Contest #82

Hi. My name is Julie Maxwell. I am 17 and go to a private high school at Academy Prep High. And, remember we live in a world with robots and is 2350. I also have one best friend, Norma Anderson. We do everything together, sleepovers etc. Okay, enough about me, here is where everything gets real, literally. So, I met Norma in first grade, and you would think everything was normal and we would be best friends, right? Well, no. Last year, she met this guy, who I dont even know, and they have hung out together ever since. So, I lost my best frie...

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“Specter” by George Frost

Submitted to Contest #82

In this jungle of free apps to download, there are some which you should avoid at all costs. Specter is one of these apps. I am here to warn you about downloading this free app. I know, I downloaded this app three months ago and right away, my life has become something of a freak show. There is something they do not tell you about this app. Specter will develop self-awareness. I know this sounds cool, but from my own experience, Specter was a lot more than I bargained for. I am not a techie. My know...

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“Code Red” by Jade Lore

Submitted to Contest #82

Darkness... then light. It's blinding. Closing my eyes isn't helping. I try to cover them with my hands, but my arms resist. When I try again, they still won't move. They're bound! Why? What's going on?! I can barely move to find comfort on the cold hard surface I'm lying on. I squirm as my heart pounds faster, each beat matching the rhythm of my panicked breath. I need to calm down, so I can figure out what's happening to me. A repugnant sulphur taste coats my mouth. I try asking for water - even though I can't tell if anyone is nearby - bu...

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“O.S. TK” by Nikita Linivenko

Submitted to Contest #82

When people, few that there are, ask me if I see the irony, I say: no, I refuse to see the irony in the fact that I was skimming through a reprint of ‘I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream’ when we launched The Imitation Game. At first, it ran something like this: ‘Hello. I am Wintermute. That was a joke. Ha ha. Did you like my joke? My name is OK COMPUTER.’ Baby steps. Through interactions with the users, it got there. People would join, and the game was, they’d either be paired with another user, or the program itself, and the...

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“The Evil Phone” by Cat Girl

Submitted to Contest #82

Primrose woke up on a clear Saturday morning, feeling well rested. She felt quite happy because the day before, she had scored a date to prom. Her date was going to be her best friend and crush of two years, Abby. Primrose had waited a long time to ask Abby out, as Primrose did not know whether Abby like girls or not. As it turned out, Abby did. Primrose lay in bed for another ten minutes before deciding to get up and eat breakfast while looking at her phone and text Abby. Primrose really wanted to post about her date, but some of her follow...

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“Karessa” by Anil Smith

Submitted to Contest #82

My app was read to take off. I was feeling dizzy from all that time staring at a lit-up screen, but it was finally worth it. Karessa was being released in mere minutes and I am sure it will blow up. First, I'll be the one playing their music and managing all the user's requests, but after I make enough money to hire assistants, it'll be their job. My sister was standing on the left, her hand on my shoulder. "Do you really think it will be big, James?" she asked me. I tried to overlook her sudden fear. Jessie had been my audience. My personal...

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“TeleText” by Luna Wood

Submitted to Contest #82

It's the 1st anniversary of working on Teletext. It is the app I am making. Teletext is an app that you can use to text anyone but you can activate it by saying Teletext, text _____. Then you can say whatever you want. You can also add voices people voices into it so when their texts are being read aloud it sounds like them. I grin as I look down at the coding on my laptop screen. Today is day 5 of final testing on the app. My girlfriend and I have been going back and forth on Teletext to see if there are any bugs. I grin as I start to talk...

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“The rouge coffee pot” by Heather Knight

Submitted to Contest #82

My name is Athena-Jade Stroganoff, the year is 2121. A lot has happened since the year 2021. In the last hundred years a lot has changed. We discovered that the coronavirus from 2020 really was a government ploy to make the American people look away from what the politicians were doing, they were stealing children and working with the Al-Qaeda. But in the year 2022, only a year after Joe Biden had become president he was executed for his treasonous behavior. Once he was removed President Donald Trump stepped back in and brought our country o...

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“Our Final Words” by Cate Fell

Submitted to Contest #82

I don’t think I grieved for my dad the right way. Everyone says there’s no right way to grieve but I feel as though this looming shadow is following me around, not of sadness, but of shame. I feel shame for how I feel less, for how I was never as sad, for how I was able to move on. So when I look outside my door that morning and see a package from my doctor, I feel more dread than excitement, just anticipating it to find out something wrong with me. My doctor gave me some pieces of technology to help with the grieving process. How met...

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“The Trouble With Phone Upgrades” by Ryan Haynes

Submitted to Contest #82

Characters: Hugh Hugh is an alien in his 30s that looks very human. He cleansed his home planet from evil when he was a teenager, and he came to the Earth to do the same. He uses a dark helmet that covers his body with armor that increases his strength, and it also gives him access to futuristic weapons that appear by thought. Hugh has also created an alternate world called the Reflection Dimension, a safe place to keep the most dangerous criminals, with their only means of escape being to pass a test to show that they have truly given...

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“Don't mess with them” by Johan Rosenblad

Submitted to Contest #82

The video showed two anonymous hands putting eggs and flour and sugar in a plastic box and sealing it with a green, plastic lid and some gaffa tape. Next, the hands threw the box into a washing machine together with dirty towels and a pair of socks. Cut to a close up on a dial on the machine, hand turning it up to maximum temperature. Short sequence showing the washing machine working. Then the hands open the machine and remove the box, open the lid - and voilá; lifting out a perfectly baked bread. “Great job, guys. Put that after the micro...

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“I am, I do.” by CM Lucas

Submitted to Contest #82

The buzzing of neon lights echoes off the rusted steel walls of a cramped corridor. In the center of the hallway, a slender silhouette shadow boxes as a ruckus crowd cheers from beyond the rattling doors at the end of the corridor. The doors spark with electricity as they eventually open. A man squeezes through the widening gap. His wide shoulders emerging first as his bulbous stomach struggles to follow.“For fuck’s sake, Jack. I hate it when you do that shit. You synths-” the figure halts his shadowboxing as a piercing, lightning-blue glare...

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“Give the Devil his Due” by Hannah Ehrlich

Submitted to Contest #82

Jemma DodgeWhy did it have to be me? It definitely didn't seem fair. I grew up in a small town, always got good grades and went to an excellent university. I graduated in the year 2025. The same year that wretched laptop came out. I don’t know why everyone wanted one. It didn’t have many different features to a regular laptop. The only thing it could do that was different was it could send physical objects through some type of force field to another person who has the laptop. It seems like a glorified fax machine to me but as soon as it was ...

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“The Homesteader’s Pet” by Isla Wren

Submitted to Contest #82

I hesitate, dangling the robotic vacuum over the gaping mouth of my thirteen gallon garbage bin. As a homesteader and self professed crunchy mom, I detest the wastefulness of discarding an entire small appliance, yet that’s not it. I’ve already removed the lithium battery for recycling. The motor, which smells faintly of burnt hair, is beyond repair. Bits of gummy raisins have fossilized in the treads. It’s so old the company stopped manufacturing replacement parts ages ago; I checked. So why ...

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“The Monster and His Creation” by Isabelle Saadatmand

Submitted to Contest #82

When I first agreed to build the world’s first sentient robot, I had just finished reading Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein. That was my first mistake. The university agreed to pay me a great sum of money if I could pull it off, and I said I’d try. So now, here I am, hiding from my monster much like Victor hid from his. I finished it’s creation only two months ago. It sat up in the bed, turning to me with it’s empty eyes made of metal and wires and glass. “Where am I?” It asked, so politely...

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$50

Prize money

537

Contest entries

0

Stories

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.

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

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