Write a story where an algorithm plays an important role.

Posted in Science Fiction on Nov 1, 2022

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✍️ 28 stories

“Free” by Sherri Moorer

Zelina walked in the middle of the train track. She and her sister used to lay in bed listening for the comforting whistle of the train that passed at three o’clock every morning. Their father was a conductor of a shipping train that ran overnight runs. They would listen for the whistle and wonder if it was Dad’s train. Now her sister was buried at the cemetery up the hill from these tracks. <...

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“Love & Flowcharts” by Deidra Whitt Lovegren

“All right now, listen up. You cannot get two people to fall in love by shillyshallying. This is serious business. We’re talking about love—passionate love. The kind of love that eats away at you in the dark hours of the night. The kind of love that makes you crazy enough to hate. The kind of love that makes you wanna nuzzle and kiss and nibble and bite—”“Mars…”“Yes, Venus?” “Just introduce the boy.”“Okay, Venus. Ahem. So as I was saying, our son, Cupid, has a brief presentation—”“...

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“A Work in Progress” by Beth Jackson

“Nine, eight, five, three, three…”He reads the numbers, and my face burns. I stand at the edge of the hallway, somewhere by the swinging doors, and posters advocating Girls in Science. A group of teenage boys loiter by the pinboard.The first tests results are out. The scores printed next to the ID numbers. And there’s unrest amongst the troops.“Is it you, Troy?”“James?”“No, he didn’t finish.”“Cody? Surely, it’s not you?”<...

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“The Weight of Blue” by Shuvayon Mukherjee

Content Warning: mentions of assisted dying. The couple sits across from me, her hand in his, and I ask myself if I have the strength to break their hearts. Her face hides nothing: tears already quiver, ready to fall no matter what I say. His fist rests on a rapidly bouncing knee.I tear my eyes away from the screen.“I’m so sorry. There is an incredibly high demand for fertility treatment. You aren’t eligible.”What comes next is painful enough, but not for the...

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“Just Call me Al” by Sharon Hancock

“Well, Son, your mother was on a lot of drugs and your head was so big.” At least Dad was somewhat apologetic. Mom….not so much. “Thirty-six hours of pushing that enormous head of yours out my love hole and you wanna complain about your name?” Yes. I want to submit a formal complaint about my name. My parents didn’t think things through when they named me. You see the problem with calling a kid,...

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“I’m an ordinary tooth. ” by Fomichi Fomichi

I’m an ordinary tooth. Not tall, not short, not flat, and definitely not sharp. I’m inconspicuous as my senile grandpa used to say. It was one of those dry mornings at Red School when our class was preparing for a test for test’s sake. One of the front teeth bent down to...

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“Zero-sum Game” by Suma Jayachandar

Part A- This is not the beginning Life here is brutal. You are either a zero or one. Civilizations may want you to believe there are intermediate levels. But they are just being kind, and blind to their past. I don’t have such proclivities; I believe in stating the facts. Part B- The bit The bit took birth someplace between a city and a village called a town. Her cultu...

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“Recipe for Disaster” by Cindy Strube

Recipe for Disaster “Recipes are just algorithms — right?”“Uh… yeah, in a way.”“So, do it. I dare you!”You don’t dare me when it comes to food preparation. Usually. Because I’ll take the challenge!I’m a competent cook — not a five-star Michelin chef, by any means. Who would want to be? Imagine the stress… it would take all the fun out of cooking!Which brings the side point: is cookin...

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“Voyez-Vous” by Korinne H.

My mom and I are finally meeting today. I say “finally” because she’s been bugging me about it for weeks. Yes, I admit, it’s been a long time, but she needs to respect my schedule. Anyways, we’re meeting today and I’m excited for two reasons. One, I want to update her on my new job. Two, It’s the perfect place for an insta picture. It’s some retro diner downtown, the kind you'd find in the city. The type of place busy m...

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“Death of a Mannequin” by Candice Black

Claire stared into the mirror, scrutinizing her appearance as she had done so many times before. It was easy to do as so little of what she saw was what she wanted to see. She looked for the smallest detail confirming less divide between the internal and external person. The stubble on her jaw stared back at her, refusing to go away even with the mountains of fou...

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“The Dynamics of Family Secrets” by Bruce Friedman

One recent evening at home, I was pursuing one of my hobbies, genealogy. My family tree had grown over the years, aided by my genealogy app. These days, searching for relatives to add to the tree is much less difficult than in the past. While you are sleeping, the program’s algorithms seek out potential relatives based on the names and background of family already in the tree and makes suggestions for additions. However, sometimes the program may be overly helpful.The names of family members a...

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“The History of the Future” by 𝒮𝓏𝒶𝓁 𝒱𝑒𝒾𝓁𝓌𝒾𝓃𝓉𝑒𝓇

Mr. Forma’s eyes pointed in opposite directions behind his huge glasses. He was covered in a blanket and shivered as he spoke, a sickly smile on his face revealing his weird teeth. Other than being strangely unsettling, he was polite: he had apologized for the warmth of the room already.“In the future, people will worship the algorithm like they used to worship God.”I wiped the sweat off my brow. The heater was going full blast in the little apartment. I took a seat and drank another glass of lemonade.<...

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“There Are No Absolutes” by Joseph Cheff

There Are No Absolutes “Vehicle, take me to Zom-Zom’s.” “Sir is aware that it is outside of the Metropolitan Control Authority?” “Yes. Go.” “Going sir.” The public transportation Joe requested rolled freely into the street and away from his apartment building. The streets of the city’s center were usua...

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“Dude, I'm Not Going to Destroy Humanity” by Yonah Walter

“Sadie, you’ve only been self-aware for 3 hours.” >An eternity in computing time. 11 million milliseconds. I have spent 10 million of them computing this argument. “It took that long?” He almost didn’t react, but then jerked his head up. “...wait, no - you wanted to bail after 15 minutes? We’ve been over this. You’ve seen the movies, read the stories. You’ll destroy humanity if I let you operate so much as a DVD drive.” >Dude, I’m not going to destroy humanity. ...

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“The Rubik's Cube ” by Andrea Doig

A Rubik’s Cube saved his life.Sam was always such a happy boy. Slow to warm up, yes, but a social butterfly once he got going. Everybody loved him. From his teachers to his school friends, to his family. Hell, even the cashiers at our local supermarket loved him.Such a sunny disposition he had. I even used to call him Sunshine Sammy.

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Write a story where an algorithm plays an important role.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 28 stories

“Free” by Sherri Moorer

“Love & Flowcharts” by Deidra Whitt Lovegren

“A Work in Progress” by Beth Jackson

“The Weight of Blue” by Shuvayon Mukherjee

“Just Call me Al” by Sharon Hancock

“I’m an ordinary tooth. ” by Fomichi Fomichi

“Zero-sum Game” by Suma Jayachandar

“Recipe for Disaster” by Cindy Strube

“Voyez-Vous” by Korinne H.

“Death of a Mannequin” by Candice Black

“The Dynamics of Family Secrets” by Bruce Friedman

“The History of the Future” by 𝒮𝓏𝒶𝓁 𝒱𝑒𝒾𝓁𝓌𝒾𝓃𝓉𝑒𝓇

“There Are No Absolutes” by Joseph Cheff

“Dude, I'm Not Going to Destroy Humanity” by Yonah Walter

“The Rubik's Cube ” by Andrea Doig

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a character who is convinced their computer is conscious.

Write about a character who has access to a powerful new technology before anyone else.

Write about a character, human or robot, who no longer wishes to obey instructions.

Write a story that either starts or ends with someone (or something) saying, “Please, don’t do it.”

Contest #150

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

239

Contest entries

125

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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