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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

“PAT” by Eddie Murki

Submitted to Contest #82

Pat. So simple, yet so complex. Words simply couldn’t describe the depth of scientific evolution that was Pat. Conceived in secrecy, this audacious project was ranked above ‘Highly Classified’. The nature of it simply wouldn’t allow for public scrutiny. Besides, it would have worked best if the people didn’t know about it. Pat was a robot, an android, a highly advanced futuristic automation whose core function was to mirror humanity. To observe and record humans and their behavior should the worst come to the worst, e...

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“Live Like You're Alive” by Coira MacHaffie

Submitted to Contest #82

In the four days since Kevin had been laid off from his job at the power plant, he’d taken to spending his days walking the city on foot, stopping in at any business with a “Help Wanted” sign in the window and filling out an application as he went. He spent his nights filling out job applications online, but there wasn’t much else he could do to fill up the empty time. It was well into the evening and he’d given up for the day, turned towards his tiny apartment, when the sky opened up in defiance of the weather reports he was receiving in re...

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“Nona” by Morgan McHose

Submitted to Contest #82

I observe the heaving breaths around me. Sweaty chests rise and fall with jittery exhales. Pesky memories, thoughts, anger, fear—their echoes weave loftily above the dance floor in tiny, chaotic clouds and disperse with each inebriated gyration and punctuated bopping of the head. I surreptitiously wipe the moisture from my chilled glass onto my forehead before setting it down on a passing tray and joining the fray. “It’s automaticity, Nona,” Grey had explained after yet another botched lesson at the nightclub weeks prior. “They don’t ha...

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“The Requisite Companion” by Ayah Gabr

Submitted to Contest #82

Days turned to weeks, to months, and successively to years, yet the barrier between the world and I is nourishing, unlike my aging self. There is always that feeling of being attacked, invading me whenever I come in contact with people. A series of looping ropes, choking and arresting my thoughts and my functional self, is always on replay when a conversation is in the process of being initiated; only God knows for how long it has been petrified there with no sign of progress. Every day the severity and seriousness reach a higher peak than t...

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“The Living Earth” by Dominic Lapi

Submitted to Contest #82

A tentative step, then another. A reverent silence enveloped the valley as Mygan began her ascent to the stone. The grand chancellor had just finished announcing Mygan’s presence to the eager crowd, a gathering of the four tribes at the base of the valley. Mygan was painfully aware of the soft sounds her bare feet made as she padded up the moss-covered stairs. She felt the weight of 10,000 years upon her shoulders. The Great Festival had lasted one month, and today was the final day. Mygan neared the...

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“Technology wins” by Elda Du Toit

Submitted to Contest #82

It is May 1999 and John is lost. Again. It is the fifth time this week that he gets lost on his way to a client. As a financial advisor who meets clients at their homes or in coffee shops, John travels a lot and sees at least three clients a day. But he is not good at reading maps. Or following directions. John is not one of those men who are too proud to ask for help, it is just that he cannot necessarily use the help he gets. When he asks for directions, he tries his best to listen carefully. “Turn left at the fuel station, then right a...

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“Vanilla, knuckles and wood” by DREW LANE

Submitted to Contest #82

The ocean looked different. The waves rolled the same. The sky was as dense. The foam still like scum. And yet, the air tasted fade - as if its salt had evaporated.Colin threw a stick of wood at Henry to get rid of him and dive his sharp eyes deeper into the tide. While Henry barked away, Colin felt the wind against his fleece jacket. It was one of those March mornings that soaked into your bones. One of those March mornings that tasted like rust. Rust from the ocean.Rust that he wished could bend his mind.*His thick hands brushed the pan in...

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“What Say You, Little Bird?” by Max Arlo

Submitted to Contest #82

He stared at the gleaming metal, trying not to think about the wires running through it and where they connected to. “Ok, Kris, take it slowly at first. Just ease your weight onto them and see how it feels.” Moving at glacial pace, he ever so gently eased his way until he stood on his new legs. Straightening his spine for the first time in what felt like centuries, he suddenly towered above the physical therapist. Much to his surprise and slightly to his chagrin, he hardly wobbled at all. “Excellent! It seems like you’ll be a natura...

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“Just Beyond Her Reach” by E B

Submitted to Contest #82

It was early onset Alzheimer’s, the doctor had said. The woman had said that wasn’t possible. The doctor had chuckled, which she thought was inappropriate, and told her it most certainly was. She had thought it was all inappropriate. I’m only fifty, the woman had said. It’s not possible. The doctor had sighed, sat next to her. Do you have any children or family who can help you? And that’s as much as the woman remembers, truthfully. The rest is just beyond her grasp, frustratingly unobtainable, tantalizing, glittering. She...

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“Necessary New Normal” by AJ Harrison

Submitted to Contest #82

The chill of the evening air whipped around the length of Teresa’s knee-length skirt. The damp fabric clung to her plump thighs with the weight of the soapy laundry water. The sunset cast a splendid array of orange and yellow hues across the almost cloudless sky. Teresa yanked the last piece of clothing; a heavy set cotton sweater from the plastic basin that was filled to the brim with rinsing water wringing it dry before clipping it next to a pink silk pajama pants to the clothesline that was now hanging low under the weight of numerous fre...

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“Disturbing the Dust” by Rob M

Submitted to Contest #82

It was ten o’clock, and the morning mists were reluctant to release their hold on the Scottish borders. Gradually, the breeze was revealing a landscape of conifers, some bare, some clinging to their green needles. A road cut through the dense plantation, linking a small, sleepy village to the solid, square outline of a castle. The building’s element-battered exterior revealed that it had been rebuilt and remodelled countless times, its façade subject to both the necessities of war and the fickleness of fashion. In the gloom, one sign of occu...

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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 long as...

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“To Have a Broad Mind, and Yet to Have no Heart...” by Rin Sadow

Submitted to Contest #82

I looked at him through the screen. "Andrew?" He didn't answer. Why would he? "Am I really going to have copies? Sent out to other people to talk to them?" All that followed was silence. Even if he weren't warped by his emotions then, he would barely talk to me anyway. I was just an AI. I was artificial. I would never be comparable to the real things. I would never matter as much. "Will I help them?" He looked up from his hands, but still said nothing. "Do I help you, Andrew?" He slowly turned to me, his beautiful hazel e...

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“Maybe” by Hannah Love

Submitted to Contest #82

James Buchanan was sitting in his half dark basement working on his new game. He was a video game design major in college and the game he was working on was supposed to be an end of year assignment, but he hadn’t had time to finish it. He sat back from his computer, took off his glasses and sighed, his gangly arms and legs hanging out from under the desk. His app was acting strangely. It'd been getting rid of bugs on its own. Not that he wasn't grateful for that. It saved him a lot of work, but still. The app was a new game. It was about tim...

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“A-live” by Artemas Lazaro

Submitted to Contest #82

Hi! My name is Dinesh, Let me tell you about my app, so it is a video app for movie lovers on which they can watch any movie for free. I too am a movie lover i always wanted to make an app so that people don't have to pay for movies and they could watch any movie for free. Basically what my app will do it will show people recent released movies and series which they will be able to download or watch online just by clicking on the links below the movie. Today i am going to a press meeting in which i will launch my app in front of media and...

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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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