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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

“Chance meetings” by Collins Jerry

Submitted to Contest #82

Somebody said that writers are slaves to conventions and standing their at the window he cannot but agree that the view has never changed.The shops rose to malls,the bodaboda shielded to taxis or were fixed with ambrellas but still he sees the old dusty town or does he see his memory,he is a writer anyway.There by the road he watches as a small boy chases his sister and their mother behind like a shepherd follows. The time approaches noon and the big clock ticks to remove him from his daydream at the window.As he turns his eyes spot the whit...

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“Keep An Open Mind” by TheMavieneT -

Submitted to Contest #82

I've always been a busybody. Ever since I was a kid, my family told me that I was always thinking of the next thing. "Sometimes you gotta stop and smell the roses, Greg." All of my exes would say the same thing too. My last relationship broke my usual record of 6 months, we ended being together for a year and a half. Way longer than I'm used to, but I was alright with that. His name was Brian. He was very patient and down to earth the first few months. They just...got me. After a while though, he kept asking me where we were headed and if I ...

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“Just one of the Gang” by Kathy Landes

Submitted to Contest #82

It was cold outside and Andy was watching his friend closely. He and 5 five other kids from the local high school had decided to go ice skating at a nearby pond. Andy had only just arrived in the town about 2 months ago and was surprised that he had been invited. You see Andy was an android. No one new about it except his owners that had purchased him from another company. They were semi-retired scientist that had a long history of working in robotics. They had explained to Andy that he was going to be a kind of social experiment...

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“Running Totals” by Tanja Cilia

Submitted to Contest #82

“I want you to have this!” she said. I undid the bow and opened the shoebox. I eased out the gift inside. It was something full of bells and whistles; a thingamabob between a Fidget Box that is given to those inclined to stim, and Ziggy, the Supercomputer of Quantum Leap. “Will it bite?” She laughed. “What does this do? And this? And this?” “That is for you to find out…” She smiled, and took her leave, not even staying for coffee or ice-cream. I was one big mess. I had a list of ailments and conditions as lo...

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“"Always keep Smiling"” by Tariq Saeed

Submitted to Contest #82

“Rose” ,The computer, today not responding well.Who could be that humans ,talking about.Riccoo switched on his set to know about the different countries and their locations,but it was great confusion.He hid Rose in his chicken farm ,a small beautiful farm,accommodated two thousand chickens. He Used to sit for about half an hour after feeding chickens daily. Converse in strange language,but their voices were awful.What are they communicating? I would definitely solved this puzzle.He thought with himself and switched off the ma...

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“WHAT’S ‘APP’ DOC?” by Claire Tennant

Submitted to Contest #82

I could never say that I was a technology whizz, therefore, I cringe when someone talks about the new or latest ‘this’ or ‘that’. It took me ages to use the automatic teller machine, or progress from the basic microwave; the kind that when you twist the dial to your right it cooks or to your left, it defrosts, to one that does almost everything. Come to that, the only thing I loved with a passion was my dishwasher, again fairly basic, but it did a powerful job. Mind you, I don’t know that much can be done to improve the design of the di...

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“MCP-5” by Bonnie Clarkson

Submitted to Contest #82

Captain Nick Lasiter rubbed his eyes, yawned, and gave up designing his computer chip for now. He stood to stretch. After two years working on the Microchip Prototype 5 – MCP-5 for short – he believed he would finish in three weeks. His job consisted of integrating into the chip all the different departments’ components and designing a computer-body interface. Maybe a promotion would be in store for him. Surely, his work would give him national recognition. &n...

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“What’s on your mind, Sakti?” by Sakti Bagchi

Submitted to Contest #82

The notification alert sound kept playing even before my alarm. I woke up to see my phone is flooded with Facebook alerts. Several thousand likes and comments from known and unknown. I was wondering what did I do to get such a response as I had not posted any for the past several days. Social media has been a menace nowadays. Not being there feels you are not social and being there makes you a zombie. So after a deep thought decided to remain unsocial than being a zombie. So was about to delete my accounts but then thought let me bring some ...

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“Toast” by Ruth Smith

Submitted to Contest #82

Toast She was so excited when she brought it home, Reba, the Smart Toaster. The appliance can be programmed to start toasting at any time you wanted and have the toast done by whatever time you needed. It also can be programmed with a smartphone. All that is needed is to load a loaf of bread into the compartment, record what time the toast should be done, and the machine does all the rest. It's perfect for helping make breakfast for the family in the morning. Marsha opened the box and looked at her new purchase. Reba was her favorite col...

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“The Night at Hospital” by McThunder Gacha

Submitted to Contest #82

As soon as Charli stepped in, she felt weird. She felt anxious. She ignored the feeling and walked to her mom's room in the hospital with her 10 years old brother, Charles. Charles is a bright student who gets A+ in all subjects except Math. While Charli is a student that can get easily traumatized since she has depression. She has a special connection with her phone and diaries. She likes to be alone and her only friend is her brother.Her mother was diagnosed having Alzheimer 6 years ago, when Charles was born. Her mother slipped down the s...

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“LEAVE NO TRACE” by Dolapo Omoleme

Submitted to Contest #82

He rewrote the code and switched out some old parts for the new ones. He had had to go over everything hundreds of times, so much so that he had given up counting. There was no use keeping count, he had resolved that the only thing that would make him quit was death. When he screwed in the final part and set everything up again, he stepped back, stared at his masterpiece to his heart’s content, then he activated the PC application that fired up the entire system. He watched with bated breath as the system processed the thousands of lines...

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“Mergatroid” by David Dicaire

Submitted to Contest #82

Mergatroid Damion ran and Mergatroid followed. The machine was relentless; it’s pursuit the stuff of nightmares. But, the tech geek wasn’t going to wake up from all of this. This wasn’t a bad dream; it was hard, cold reality. The tech-savvy teenager had been so bored during the current pandemic that he had turned to fiddling around with the household appliances to relieve the doldrums. As a child, he had amazed everyone with his ability of understating high-tech gadgets and machines a...

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“The Brightest Light” by Mike Garrigan

Submitted to Contest #82

Last Monday morning, I installed a new lamp in my office, right above my four-tier filing cabinet. When I turned the lamp on, it burst light throughout the room, bouncing off metal, refracting through glass, and revealing dust I didn’t anticipate ever seeing with such clarity. I shielded my eyes. The lamp was too bright. Mr. Inglethorpe knocked lightly on my open office door. “Malcolm, this is Alex. She will be filling in for Natasha this week. I’m afraid Natasha has fallen ill,” he said. “I’m sorry to hear that,” I said. “Ale...

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“Lifting weight of his Memories!” by Batool Mirza

Submitted to Contest #82

"Hey, I've these bundle of photos and video cassettes!, Can you fit them in your suitcase? Jack asked his wife Ellie who was already overwhelmed with packing kids and her things. "I'm already full, Jack! Go ask your boss to get you some extra space to carry stuff" Ellie replied. She hated his boss for changing the location that they were living in for so long . "You have a room filled of your uslesess memories and you want to fit that in my suit case ? " She said sarcastically to Jack. Jack was posted to another country by his boss a...

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“2070” by Colombe Nguatta

Submitted to Contest #82

Every morning, I do the same routine. I unplug the power cord from my artificial artelux and go to open the blinds. The sun is good for my body's sheath. After bathing in the sunlight for several minutes, I go to the bathroom. I can’t shower like an ordinary human, the water would mess up my skin like sheath. Instead, I use a 70% alcohol solution to rub down my entire body. And Voila! That pretty much wraps up my daily routine.But today was not any day.Today was my first-day attending high school. Not just any high school, a human high schoo...

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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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