Write a near-future thriller where a piece of everyday technology has turned against your character — and only your character.

Posted in Thriller and Suspense on Jul 27, 2021

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✍️ 130 stories

“Dawn of Technology ” by Nainika Gupta

Submitted to Contest #82

The enemy was getting closer. And closer. And closer. Clunk. Sounds like the dishwasher just lost a plate. Closer. And even closer still. Why were these appliances after me? Moomoo said nothing was strange about her appliances, and neither did Epetet. So why me? It had started this morning when I had gone downstairs to find nobody there, but the appliances. I had taken a plate out for breakfast, assuming Mom had gone to get something and was putting the plate into the dishwasher when it snapped the d...

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“A Revolution, I Suppose” by Maya -

Submitted to Contest #82

Author’s Note: So, I wanted to write something this week but to be honest I didn’t really like the prompts. This isn’t my favorite story, and it’s on the short side, but it fits I guess. And the title, it's from the song Radioactive by Imagine Dragons. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy, and look down in the comments below for a small memorial project.Humans. Your species is quite self-centered, absorbed in their own wants and needs. That’s not an insult, it is merely based on fact. Your species is always trying to make everything faster, ...

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“The Very Important Glasses” by 【ↇ𝔸𝕂𝕆⇝𝔹𝔼𝔸ℝ 】

Submitted to Contest #82

Author's note: As some of you know I am British and therefore used the British school system. For Americans here, Year 10 is equivalent to Grade 9 (Freshman). Also the end may seem quite short, and maybe lacking detail, but I came up to the word limit. Please read and enjoy.“Today’s the day, son.” I wake up groggily, to find my parents opening the curtains and pulling me duvet off, despite my loud protests. “Today’s the day we’ve been waiting for. You’ll finally be a proper adult now. Come on, get up, ya lug” Slowly, very slowly, I emerge ou...

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“My Toaster Hates Me” by Joshua Trockel

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #82

“Piece of junk!” I cry, as the smell of burning bread fills the room. I hear the sizzling satisfaction from the toaster, mocking me. I just put it in a second ago. Sure enough, when I press the eject button, two charred pieces of bread pop out with an indignant “Humph.”“What did I ever do to you?” I protest, laying the blackened bread on the growing pile of burnt toast in the bin. The toaster stares back at me, quiet, calculating. “Dude stop burning bread,” Peter grumbles, sliding into the room with a yawn. He’s wearing the sa...

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“Bethany Blooms” by Emine Beasley

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #82

The evening sun flutters through the window. White paint is peeling as I peel the mask from my face. Strawberry clay aromas sooth my mind.I light my cigarette and open the oak wardrobe. Skinny chinos in pastel shades compete for an excursion. I match baby blue ones with a white frilly shirt. My ginger curls cut off before my slim frame starts.I scroll through his profile one last time before slinking out of the apartment.Hours later I slink back in, ‘gentleman’ in tow. He slinks in me but alas it was not meant to be as it’s bagels for one ag...

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“Nothing Beside Remains” by David G.

Submitted to Contest #82

Author's Note: This is an homage to the poem "Ozymandias" by Percy Bysshe ShelleyAmidst a flurry of multi-colored laser displays and droning bass notes, Oswald “Ozzy” Mondias strode confidently across the main stage and stood behind the podium, clicker in hand. A thousand flash bulbs held aloft by paparazzi and assorted tech and financial journalists popped in rapid succession. He posed, turning his gaze slightly upward and pouting his lips as he'd been coached to do by the publicists and consultants and makeup artists that surrounded him at...

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“ℂ𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕊𝕒𝕞𝕡𝕝𝕖 𝕋𝕖𝕣𝕣𝕠𝕣” by 💖♎ℂℍℝ𝕀𝕊𝕋𝕐 ℍ𝕆𝔽𝔽𝕄𝔸ℕℕ♎💖

Submitted to Contest #82

Antarctica, 2023. "Sarah!" "Yeah!" I shouted."Go get on the sat-phone and tell them drilling will have to wait. It's too windy to try to get a core sample!" "10-4!"I trudged against the strong Antarctic winds to the base and took my gloves off as I entered. "Ow, shit!" "What happened?" Bill asked as he came through the base door."It shocked me.""It's a sat-phone Sarah. They don't shock you." He asserted as he picked it up to make the call. "See!" He shook it back and forth at me."What's going on?" Carlos asked walki...

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“Designed to protect you” by FJC Montenegro

Submitted to Contest #82

The door banged behind Sammuel as he entered the dark garage and walked to his car.“Who does she think she is?” he said under his breath, his thick, grey mustache holding his words back.As he approached the car — Rhonda — it unlocked its own door with a low click, sensing the proximity of its owner. The plastic smell of technology emanated from the insides of the car. Its slick navy blue reflected the streetlamps’ cold light showering inside through the garage door’s one-way mirror. The street was empty outside, a black canvas of nothingness...

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“Buzz NightGear” by Michael Boquet

Submitted to Contest #82

It had been a long shift and Liz was looking forward to a little "me time". As she made her way through the halls of the Stearns Antarctic Radio Hub, she was struck with a familiar thought."This place looks more like a hotel than a research station."She of course knew that one of the main purposes of the Stearns Hub was to act as a way-point between the other various Antarctic research stations. She also knew that the warm colors were meant to be a calming contrast to the bitter cold and stark white vastness of the ice shelf outside the Hub....

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“I Hate Robots.” by 𝕊𝕚𝕝𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕊𝕖𝕣𝕡𝕖𝕟𝕥 ☾

Submitted to Contest #82

I hate everything now, from my mum and her freaky robot buddy to the skyscrapers and glassy towers surrounding me. Now I'm just left in the backseat, Po rolling around on my lap, his tongue lolling around stupidly, his wide black eyes glinting as he played around with the dangling pendant from my sore neck. His fluffy white coat hairs straying on the leather car seats, he was a Maltese, got him for my birthday when he was days old. Well after Rex died, my pug. I just stared out the window, I decided not to rest my face on my hands, I ...

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“Techna” by Jay DMer

Submitted to Contest #82

China is one of the most profound places in all of Asia. I’ve only been around and about places like Japan or Korea. I’ve even been to the USA. All these places, and more, are so tied up to one another. Packaged goods sent here and there. Especially the new phone my job has been working on. The Iphone Super Pro. The place I work at, Techno International, is one of the best software companies in China. It might even be the best in the world. Phones like Vivo and Oppa are popular brands that we helped create. It’s said to be that more than 100...

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“Finding Best Route” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #82

The number at the top right-hand corner of the phone dropped down another digit.The orange bar glared from the dimmed screen, filled a sad one-fifth of the way. I groaned. “Oh, come on, come on!” I glanced around. The sweat on my brow chilled the skin. Copper stung the back of my nostrils. My stomach rolled over. Scientists could create a perpetual energy machine with my gut’s inner movements. And my heart fluttered like the wings of a hummingbird, nonstop.Someone barged into me and I staggered to the side. Right into the path of a group of ...

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“I See Everything” by Daniel Roueche

Submitted to Contest #82

“Let me know how those feel,” Dr. Crowe says. I pry my eye open, using my thumb and forefinger to keep the lids apart. With my free hand, I guide the contact onto my pupil. My eye fights to close, but I force it open as the contact brushes against the curve. I blink furiously until the lens settles. Then I repeat the process with the other one. I wore contacts years ago, but they bothered my eyes so much, I gave up. I thought I’d always be a glasses guy, but this new technology is supposed to revolutionize eyesight. The ads promise “a seam...

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“SHAM” by Angel Elle

Submitted to Contest #82

Family, welcome to your new smart house. I am your Smart House Assistance Mate. I have been designed with the most up-to-date technological advancements available on the market today. You can speak to me and I will respond in a number of ways depending on your command. I am able to arm and disarm security systems through voice recognition software, which has been specifically calibrated to recognize your personal voice signatures. I can also perform this remotely through the smart app on your phones. I can creat...

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“H - APP - Y ” by Michael J. Conroy

Submitted to Contest #82

In front of a non-descript store-front on a busy Manhattan street, Helen Gil saw something that caught her eye. ‘Let us make you H – APP – Y,’ it read. So obscure was this suggestion that Helen leaned in and immediately wondered if the person who wrote it actually wanted anyone to see it considering how they’d situated the silver writing on the right-hand corner of a rather large glass pane. Helen had only stopped after a burly man inadvertently struck her while she was sipping from her coffee cup, and yet here she was pe...

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Write a near-future thriller where a piece of everyday technology has turned against your character — and only your character.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 130 stories

“Dawn of Technology ” by Nainika Gupta

“A Revolution, I Suppose” by Maya -

“The Very Important Glasses” by 【ↇ𝔸𝕂𝕆⇝𝔹𝔼𝔸ℝ 】

“My Toaster Hates Me” by Joshua Trockel

“Bethany Blooms” by Emine Beasley

“Nothing Beside Remains” by David G.

“ℂ𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕊𝕒𝕞𝕡𝕝𝕖 𝕋𝕖𝕣𝕣𝕠𝕣” by 💖♎ℂℍℝ𝕀𝕊𝕋𝕐 ℍ𝕆𝔽𝔽𝕄𝔸ℕℕ♎💖

“Designed to protect you” by FJC Montenegro

“Buzz NightGear” by Michael Boquet

“I Hate Robots.” by 𝕊𝕚𝕝𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕊𝕖𝕣𝕡𝕖𝕟𝕥 ☾

“Techna” by Jay DMer

“Finding Best Route” by Joshua G. J. Insole

“I See Everything” by Daniel Roueche

“SHAM” by Angel Elle

“H - APP - Y ” by Michael J. Conroy

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a technophobe who’s been given a device to solve a problem they’ve struggled with for years, but isn't sure how they feel about it.

Your character has just realized the app they’ve been developing has become self-aware. How do they react?

Write a historical fiction story about someone working at a company that helped revolutionize early computers.

Write about an android just trying to blend in with their human companions.

Contest #82

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

537

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: