Write a story about someone finally gaining access into their family’s very old computer.

Posted in Mystery on Feb 2, 2024

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✍️ 37 stories

“Pete, Pearls, and Pictures” by Erica Wilson

Submitted to Contest #236

“I just don’t see what the problem is,” Jared frowned. I glared at him. “You don’t,” I asked him monotonously. My arms were folded across my chest, and I was tapping the toe of my black, patent leather stiletto heel on the brand new vinyl flooring in our kitchen. You look defensive and impatient, I heard my mother’s voice criticize, followed by a few disappointed tsks. Self-conscious now, I uncrossed my arms and planted my hands on my hips. Too confrontational, my mother’s voice scoffed in my head. I had finally settled on twirling my pearl ...

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“word perfect” by Lara Deppe

Submitted to Contest #236

Kennedy shoved the keys into my hands. “You do it.” “Why does this feel like we are breaking in?” I said as I fumbled the keys. There were only three keys on the ring, and I didn’t know which one would let us into the brown, two-story townhome. The uncomfortable tremble in my hands was shaking the keys until they rattled. “Because we have never been here without her.” She confirmed. “It seems a little creepy to be going into someone else’s house without their permission. “She left us the house Neddy; this is our house now.” I tried to com...

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“Commodore 64 Discovery” by Joseph Monachino

Submitted to Contest #236

Commodore 64 Discovery BY: Joseph A. Monachino “We certainly have found plenty of old items while doing Spring cleaning”, said Tony to his brother Bill. Bill then uncovers an old Commodore 64 in the corner of the basement storage closet. “Look what I found, Tony”, says Bill. “What is it?”, asks Bill. “It is an old computer that dates back to 1985; a Commodore 64 to be exact”, says Bill. Tony then jokingly says: “I wonder if there is a goldmine of information on the hard drive?” “Well, let’s find out”, says Bill. Tony ...

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“Computer Evolution” by Bob Ellis

Submitted to Contest #236

We bought the Timex Sinclair 1000 home computer for $99.95 in the fall of 1982. It ran BASIC instructions without the aid of any operating system. Users were forced to write programs for themselves, otherwise the six-inch by seven-inch, 20-ounce box did nothing but collect dust. The computer lacked a complete keyboard; no games, sound boards, or monitor were included. We had just moved up to Maine from Boston and had little money to spend. To get the computer’s required, but not included, black-and-white monitor, we drove from Yarmouth, M...

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“Behind Lock & Key” by Jessica-Roisin Coop

Submitted to Contest #236

Behind Lock and Key When I was a child, I had burned with curiosity hotter than the sun. If there was any sort of mystery, I just had to channel my best Nancy Drew and solve the case ASAP. If someone had put the milk carton back in the fridge with no milk, I would track down the culprit and ensure they got suitably chastised. My dad was left with red ears after the tongue lashing my mum gave to him that day. He had given me some serious side eye once mum's back was turned. "How did you even figure out it was me?" "Well mu...

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“Byte of the Past” by Ashley Kenkelen

Submitted to Contest #236

Matt sat at his desk, the rhythmic scrape of the pencil sharpener filling the room. As he honed the point, intrusive thoughts barged into his mind like uninvited guests. Disturbing images flashed—fragments of what seemed like a past trauma. Uncertainty gripped him, and he couldn’t shake the unsettling feeling that these thoughts weren’t mere figments of imagination but buried memories clawing their way to the surface. “I’d know if something like this happened to me; I’d just know,” Matt muttered, his voice a mix of conviction and self-reassu...

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“An Answer” by Frances Joseph

Submitted to Contest #236

Her belly screeched. It was painful to forego food hour for the second day in a row, but today she was particularly optimistic. Yesterday, at Fourteen hour, her supervisor had left the Manufacturing lab, and she had removed the electric charger from the machine that produced tooth-cleaning gel. These portable rubidium chargers could run any apparatus on the ship, so surely it could provide power to an ancient technology as well; of course, she was assuming the early form of computer also used electricity. Perhaps it didn’t. Maybe it produced...

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Write a story about someone finally gaining access into their family’s very old computer.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 37 stories

“Pete, Pearls, and Pictures” by Erica Wilson

“word perfect” by Lara Deppe

“Commodore 64 Discovery” by Joseph Monachino

“Computer Evolution” by Bob Ellis

“Behind Lock & Key” by Jessica-Roisin Coop

“Byte of the Past” by Ashley Kenkelen

“An Answer” by Frances Joseph

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with a character finding a retro piece of tech they don’t recognize.

Write a time-travel story where a character from the present finds themselves in the 80s or 90s.

Write a story about a grown-up sharing their favorite childhood video game with their child.

Write about a character who isn’t nostalgic about their past at all, and show readers why.

Contest #236

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

184

Contest entries

83

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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