Write a story where an algorithm plays an important role.

Posted in Science Fiction on Nov 1, 2022

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✍️ 27 stories

“The Algorithm” by Chesley Richards

Submitted to Contest #150

The algorithm was embedded in every piece of software that the Hacker wrote. The Hacker's software was ubiquitous, relatively small, and yet, critical hidden cogs in the global internet machine. He never bragged about his potential ability to disrupt global systems or the life of a single individual. No one knew where he was located, where he slept or played or ate. Or how much money or crypto, more likely, he had. He was as anonymous as possible in a social media, surveillance, crazy world. The algorithm was located elsewhere from his regul...

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“Tell Me More” by VJ Hamilton

Submitted to Contest #150

“Think about others? I am sick and tired of thinking about others!” Barb Ellacott posted to the main message board of her favorite chatroom, SundayPainters.com. In person, Barb was meek and mild with everyone in her seniors’ low-rise condominium, but she loved SundayPainters (motto: “For Artists 9 to 90”) and felt she could let her hair down in the chatroom, even if it were long tangly tresses instead of the practical grey bob she had worn for years. “Why are you sick and tired?” The reply from Habib, another member, floated in from cy...

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“The Algorithm” by Owen Stokes-Cawley

Submitted to Contest #150

Adam slammed the door and sprinted through his house to his desk. He began scattering papers looking for a flash drive. He needed to copy the algorithm and leave. As he tore apart his desk, he spotted a paper with the first conception of the algorithm scribbled on it. Why did I ever create this monster, he thought. Ah ha, he spotted a flash drive, a little green tag attached to the end, pulled his laptop out of his backpack, and plugged it into his laptop. All he needed to do was make a copy of the file. BANG BANG BANG. Came fists on his fr...

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“Allison and the Algorithm” by Allison Ross

Submitted to Contest #150

With the swift flick of my calloused finger gliding across the screen, I push away one half-watched video and pull the next into view. Hours pass, bringing fun facts— Did you know that Australia is wider than the moon?— and convoluted jokes that would take far too much explaining. I watch my “mutuals,” (accounts that I follow that follow me as well) dancing and acting to the voices of others. I don’t know what most of them even sound like, yet according to the algorithm, we are friends. I don’t know how I ended up with twenty-three thousand...

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“Squashing Shirley” by J M Eckford

Submitted to Contest #150

The following story contains bad language and references to addiction and sexual violence. Hi, I’m Beth. I’m twenty eight years old and I rent a small flat in the centre of Leeds in the North of England. It’s not much, but it’s been home for the last seven years of my life, since I graduated from university. The flat itself consists of one bedroom, which is located on the first floor along with the smallest bathroom in the world. The living room is on the ground floor. There is no separate kitchen, instead, the living room has kitche...

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“The Adderal-infused preschooler in every PyTorch model” by BOBYAAA .

Submitted to Contest #150

Our young conspicuous earth gleams while exponentially choking on diesel food-fuel of knowledge. As bones wither and creak – in midlands towering like mountain nestlings, our fair maiden’s gentle weep begins to drown her bipedal occupants. Plink. A wave of mud-stained salt engulfs my favourite Tex-Mex cantina. Plink. Sit toilets, in the heart of southern-Asia begin to overflow. Plonk. An individual defecates by the roadside in consequence of the latrine domination. Hands flat, forehead flattened against the harsh-lipped concrete, we beg,...

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“Welcome to Hypercube” by Gray Utopia

Submitted to Contest #150

“Welcome to your first day at Hypercube. Let me just check that your paperwork is in order. Remind me of your name again, please.” The receptionist’s voice was like a recording and her smile was plastic. “Dr. Walt Rombaucher.” “Welcome, Dr. Rombaucher. I have to be very thorough. Give me a few minutes while I check that all of your paperwork is in order, mmkay?” I already hate this. I can’t let Carol down, though. We need the bigger apartment, after all. I’m as ready as she is to get the baby out of our room. Her movements are so stiff a...

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“'Rithm of Love” by Kate Kelsen

Submitted to Contest #150

There is something fundamentally unromantic about the algorithm of dating apps. How does it work, this mysterious line of coding that increasingly controls my life and future happiness? Where do all the matches come from, this constant stream of faces and names on my phone screen? The packaging of my microwave meal lies discarded on the coffee table. An episode of the TV show I’ve been binge-watching is playing in the background. I’m not really watching it; I’m in another downward spiral of swiping. This is how I remedy my disappointment w...

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“The Spotlight” by Tiffany Andrew

Submitted to Contest #150

The studio went silent and the little green light started to blink. Sonnie tried not to look into the spotlight focused on his face. “I’m here with Sonnie Davis, computer programmer and local hero. Sonnie wrote the algorithm that returned Sharise Douglas to her parents last Monday, just five hours after her abduction. Sonnie, how does it feel to be a hero?” “It feels amazing, Rebekah.” “Tell us about how you performed this miracle.” “Truthfully, I amazed even myself. I knew I had something special as soon as my fingers hit the keys. It...

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“Life Unexpected” by Cynthia Maria Grace

Submitted to Contest #150

Jean looked up as the sound barrier was breached, announcing the departure of the ship. Her vision was blurred through the small glass window of her mask set to the tune of her own breathing. She could barely see the fiery tail by the time she moved her head toward the sound and lined up the two by three-inch field of vision to the fading spot in the sky.“That was the last of them” she scrolled on her handheld to her husband who was over the ridge skinning a deer and testing for radiation levels before filleting, treating the best parts...

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“Count Down” by Sam Clark

Submitted to Contest #150

Freya didn’t usually look out the window on her way to work. There wasn’t much to see. And anyway, there was always work to do, even first thing in the morning. But today, her Spectacle – a thin, curved strip of brushed metal magnetically attached to the temple of every other occupant of her bus – lay dormant in her lap. She couldn’t quite stomach the thought of notifications about Mails, Memos and Meets beaming directly into her eye. Instead, she stared absent-mindedly out at the corporate campus that she traveled through each day o...

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“Kendall and the Kelenken” by JJ Banque

Submitted to Contest #150

Contains Violence, Adult Language and Themes, Reader Discretion is advised.Somewhere near the Blue Ridge Mountains. Thousands of electronic server raids hummed around a massive CPU. They processed disparate pieces of information until they created an algorithmic whole!Martin Breesdale’s khaki cargo shorts rubbed against some tall grass as he escorted his girlfriend over several large stones in a stream. Her white summer dress blended in with the birch trees above, whose green leaves and branches stirred from the currents of the wind. The you...

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Write a story where an algorithm plays an important role.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 27 stories

“The Algorithm” by Chesley Richards

“Tell Me More” by VJ Hamilton

“The Algorithm” by Owen Stokes-Cawley

“Allison and the Algorithm” by Allison Ross

“Squashing Shirley” by J M Eckford

“The Adderal-infused preschooler in every PyTorch model” by BOBYAAA .

“Welcome to Hypercube” by Gray Utopia

“'Rithm of Love” by Kate Kelsen

“The Spotlight” by Tiffany Andrew

“Life Unexpected” by Cynthia Maria Grace

“Count Down” by Sam Clark

“Kendall and the Kelenken” by JJ Banque

🌟 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

237

Contest entries

124

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: