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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

“The Kiss on the Cheek” by Moira Christensen

Submitted to Contest #82

The Kiss on the Cheek The man of the house was home!! It was always a happy time for the family; he would be greeted by his wife, Susie, and would bestow her a kiss on the cheek, showing the affection and love he had for his wife, Susie. By this time, the children Luke and Emily, could hear their father’s footsteps on the stairs, and rushed down to him, eager for a cuddle and kiss from him too. Susie would smile contently, the love of her life was home again, and all was well with the world. Some days, he would not go out to...

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“Andrew ” by Kate Heesemann

Submitted to Contest #82

I was there when he was created. We called him Drew — short for Andrew. It’s funny how you look back on things, and the reaction you have is different. Like, why did I do that? At the time, I thought everything was hilarious. Now, I am not so sure…My parents could not conceive another child after me, so my dad — the genius that he was — created Drew. His real name was Andrew because he was an android (that’s how creative my parents are — Andrew the Android). I speak of him in the past tense because he is no long...

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“If I Was a Human I’d Kiss You” by Leon Moss

Submitted to Contest #82

I’m on my back on a bare wooden workbench in the electronics lab. My right arm is stretched out and clamped down so that the inside of my forearm is facing up. The cover of the distribution box on my wrist is open and one can see a bunch of colored wires all leading somewhere. A thin purple wire has been pulled out and cut. I guess that’s why the middle finger on my hand isn’t working. If it was I would give it to him. He, of course, is one of those Humans. This place has quite a few of them, each one a specialist in a particular fie...

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“I Married My Droid” by Sue Marsh

Submitted to Contest #82

I Married My Droid Suzanne Marsh 2121 “Oh dear me, how am I supposed to get to know humans if I am actually a machine?” The android asked his creator, “what is my purpose?” The human appeared to have an answer: “You are a gift to my fiancé Gilda, she is rather scattered at the moment. I want to put her back but I need a droid to aide me in this project. You see, Gilda was a real person who became a droid to finish a project, now I can’t seem to put her back together.” The droid was puzzle...

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“Life Before My Eyes” by Jaden Garcia

Submitted to Contest #82

CLINK. Clink clink clinkclinkclick. My brief life flashes before my eyes as the bolt rolls across the floor. The chunk of skin-like material that is intended to look like my ear is in my hand. Everything is moving in slow motion. The dance music coming from the hidden speakers around the room suddenly sounds screechy and threatening. Why did I come here? Father told me not to. “You’re not ready, Mina.” Or “Just wait a little longer, Mina.” Whenever I asked. “There are too many people out there, Mina. A cro...

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“Like You” by Ian Panganiban

Submitted to Contest #82

Human beings aren't built to be alone, but I'm an android. The circumstances of human existence rarely apply to me, but I must learn how to be like them, that's why I was made. My designer once said "loneliness causes a great deal of distress to a person and that's why people shouldn't be alone". I don't understand why human beings can't be alone. It's an easy enough thing to do. But as I navigate my way through the human experience, I realize they have themselves to blame for being alone. They constantly fight with one another over myria...

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“Nothing Artificial About It” by Kathleen M.

Submitted to Contest #82

In the year 2112, artificial intelligence was perfected. Androids were mass produced to ease the workload on humanity. Of course there was backlash against this. People took to the streets in protest of the loss of the jobs they wouldn’t be doing anyways, but Orion, the company in charge of android production and programming, kept rolling out newer models with more advanced tech. Eventually the androids started malfunctioning. They overturned not only their programming, but also the government. This culminated in three things: the founding o...

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“Do Androids Dream of Designer Brands? ” by Nikita Linivenko

Submitted to Contest #82

The yellow sheets of Giallo, the rough, finger-razoring cardboard pages of crushed pulp - now discontinued - were phased out by slick, glossy high-end journals. Fletch rubbed her slim, bare legs on the duvet as she leaned heavily into the pillow, flicking through a reprint of an Ursula K. Le Guin story. Ursula le Guin had been dead for half a century, but they still ran her stuff. Anthologized them. Dumped them in sci-fi rags. On the screen embedded into the wall in front of her, Harrison Ford guns down an escaping droid, sending it crashi...

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“Double Ds” by K M Hasling

Submitted to Contest #82

"Am I wearing too much makeup? The red lipstick is a bit much, isn’t it."Madeline turned her head from side to side, scrutinizing her face in the mirror. She puckered her lips at her reflection and then she wrinkled her nose."I don’t like my eyebrows. Do you think Steve will hate my eyebrows?"She turned to her roommate, Gia, hoping a comforting lie from her best friend would make her feel better. Gia was prettier than Madeline. Too pretty in fact. She had an hourglass shape and the little black dress chosen for the occasion made her look lik...

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“Parallels” by Katrina Corpuz

Submitted to Contest #82

The City of Simile was a modernized hub of prior excellence. Five years ago, it was a desert city born of the idea of two wealthy sheiks who believed it was time to lead the technological revolution in the untapped potential of the arid states. They concurred that they could create a city not so unlike the mythical ones generated through folklore but with a more solid foundation in its purpose as a place engineered with the most optimized form of living... and by the abundance of solar energy. So, they gathered a team of specialists referr...

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“It's Not About Winning ” by Breanna Barber

Submitted to Contest #82

“What’s your name?” I glance down to see a boy who looks to be about 11 years old staring back up at me. “Reuben.” I answered as I eyed the old fashioned pinball machine that was now available to play here at the local arcade. “Like the sandwich?” I nod, unamused. I start making my way towards it, looking forward to beating the high score again. “I’m Kyle!” The boy says as he follows me over to it. “How original.” I state dryly, fishing the coins out of my black denim jeans pocket. ...

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“And The Fool Shall Be Servant” by David Mowry

Submitted to Contest #82

“This is Fleet Captain Ralston. All ships report in.”I’m not a fan of technology. Let me rephrase that. I’m okay with technology in general, what with it currently being the only thing between me and the vacuum of space. However, I think that even a cursory glance through human history shows that, rather than solving our problems, it just lets us be humans faster and more efficiently than ever before. Sometimes that’s good, I suppose. Other times, not so much.Take for instance, my current situation. I’m the...

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“Das entfernte Problem” by T MM

Submitted to Contest #82

Dad passed down the problem like a reluctant inheritance. Along with my dark green eyes, frail build, and insomnia, I was left with what he named the ‘entfernte Problem’—which awkwardly translated from German meant the distant problem; because even then, nineteen years ago, he knew he would never live to see it solved, that it was innately and irrevocably distant from his attainment. His father, my grandfather, had died during the Vietnam war, so my grandmother packed up her children—at the time my dad, age two; Aunt Lydia, age four; and Unc...

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“And That's When She Started Cussing” by Trina Runner

Submitted to Contest #82

It's not like she's old. At 55 she has proven to be perfectly capable of lots of things. She's got a Master's degree, for Christ’s sake. She has been a leader in her field, raised amazing children, volunteered in her community. She never used to cuss. She used to laugh at herself when her kids had to help her download an app or figure out how to use her car navigator. It was, after all, supposed to be helping her. Her students began to say she had an "Amish Vortex" because devices did weird things around ...

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“Junior Taptap” by Alex Fry

Submitted to Contest #82

A patient in the paranoia ward reevaluated her entire situation. She concluded that her three sons, Randy, Marcus, and Errol, would come in, at any point shortly, and force her to swill liquid mercury out of a live frog’s jaw. After being drugged, with her permission, by men with blue clothes and black socks, she spent the afternoon taking a quiet rest. Her words exactly before passing to her dream state: “I don’t wish to remember. I wish to sing alongside Pavarotti.” The workers of the ward, mostly the unpaid interns...

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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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