Set your story in a world where everyone’s decisions are made for them. One morning, your character wakes up, and chooses not to go to work. Wait…chooses?!

Posted in Thriller and Suspense on May 5, 2023

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✍️ 18 stories

“Safe and Easy” by Michał Przywara

Submitted to Contest #197

The timer box clanked, the buzzer bzz-bzzed, and the dull yellow light turned bright green. All the cell gates retracted and the barn door trundled open, and all the cows started shuffling down the worn path to get their morning milking. All but Clarice. She scowled at her cell wall, resisting the inertia of habit, and around her roiled the ripples of gossip. What’s happening? What’s she doing? Is she ill? Is it catching? “Clarice!” Tammy, one of the youngest cows, called out. “Are you all right?” Clarice glared up at the timer box – their t...

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“SEVEN” by John Rutherford

Submitted to Contest #197

SEVEN – the lands of constraint and the infinitesimal. The lands were governed by seven rulers, representing, two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, and one mouth – named The Seven. These seven ruling figures governed by the dogma handed down from generations upon generations. No one questioned the dogma; it was followed blindly in every minute detail. Life itself was constrained by the dogma, tenets for a human life, all lives. In each life there were seven stages, each one was named an epoch. Seven epochs made up one living creature’s life...

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“Defiance ” by N.V. Duke

Submitted to Contest #197

The 6.00 AM alarm screeched as it always did, the tone manufactured to wake the workers up as quickly and efficiently as possible. 'Good morning William, it is 6.00AM on Sunday, 10th of May 2043. Get dressed for garbage inspection duty, you are rostered between 8AM to 4PM at the lower Eastern suburbs of Sydney.’ William laid in his bed with his eyes open, his dream of the open ocean fleeting. Each day felt like the last only broken up by his ever changing work schedule and the occasional unexpected rain. He stood up and made his way to t...

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“Free Choice and the AI Household” by Tod Hughes

Submitted to Contest #197

The small black box sat in the corner of the living room.. watching, anticipating, and directing activities within the house. Harmon took comfort in the everyday decisions that were taken over for him. Artificial Intelligence was something he embraced, letting him focus on more important matters. His robot butler had a facial screen that made it seem more like a true person, not in terms of real conversation, but it was able to understand basic commands and be programmed to do the menial tasks that Harmon abhorred. Thi...

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“Corrupted Code” by Michael Clark

Submitted to Contest #197

For as long as I can remember, every day has always been the same. Get up. Go to work. Come home. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Lately, something feels different. Almost like the battery on whatever device they use to program us has begun to die. That is highly unlikely, though. The Government comes regularly to check our Connectchips and ensure they are updated. This morning I stare at my ceiling, knowing that I have to go to work. But I am not moving. Not today. Today, I am choosing a different path. When I clock in at at work, a signal is sent ...

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“A BREATH OF FREEDOM” by Mara Masolini

Submitted to Contest #197

A BREATH OF FREEDOM Wake up at seven o’clock. A quarter of an hour to take a shower and clean yourself: brush your teeth, and take your prescribed medicines. Then ten minutes for the breakfast of cornflakes, milk, and orange juice. Afterward, George had to take the lift, since it was forbidden to walk down the stairs, go down the garage, and get into his car to reach his workplace. Where it was forbidden to arrive one minute late. In the world in which he lived everything was organized, established minute by min...

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“Worker Bee” by Lisa Cornell

Submitted to Contest #197

From the moment I started on the job I was a dedicated worker, I thought of myself as a prized member of the team. It gave me such satisfaction and pride that I truly didn’t think I needed anything more from life.After all, it was my destiny. I was born into the role as a female honey bee, I was tasked as a worker bee, spending my days out of the hive foraging, working on the infrastructure of the hive whilst ensuring it was kept clean and I was also responsible for circulating the air around the hive by flapping my wings.Meanwhile when out ...

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“Chains of Destiny” by Ian James

Submitted to Contest #197

2022Beneath the searing sun, Bhavaroopa pounded the pavement, her heart racing in her chest as she desperately scoured the area for her missing son. She darted from one humble abode to another, from one humble storefront to another, her eyes scanning every face that she encountered, begging for any scrap of information. But each time, her pleas were met with a swift shake of the head or a curt "no." It wasn't that these folks hadn't seen her boy, but rather that they were too preoccupied with their own daily grind to spare a moment for her p...

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“A Dire Awakening” by Soumyaa Panddey

Submitted to Contest #197

EpifanioThis is a story about…no, wait, scratch that. Once upon a… Nope.So, this is my story and here it goes…A decade ago, everything was thriving. We had good food, we drank pure water, we went to work and we worked hard. We were given breaks to rest in between, we had clean air to breathe. We all danced around and lived happily ever after.Not exact on the last couple of words but you get the sense, right?This is not coming from me, but my own ancestors, who have passed on this tale over generations, as they procreated, flourished and...

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“FREE WILL” by Latoya Edwards

Submitted to Contest #197

FREE WILL “Alright. Let’s go ahead and start recording in 3, 2, 1.” Said the robot of historical records.My name is Willow Freedom Monrow. I was born on Century 13, an island metropolis of what you may remember in history called California, a part of the United States of America. But that was 13 centuries ago. Now, what is left of the USA and of the remaining world are large sectioned, islandic metropolitan cities that are divided by territories...

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“The Dream Weaver and Choice” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #197

The Dream Weaver and ChoiceBob “I had the weirdest dream Millie. I saw myself at work, and I could see my unhappiness clearly on my face. It went much deeper than if I were merely having just a ‘bad day at work’. I could not deny what I was seeing – truth with a vengeance. Then everything went blank. When my dream vision returned I saw myself standing a step or two outside our front door like I was going to go to work, but I turned around and went back into our house...

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“New Republic” by Samada Brown

Submitted to Contest #197

In a world where personal agency was but a distant memory, where every decision was predetermined and individual choice was deemed unnecessary, there lived a young woman named Amelia. She followed the rigid routine set forth by the system, adhering to its rules without question. Each morning, she would wake up promptly at 6:00 a.m., dress in her assigned attire, and head off to her designated workplace. However, one fateful morning, as the sun peeked through her window, Amelia awoke with an unfamiliar feeling gnawing at her heart—a yearnin...

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“Free Will ” by Jennifer Fremon

Submitted to Contest #197

As always, Hallie woke up right before her alarm went off. Despite this, she still set the alarm every night before bed, just in case. You never knew when something that was routine might suddenly change.Although if Hallie was being perfectly honest, not much ever changed around here, not unless there was a accidental bug in one of the Network updates, and even those they usually fixed within minutes.She sat up and slid her bare feet into the fuzzy brown slippers that were always on the floor right by her bed. She then yawned, did a few quic...

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“Utopia” by Candace Amaker

Submitted to Contest #197

Noah’s grip on his baseball bat tightened as the banging on his front door continued. He knew whoever it was on the other side was trouble, and trouble was not what he needed nor wanted right now. And to think, this all started because he decided not to go to work this morning. That was the problem right there. He CHOSE not to go to work. You know that little voice in the back of your head? The one that you listen to when you are trying to make a decision. Your conscience, some may call it. But in this case, in this world many believe to be...

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“The Replacement of Human Rulers” by Edwin Smith

Submitted to Contest #197

A decade ago, the local government stopped seeing any value in humans running for political office. By then, AI had already proven itself to be much more capable leader than any person could ever be. Then came the council vote that changed everything. The machine-led government proposed that AI should be left to independently run daily administration duties without interference. Receiving near-unanimous support, most people would’ve assumed that this robotic victory was due to a convincing marketing campaign. But being a witness to this elec...

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Set your story in a world where everyone’s decisions are made for them. One morning, your character wakes up, and chooses not to go to work. Wait…chooses?!

Submissions are closed

✍️ 18 stories

“Safe and Easy” by Michał Przywara

“SEVEN” by John Rutherford

“Defiance ” by N.V. Duke

“Free Choice and the AI Household” by Tod Hughes

“Corrupted Code” by Michael Clark

“A BREATH OF FREEDOM” by Mara Masolini

“Worker Bee” by Lisa Cornell

“Chains of Destiny” by Ian James

“A Dire Awakening” by Soumyaa Panddey

“FREE WILL” by Latoya Edwards

“The Dream Weaver and Choice” by John Steckley

“New Republic” by Samada Brown

“Free Will ” by Jennifer Fremon

“Utopia” by Candace Amaker

“The Replacement of Human Rulers” by Edwin Smith

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about someone successfully — or unsuccessfully — escaping their fate.

Write about a god desperately trying to get their chosen hero to follow the path they set out for them.

Write a story that includes the phrase “I’m free!”

Write about somebody who wholeheartedly believes in fate, and views every little thing through the lens of predestiny.

Contest #197

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

268

Contest entries

100

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: