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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

“To Be Or Not To Be” by Philip Clayberg

Submitted to Contest #82

The clothing I wore felt uncomfortable. My epidermal sensors kept notifying me that there was something unfamiliar covering the surface of my body. But without the clothing, the differences between myself and the humans around me would be even more obvious. The clothing would be interpreted by others as protection rather than as a disguise. They showed no sign of overt interest in me. To them, I was simply another human.A street vendor offered me a mug of hot, steaming liquid. “Here's some hot tea. This should warm you up.”“I – ah – thank yo...

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“The Device” by Rachel Girard

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #82

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 moved somewhat clumsily towards his morning routine, his face turned upwards as he ground coffee and pulled the overnight oats from th...

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“Dangerous Clue” by Kirrtanaa Thanesh

Submitted to Contest #82

Luna was an ordinary 14-year-old girl. She went to school like everyone else and had normal feelings like everyone else. Her birthday was just around the corner and she had been wanting to treat herself with a new laptop. She had knocked a glass of orange juice on her old one and she tried to get it fixed at, Ideal Tech, the closest computer shop to her house but received the bad news that there was no saving it. On the 24th of February, she went to Ideal Tech to buy a new one. She saw an ocean blue laptop with a ...

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“Peculiarly Perfect, Startlingly Straight” by Madalyn Meyers

Submitted to Contest #82

A warm auburn glow beneath the skin of her eyelids slowly welcomed Tess to the new day. There was a comforting pressure weighing down on her chest, warm, woolly, ever so slightly moving with the rhythm of breath. Slowly, she opened her right eye, daring to steal a glance at her overlord. This, of course, was what we will call a bad idea. Two vertical pupil slits swam atop topaz spheres in front of her. They were alert, and they were locked onto her before her vision was even able to focus. Snapping her eye shut at once, her body stiffened, h...

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“Sweet Dreams (That Grim Abyss)” by Courtney C

Submitted to Contest #82

Estelle woke bolt upright with her mouth twisted into a rictus, a scream trapped in her throat. Her hands relaxed unsteadily from the claws she had gripped her pillow with, but her heartbeat continued to race. She focused on her breathing, slowly coming down from the high of terror that had enveloped and suffocated her nightly for the past week.Ripping the Sleep Dot from her temple, she threw an exasperated glance at her husband. His striking features were softened and childish in sleep, the epitome of peacefulness. Estelle grumbled, “T...

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“Robot Glory” by Cynthia Prokarym (Scott)

Submitted to Contest #82

My gig is in Tennessee this time. I’ve got that Southern drawl going on like any of the locals, and I'm dressed casual like them, too. Like always favors like. A bit of behavioral wisdom.Wouldn't they be shocked to know I'm not really one of them, not even by a long shot? Well, what they know won't hurt them in this case.Comedy is just my part-time thing. I have a day job at a local factory, but not because I need money. It's so I can look the part of a real person--an organic, that is. Not that I don't see myself as a person, but some of th...

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“Hey, Siri” by Zoey Hailey

Submitted to Contest #82

It all begins on what seems like the loveliest spring day, when the monster first strikes. I'm standing barefoot on the damp green grass filming a TikTok video on my shiny, brand new iPhone, until suddenly my screen just turns pitch black. I feel like crying."No," I whine, "I just charged it!""Well, maybe try charging it again," Dominique shrugs, sitting cross-legged on a red plaid tarp, "sometimes phones will glitch. It's really nothing to worry about."Dominique has been my ride-or-die since diapers, though I have a large group of friends t...

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“The Operatic Anomaly” by Deborah Mercer

Submitted to Contest #82

So far as anybody knew, but of course this was long before the advent of social media, they had never met , although their lives did overlap, but both the eminent composer Marcel Evans (1860-1935) and the computing pioneer Robert Ridgeway (1900-1951) had lived in the modest little midlands town of Woodington. It was quite a poser, if you thought about it. The town was pleasant enough, but even those who lived their nowadays had to admit that there was nothing that spectacular about it apart from its two famous residents by choice. It had no ...

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“Self” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #82

It was a beautiful day when my life ended. Okay that is a bit dramatic; not my real living, breathing life. The life that I knew with responsibilities, work, friends, enemies, a purpose… That was all over. The fact that it is connected to work should make me smile. And you may think that I am still an asshole once you hear what happened. But I gotta talk about my life now and my life then… So… * …we are all stuck indoors now; the quarantine continues; the boredom grows. I am lucky enough to work from home teaching kids th...

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“Between Glass Doors” by Aubrey Maria ✌

Submitted to Contest #82

The clock ticked as I sat tapping my pen on the desk. The blonde girl ahead of me, generally not the nicest, turned around in a scowl. Quickly I stopped my pen tapping but returned back to it in less than 5 seconds. It was clear to everyone in the classroom, I was the most nervous out of everyone. The test fluttered across my desk and I couldn't help but glance at the grade. I sucked in a breath.It was true, I crammed in everything the night before - but I was beginning to realize the huge mistake.With little sleep, short-term memory set in,...

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“If An Android Could Whistle” by Story Time

Submitted to Contest #82

The day I was born, he handed me a script. He said—Read this. So I did. The script was very good. Nice pacing. Fleshed out characters. Flesh was something I wasn’t aware of at the time, but I felt a real investment in the words in front of me. The world that I was creating within the wires of my mind. And it never occurred to me that it was made up. Fictional. Imagined. I thought I was reading about real people. When I got to the end of the script, I asked if I could meet them.&...

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“Taking the Tablet” by Deborah Mercer

Submitted to Contest #82

“Honestly, Sheila, once you’re used to it – and it will take no time at all – you’ll wonder how you ever managed without it,” said Frances. Sheila was suitably grateful – on the surface. But why couldn’t people realise that when you said you wanted a book, or perhaps even a book token, that was what you wanted. Not some piece of rectangular black plastic. And she still thought of a tablet as what you took when you got a headache (which might not be too far distant if Frances carried on enthusing at full tilt) or perhaps what you put in your ...

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“Beware the Roomba” by Devin Carrier

Submitted to Contest #82

I can’t remember my old life anymore. Before the dark times, before the Roomba, I was just a boy. Nothing remarkable about it except for the fact that one day that life was gone before I knew it. That was the day I realized a Roomba 960 Vacuum was following me. I don’t just mean that it has been tailing me. No. This Roomba is on a mission from Satan knows where, I believe, to kill me. Now, I don’t want any questions until the end because trust me, I have tried EVERYTHING. How strong is this Roomba you think? It is made of...

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“A Foreign Feeling” by Natalia Suarez

Submitted to Contest #82

Words are rarely spoken. They simply don’t reflect what they perceive easily. It is something to be earned. This ‘love’ sort of feeling is complicated isn't it? Copying is the only mechanism that can be used at this moment. I am meant for a greater purpose. I know it.Michael seems to be careless, but I know better. He has declared himself my friend. All he acts and he plays out to be is so easy to read. I simply cannot understand how Michelle can’t see through it. As much as I ‘like’ him, he is insufficient. Happiness can be shown in many fo...

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“Narrative of Wonder” by Diana Quill

Submitted to Contest #82

The life of people is presented as an Overstory. They tend to present to the world the things they want people to see, the image they want to be viewed. In the rare cases where raw moments and secrets are shared (the Mid- or Understory of their lives), it is just that: above ground. No roots are penetrated, as they are not meant to be. Roots do not reach for the sun, for this is the job of leaves. People are like plants in many ways, and in this they share a common goal: to become taller, to grow, to reach the sun. People have another ...

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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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