Start your story with a character looking closely at something, or someone. They can't quite decide if what they're looking at is natural, or man-made.

Posted in Science Fiction on Aug 25, 2023

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✍️ 51 stories

“The Lucky Ones” by AnneMarie Miles

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #213

“She is definitely a robot,” Carly leans in and whispers in my ear.I stifle the involuntary laughter rising up my chest by covering my mouth with one hand, swatting her playfully with another. “Oh my god, Carly, shhh!” I press an index finger over my parting lips.She snickers. “Seriously! There’s no way this chick is real. Look at her,” she’s extending her arm out, palm facing up, gesturing to the woman speaking on stage. “Who looks like that? She seriously hasn’t stopped smiling since she started talking. It doesn’t even look real! That’s d...

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“Is It Cake?” by Chris Miller

Submitted to Contest #213

“So now, for fifteen thousand dollars, what’s it going to be?”Jamie stooped and squinted at the five objects.“They’re all so real…”“They’re as real as wrestlin’, Jamie,” said the host to a ripple of spontaneous amusement from the audience, “but which one is cake?”Real as wrestling. Jamie knew real when he saw it. When Hulk Hogan hit The Macho Man Randy Savage, hit him square in the eighties (when fifteen grand would have bought a new Corvette), it was real. Really real. The Macho Man staggered like a blasted buck. Stiff legged and rake-in-th...

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“The Apple Heist” by Tom Skye

Submitted to Contest #213

Lorna led the four children across the street and into Pottery Barn like ducklings to a pond. "Right, Jonny, Amy, Cora, Corey; I just need a quick look around. I'll only be 10 minutes, 15 minutes tops. We will meet the others soon. Just hang around here and don't touch anything. I'll have my eyes on you the whole time." She gave each of the children an imperious glance and disappeared further into the shop and out of sight. Today was Jonny's 7th birthday, and his mother was taking him to Soft City with his younger sister, Amy, and the 8 ...

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“Black Unicorn” by Kristin Johnson

Submitted to Contest #213

“Is it real?” the woman asked, looking at the shaggy black unicorn sitting outside the rusted gates. “I touched it. It’s a statue, but it’s covered in fur,” the man said. The statue was a weird touch, but then, Auroch Manor was weird despite its appearance as a respectable pre-WWI stately home with a long narrow meandering driveway. The man, Dr. Scott Packer, late thirties, pulled back overgrown shrubbery from the sign that read: “AUROCH MANOR HEALTH SPA--WHERE WELLNESS BEGINS.” Scott pulled his lab coat close around him to protect agains...

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“Invasion of the Garden Gnomes” by Jonathan Page

Submitted to Contest #213

“It’s an invasion,” Ryan James screamed, flicking on the deck lights in the backyard. There were hundreds of them. Thousands. Little porcelain gnomes no bigger than subway rats. Red and green caps. Beady black eyes. Fluffy white beards. Some with wheelbarrows, some with miniature flowerpots, some with small axes or shears. Dotting the lawn like a swarm of locusts. Ryan James cracked the sliding glass door and grabbed his Red Ryder wood grain BB gun and dropped to the floor in a prone position. A...

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“Drowning Behind Her” by Julia Rock

Submitted to Contest #213

Her hand lifts as I lift mine. Her head tilts as I tilt mine. But she does not exist. Not anymore. Not yet. The screen is, for all intents and purposes, a mirror. A glimpse at the final product. A glance into my future appearance. When the doctors are done with me I will look like her. I will be her. (No, I will be me. But I will look like her. I am not her. I am me. I am me. I am me I am me I Am Me I AM ME IAMMEIAMMEIAMME). They call me by her name. My name, now. (NO.) I have stolen it from her. (Soon she will steal everything from m...

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“On the precipice of understanding” by James Larder

Submitted to Contest #213

‘Leave the women to it.’ Father led me out of the kitchen dining area, as he dangled a cigar in front of my nose. ‘This has been burning a hole in my pocket since dessert.’ He slapped me on the back of my shoulder.The sound of pans clanging and plates being scrapped accompanied us as we edged away. We had been dining since seven. The time was now past ten. I had arrived late yesterday evening, from London.My parents are disgustingly rich. This is their house, in the Cotswolds. Six bedrooms, three bathrooms, an acre sized garden- Bird bath, r...

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“The Globe” by Lily Finch

Submitted to Contest #213

“Look at you, Susan Blakely; it’s nice to see you this morning. What are you now, eight years old?” Mr. Martens smiled at Susan as she entered his Pawn Shop. “Hi Mr. Martens, I’ve come for a snowglobe, please. All the girls are getting together for a party, and we’re supposed to bring a snow globe with us. Do you have anything like that?" ”Well, I don’t have a real snow globe, but what would you say if I told you I had something better?” “Oh, I don’t know about that. I mean, what is it?” “Why, it’s right over here. ...

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“The Woman Trapped Behind the Glass” by Sean Wilson

Submitted to Contest #213

“Excuse me Joshua but I seem to be stuck on this wall,” a voice says behind me. I look at my manuscript, now over five hundred pages long, and put down my pen. How long has it been since I’ve had a visitor? The wood floor creaks underneath me as I place two hands on my desk and push myself up. As I turn around, nobody is at my door. Am I imagining things? “Not there. Up here!” I swivel my head to the right and see that a woman’s face is, indeed, on my wall. She seems to be trapped behind glass. Is she real? I shuffle over and analyze her gre...

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“I and I ” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #213

I and I In creation where one's nature neither honors nor forgives I and I One said to the other, "No man sees my face and lives" Bob Dylan I saw him again. I was riding the New York Subway from Union Square to Morley Advertising on 72cd Street near Lenox Hill. I was wearing my earbuds, but when I saw him get on, I removed them. I wanted to hear his voice. I wanted to get as close as I could to him just to see who he was or who he thought he was. But when I saw his face, it was like looking into the mirror at my ow...

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“Badly Drawn Bear” by Rae Toonery

Submitted to Contest #213

TW: contains multiple triggers. Badly Drawn Bear Bear Grylls comes blade running down the wooded path. It’s difficult to get the hang of the prosthetics at such a steep gradient and the uneven surface and scree aren’t helping either. He can only assume that his ‘creator’ (BearFanGrl4EVR) has hobbled him in the interests of diversity, not wishing to be accused of ableism. Bear escaped the confines of the computer screen when BearFanGrl4EVR nipped to the kitchen to make herself a Pot Noodle for lunch (yes, her taste in food is as synthet...

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“"The Last Deed"” by Michael Mackenzie

Submitted to Contest #213

Blake leaned over his desk in the basement of his home, staring at the city planning blue prints and fingering a spool of wire when the sirens went off. The sound tore into his ear drums and echoed across the walls. The sound so loud and deafening it felt as though the earth were shaking. Is actually happening this time? Blake thought. The city plans lay sprawled across the table. A collection of blue prints of office buildings and cul-de sac’s and parks and playg...

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“The Twilight Artificial Reality Zone ” by Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #213

Announcer: “Ladies and Gentlemen, fans of the imagination, where nature and manufactured intersect, I present to you a story of life in the Twilight Artificial Reality Zone.”"Before us, on a precipice, a woman named Ally flicks her eyes downward to look at the narrow ledge under her feet. Hundreds of feet below she sees the river flowing in a canyon." "But is it natural or a manufactured reality gone wrong?"One moment Ally was standing in her living room at home, turning dials on her time and artificial reality transformation devic...

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“Passing in the Human World” by Sol Le Roux

Submitted to Contest #213

I’ve been staring at Mathias’ new friend from work since the beginning of the party and I can’t seem to stop. I’ve never seen such perfect androgynous beauty and there’s something fascinating about them that I just can’t shake. Of course they’re noticing, I’m not the most discreet person in the world. Even their amused smile is perfect. It lifts up the corner of their lips and reveals a slight dimple that highlights their incredible bone structure. Who has that naturally? I’ve been told that you’re not supposed to ask. That it’s deeply perso...

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“The Pond” by Bettina Karpathian

Submitted to Contest #213

Marjorie wondered if the pond was natural or man-made. The vivid autumn reds and oranges of the trees were reflected in its tranquil surface and a couple of ducks glided across the water towards the far bank. She admired the beauty of the scene, although crossing the rickety wooden bridge which spanned the pond had been terrifying. Its wooden planks were cracked and sun-bleached with age and creaked alarmingly with every step. Neil was in a good mood for once this afternoon, and she did not want to spoil the atmosphere by complaining. S...

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Start your story with a character looking closely at something, or someone. They can't quite decide if what they're looking at is natural, or man-made.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 51 stories

“The Lucky Ones” by AnneMarie Miles

“Is It Cake?” by Chris Miller

“The Apple Heist” by Tom Skye

“Black Unicorn” by Kristin Johnson

“Invasion of the Garden Gnomes” by Jonathan Page

“Drowning Behind Her” by Julia Rock

“On the precipice of understanding” by James Larder

“The Globe” by Lily Finch

“The Woman Trapped Behind the Glass” by Sean Wilson

“I and I ” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

“Badly Drawn Bear” by Rae Toonery

“"The Last Deed"” by Michael Mackenzie

“The Twilight Artificial Reality Zone ” by Kristi Gott

“Passing in the Human World” by Sol Le Roux

“The Pond” by Bettina Karpathian

🌟 Similar prompts

Start or end your story with a character receiving a hug or words of comfort.

Write a story about someone who is losing feeling in their hands and/or fingers.

Write about someone with a Midas touch: everything they touch turns to [fill in the blank].

Write about an AI or person trying to inject a ‘human touch’ into their work.

Contest #213

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

288

Contest entries

125

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: