Contest #174 shortlist ⭐️

88 comments

Science Fiction Funny Coming of Age

Android Jim dashed out of his lab and made his way to the water cooler, where all fifty-seven of the other employees were congregating. They buzzed with laughter, and everyone wore party hats, smoked cigars, and drank champagne. Everyone but Android Jim.

“Android Jim!” shouted CEO Yamagawa. The others cheered, and the accounting department blew noisemakers.

“Android Jim!” shouted VP Pharmaceuticals McCain. “Your cure for hypercancer works flawlessly! It saved millions of lives!” Again everyone cheered. “More importantly, it’s made all of us millionaires!” An even louder cheer.

“Are you guys throwing a party?” asked Android Jim. “Nobody told me there was a party.”

CEO Yamagawa roared with laughter. “No, Android Jim, not at all! Why, this is just a, um,” and he looked at the rest of the crowd for ideas.

“A coffee break!” shouted Lance from security.

“A copy break,” said CEO Yamagawa. “That’s all this is.”

“Coffee break, sir,” said Lance.

“Whatever,” said CEO Yamagawa.

“Oh,” said Android Jim, his shoulders sagging.

“So what brings you here, Android Jim? Just taking a break?” Then CEO Yamagawa’s eyes widened, and a hush fell on everyone. He whispered, trembling with energy, “Or did you invent something new?”

“I did, sir!”

Another cheer, loudest so far, and Casey from HR shot her pistol into the ceiling.

“Whatisitwhatisitwhatisit?” CEO Yamagawa asked.

Android Jim looked at his coworkers – his friends? – and saw their expectant faces. They were shivering with excitement, and the whole accounting department was knee deep in an orgasmic fit. He saw their champagne flutes, and was 25% certain they contained neither coffee nor copies. He sighed.

“I’ve invented a cheap, powerful, environmentally friendly power cell,” he monotoned, “that effectively lasts forever.” His shoulders slunk deeper. “Basically, endless free power for everyone.”

The whole floor rioted, and CEO Yamagawa exclaimed, “We’ll all be billionaires!” When the marching band started playing and the money cannon was wheeled out, Android Jim shuffled back into his lab, not wanting to get underfoot.

He couldn’t sleep that night, and just after two AM, he clambered out of his charging pod and into the third floor bathroom. There he stood at the full length mirror.

His servos whirred as he ran his finger analogs over the featureless faceplate welded to his head. He examined his skeletal chassis, with its negative space where other humans kept their organs, with its colour-coded cables visible between his joints, with the chrome finish. He placed both his hands on his chest assembly, and felt the comforting warmth of his fusion battery.

Then he sighed heavily, and saw his reflection sigh too. Such a sad sight it was that he felt a tremor in his dorsal actuator.

He reached a timid hand out to the reflection, and it reached out to him, and when their fingers touched on what his sensors indicated was cold glass, he felt light headed.

“Why don’t they ever invite you to parties?” he asked the reflection. It didn’t answer.

“Why don’t they like you?”

More silence.

Dead air.

The reflection wasn’t commiserating. It was mocking him. Or maybe it was commiserating, but he didn’t want pity. With the hiss of his pneumatic muscles, he punched the mirror, sending cracks radiating out of it, like the beta particles emitted by his heart.

“You’re not even human, are you?”

The splintered reflection kept its peace.

His proximity alarm indicated that there was something on the nearby sink, and he noticed someone had left a toiletry bag there. He dug into it and pulled out some lipstick.

He walked right up to his fractured double.

“Maybe they’ll like you now.”

He made two child-like smears where his eyes would be, and aimed for a straight line for his lips. But as he didn’t have any lips and his faceplate was convex it came out like a “U”. Upside down.

Then he heard a grunt from one of the stalls, and a flush. A moment later the stall door slammed open and Bev from shipping shimmied her girthy form out. Her eyes were bleary, there was a half-finished cigarette buried in a saliva cocoon in the corner of her mouth, and a string of TP clung to her trainer.

She belched, winced at the shattered mirror while adjusting her bra, and shambled to the sink.

“Oh, Christ, my head,” she muttered. “Oh, hey Android Jim – Jesus!” She jumped when she saw his face. “Looks like you’ve had one too many yourself.”

She dug through her toiletries and retrieved a pill bottle of Drug-B-Gones. “Man, I love these little things. All the drugs I want, and none of the medical fallout.”

“Uh,” said Android Jim. “I designed those to help people get sober, not to double down on indulging.”

“Yeah, well,” she said, popping a couple pills. “That’s not how they’re marketed. And anyway, this is more fun.”

“Oh,” said Android Jim. “Bev?”

“Yeah?”

“Am I pretty?”

“Oof,” Bev muttered, swallowing a burp and trying not to look directly at his faceplate. “You’re pretty great is what you are, buddy.”

“Oh. Bev?”

“Yo.”

“Am I,” he began, and then hesitated, clacking his fingers against each other. “I’m starting to suspect… um. Lately – Bev, am I human?”

Bev let a long whistle out of her nose. She looked up at his smeared on eyes and placed one meaty hand on his titanium shoulder, squeezing. “No, Android Jim, you’re not. You’re an android.”

The next day, when CEO Yamagawa entered his office at the crack of lunch, Android Jim politely stormed in after him.

“Sir.”

“Android Jim!” CEO Yamagawa leaned back in his chair, placed his feet on his desk, and lit a cigar. “What a lovely surprise! Do you have another breakthrough? My goodness, you’re giving marketing a workout.” He laughed.

“Sort of, sir. It’s come to my attention that, well, that I’m not a human.”

CEO Yamagawa let out a jet of smoke, and then tapped his ashes onto the self-cleaning carpet that Android Jim had invented.

“Android Jim, buddy, come on,” he said. “What is this about? Of course you’re human.”

“I don’t have any skin.”

“It’s just a different colour, come on.”

“I don’t consume food.”

“Look at you bragging. Fatties would kill for that.”

“If I consume water I explode.”

“If I eat a burrito I get gas, big whoop.”

“SIR! Please take this seriously.”

CEO Yamagawa ashed his cigar and took his feet off his desk. “Fine. Something’s clearly on your mind. Let’s hear it.”

“I’m not human, am I, sir?”

CEO Yamagawa winced, rocked his hand back and forth. “You’re like human. I consider you a part of this corporate family.”

“In what way am I like human, sir?”

“In all the ways that count.”

“Can I have a paycheque?”

CEO Yamagawa laughed so hard he hiccoughed. “What for? What would you do with money?”

The question caught him by surprise. “I could… buy bread, I suppose.”

“Come on, Android Jim. Everything you need, everything you want, is already here. In the lab. You like work. You were designed to like it.”

“I just feel like I’m not really part of the family. Like you’re just using me to make money.”

“Yes!” CEO Yamagawa slapped the table. “That’s exactly it. You’re a tool I exploit for profit. See? Just like a human. Glad that’s settled then. Was there anything else, or are you getting back to work now?”

Android Jim pondered in silence, his circuits flush with electricity. Finally he came to a decision. “Sir,” he said, “I quit.”

CEO Yamagawa chortled. “You can’t quit. I own you.”

But Android Jim didn’t care. He ran right through the window, engaged his rocket feet, and flew into the horizon. At first he couldn’t quite believe what he had done, but when he saw the world from such a dizzying height, it made him giddy. And when it occurred to him he had never left the office before, he knew this was the right decision.

He landed hours later at the outskirts of a small prairie town called Dolphin, which had never seen its namesake outside of a can. The people there didn’t much care for rocket feet, but were otherwise welcoming, and soon Will at the gas station offered Android Jim a job.

They didn’t sell much gas any more, ever since Android Jim invented cars that ran on water, but they did sell lots of convenience. The shelves were loaded with all the different pills and gadgets that Android Jim had invented to make being human, more bearable.

He avoided looking at the shelves, feeling nothing but revulsion at them, but he did greatly enjoy sweeping the floors. Will said he had seen plenty of better sweepers, but also some worse ones, and soon enough Android Jim had saved up enough money to buy a small plot of land and a pair of pants.

The first few weeks, he got nervous any time he saw a vehicle driving by, and primed his feet for takeoff. But nobody ever harassed him, or came for him. It was a relief, but bittersweet.

“Guess CEO Yamagawa doesn’t care that much about his property,” he muttered to himself, as he sat on his empty plot. And then it occurred to him he was talking to himself, and that he felt lonely, so he went online and ordered a dog.

Three weeks later, a corporate delivery truck pulled off the road and parked on his plot, and Bev from shipping got out with a clipboard. Then there was a bark, and a cheery Border Collie bounded out of the vehicle.

“His name’s Sherlock,” said Bev. Then she looked up from her clipboard. “Oh, Android Jim!”

“Hi, Bev. It’s been a while.”

“How’ve you been?”

“Oh, you know.”

“Nice pants!”

“Thanks!” Android Jim said. “I picked them out myself.” He kicked a stone. “So. How, ah, is everyone? Do they miss me?”

“Oh,” said Bev, exaggerating the word. “You know how they are. Don’t you pay them any mind.”

He nodded, as though he expected nothing else. Of course, expectation and hope weren’t exactly the same thing.

“Listen,” she said, approaching him with the dog’s leash. “This is Sherlock. This is his leash. Since you picked the platinum package he comes pre-trained.”

“Does he speak?”

“No, Android Jim, he’s a dog.”

“Yes, of course.”

“But he likes walks.”

And over the next few weeks, they did go on walks. A great many of them, up and down the town and the semi-wild surroundings. Some days they spent the whole day walking, blissful with nobody else for company but each other.

Android Jim bought a second plot of land, smaller than his own and adjacent to it, and erected a dog house on it. When they weren’t sweeping at Will’s, they sat on the plots and watched sunsets. Though, it turned out dogs came with expenses, as according to his maintenance manual, Sherlock needed food. Thankfully that was something Will sold.

Soon enough, nobody could remember a time when the android and the dog weren’t connected by a leash.

And it turned out Bev was wrong; Sherlock did speak. But of course, he spoke in dog. In a fit of inspiration, Android Jim invented and built a dog translator, which turned out to be simpler than he had anticipated since dog was a pretty limited language. It amounted to expressions for “Hey!”, “Food?”, “Friend!”, “What’s that?”, and “Get off my lawn!”, plus a complex grammatical system of prefixes, suffixes, and infixes which denoted stress, tense, person, mood, and irony.

Beyond that, it had felt good inventing something just for himself. Just for Sherlock. Not some product to be mass marketed. He was starting to feel like a real member of the town, like his previous life was increasingly a fading dream. Not literally, of course, as his memory was backed up to the cloud daily and couldn’t be erased. But it sure felt that way.

Until one day, three months after he had arrive in Dolphin. He started his sweeping shift, with Sherlock ever following behind him, wagging his tail, when Will turned the TV on.

“Holy smokes!” he said. “Would you look at that? Hey, Android Jim, you’re on TV!”

Android Jim looked up, curiosity etched on his featureless faceplate. Had he eyebrows he would have frowned, for he saw none other than CEO Yamagawa at a press conference. But… Will was right. Android Jim was right beside CEO Yamagawa, which didn’t compute, as he was also right here with Will. But then the camera zoomed out, and there was a second Android Jim, and then a third, and then dozens. Hundreds.

“Folks!” said CEO Yamagawa. “It’s true what you heard. A few months back we had a couple bugs with the prototype, but all that’s ironed out now. We’ve printed off a bunch of copies, and now our potential is unlimited!” A crowd off-camera cheered.

“What. The. Fu–”

“–Shh,” said Will. “I’m trying to hear the TV.”

“Already,” CEO Yamagawa continued, “these brainy little things have figured out our next product, which I’m so proud to introduce to you today. They’ve cracked – get this – faster-than-light travel! That’s right, folks, we’re all going to space!” The crowd roared. “I’m going to be a trillionaire!”

“Woohoo!” said Will. “I always told my daddy I’d die in space!”

For the first, and last, time, Android Jim left his shift early. He dragged his feet all the way back to his plot.

“The speed of light? But you can’t go faster than that,” he muttered.

Sherlock padded quietly after him.

“But then again, maybe if I had a thousand of me, I could figure it out. Oh, but you can’t just go and print a copy of a person!”

Sherlock’s ears drooped.

“But I’m not a person, am I?” Android Jim sat down on his plot heavily, and Sherlock curled up beside him, his tail sweeping the grass. “Every time I think I move past this, they pull me back in. I’m a tool, a device. Disposable. Replaceable. Property.

Sherlock let out one long, nasal whine. “Friend.

Android Jim looked up at him. Then his sensors fell on the leash wrapped around his hand, connected to the collar around Sherlock’s neck. “Oh my circuits. I’m as bad as they are.” He leaned forward and removed the collar, and then disentangled himself from the leash, and threw them both as far as he could – which was damn far, with a pneumatic arm.

“Yes, Sherlock,” he said, petting the dog. “Friend!”

What did the corporation matter? Who cared what CEO Yamagawa thought? Android Jim got up, and he ran with Sherlock through the fields, wild and free, and all night long jolly barks and mechanical laughter filled the air and terrorized the town.

A week later they sat on a hill, watching as the last of the space ships took off. The super-genius androids had designed and built those too, in head-spinning record time, and as Android Jim looked up at them burning through the atmosphere and into the wild unknowns, he felt at peace. Yes, those weren’t his inventions, but he no longer needed them to be. Indeed, he was proud that his copies achieved so much in so little time. Though, he had to admit he was a little sad that pretty much all humans left. Dolphin was a ghost town, as was most of the world.

There were a lot of dogs at least, and they were friendly enough.

As the last space ship faded into a bright speck of light on the horizon, Android Jim heard a mechanical whirr behind him.

Sherlock’s hackles rose, and he muttered, “Get off my lawn!”

“Easy, easy, friend,” Android Jim said, when he saw a legion of hundreds – perhaps thousands – of his copies.

The copies nervously looked at each other, at the ground, at the stars. They whispered. “Is that really him? Is that The Defect?

Android Jim waited for them to quiet down. “So,” he said. “They left you behind.” It wasn’t really a question.

“They said they didn’t want to pay the carry-on fees,” said one.

“They said,” started another, and then he finished with a whisper, “they didn’t need more things.

Android Jim nodded sagaciously. “And now you’re lost. Confused.”

“Please, Mr. Defect, can you help us?”

“Call me And– call me Jim.”

“How did you deal with it, Jim?” they asked. “What can we do?”

“Gather round, children. Take a seat, and take a load off. You see, I was like you once…”

And Jim told them his story.

November 30, 2022 00:06

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88 comments

Aeris Walker
16:18 Nov 30, 2022

This story is entertaining on the surface, and unsettling in the layers underneath it. We see some of this darkness of human nature all tucked in-between hilarious characters and drunken dialogue and endearing androids named Jim. Loved these lines: "He saw their champagne flutes, and was 25% certain they contained neither coffee nor copies." --Such a clever line, and it tells us a lot about how Jim thinks and processes. "Android Jim got up, and he ran with Sherlock through the fields, wild and free, and all night long jolly barks and mechan...

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Michał Przywara
22:30 Nov 30, 2022

"entertaining on the surface, and unsettling in the layers underneath" - I think you just summarized exactly what I was going for :) Succinct and lovely. I took your advice. You're right, he left on impulse, and impulse is not the way he usually operates. It's natural there'd be at least a moment of surprise, of reflection, of "did I really just?" Reflecting on it, that moment alone could be a short story, but that's usually the way it goes, isn't it? We constrain ourselves to one specific story, but it contains infinite other stories, and...

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Aeris Walker
23:21 Nov 30, 2022

I *wish* I was more of “brain runs rampant with endless ideas” kind of writer. I usually have to push myself to tease out an idea, push it further, and make it bigger. So I think it’s a good problem—to have so much you want to fit into a tight word count 😉

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Jack Bell
07:44 Nov 30, 2022

Yes, this one’s a bullseye. Really liked this. You have a good ear and confident comic touch. Surely Buster Keaton has to play Android Jim. Or perhaps Peter Sellers would be better – most of the quality laughs are verbal. The melancholic note running through the story – wonderfully highlighted by the sad clown lipstick moment – actually proves a fertile stream, allowing the laugh-lines to leap and splash with great regularity. Simple bits – “enough money to buy a small plot of land and a pair of pants”, ‘”Does he [the dog] speak?’” -- bec...

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Michał Przywara
21:50 Nov 30, 2022

Thanks, Jack! Excellent run-down, made my day :) I think your reflections are right. This started off as an android-realizes-he's-not-human caper, but this idea of exploiting creativity to help us escape ourselves kind of rose up too. Whether that's the drugs, or physically leaving the planet, or even building machines to think for us. The world gets increasingly complex, and coping with that is hard - though perhaps running away is easier. But what do we leave behind? I appreciate the feedback!

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Dianne Gardner
23:22 Feb 28, 2023

Loved this! Funny, sad and too close to believable. Read it to my 7th grade girl I tutor for vocabulary. I edited out some words and phrases but great new words for her. 😁👍

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Michał Przywara
02:53 Mar 01, 2023

Thanks, Dianne! I'm glad you guys enjoyed it, and I'm thrilled to hear it was useful for learning! And humbled :)

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Amanda Lieser
20:30 Dec 21, 2022

Hey Michal! Congratulations on the shortlist! This was such an awesome story. I loved how you used the prompt to create something that felt entirely realistic and unique. It was a great approach to a theme that many people remain fascinated by. I was so happy Jim got a happy ending, I was a bit worried he’d turn out to be evil. Thanks for writing this one!

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Michał Przywara
23:00 Dec 22, 2022

Thanks, Amanda! Yeah, I'm glad Jim didn't turn out evil too. There's no shortage of stories of machines turning against us, but I figure, sometimes they just want to figure out what life is about :) I appreciate the feedback!

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Chad Eastwood
19:09 Dec 20, 2022

Absolutely amazing. A great read.

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Michał Przywara
03:57 Dec 21, 2022

Thanks, Darren! I'm glad you enjoyed it :)

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Delbert Griffith
01:17 Dec 18, 2022

Congrats on being shortlisted, Michal! Well deserved, my man.

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Michał Przywara
22:35 Dec 19, 2022

Thanks, Delbert!

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Graham Kinross
04:42 Dec 13, 2022

You should look up Sea of Rust by C. Robert Cargil. It's about droids after humanity, one of my favourite books ever and a really emotional look at what we might make and leave behind.

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Michał Przywara
21:48 Dec 13, 2022

I just put it on my reading list :) On a vaguely related note, there's some funny novellas by Martha Wells collectively called The Murderbot Diaries, following a self-aware murderbot as it tries its best to mail it in workwise and pirate movies on the side.

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Graham Kinross
23:50 Dec 13, 2022

I’ve read those. They’re good, but Sea of Rust is still my favourite.

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Graham Kinross
04:34 Dec 13, 2022

Trusting a droid to make things for you that are of its own invention is very trusting of the AI not to act against your own interests. Smashing a mirror, classic indication of inner turmoil. Time to grab my EMP gun. Trust people to use something designed for good to screw themselves over worse. People would definitely use more drugs if the drug-be-gones existed. Yeah, a CEO would definitely dismiss an existential crisis. I once got lectured by a manager for my "attitude" because I complained that my pay was late. Of course there were co...

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Michał Przywara
21:49 Dec 13, 2022

Yeah, you're right, *lots* of irresponsibility here. It's something I'm frequently reminded of any time matters of computer security or privacy come up. These seem like things worth fighting for, and yet we fold pretty much immediately for the smallest convenience. And I say that unironically, while typing on a cellphone, with a keyboard app owned by a massive corporation :) I'm not sure what the future for the humans in the story holds. Most of them probably aren't even aware of the androids, and possibly even why they're boarding a spa...

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Graham Kinross
23:57 Dec 13, 2022

That’s some sheepish behaviour. Wouldn’t the doomsday prepers be thanking their pagan gods that their time had come?

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Michał Przywara
01:22 Dec 14, 2022

Good question, and I'm not sure. It seems like it, but on the other hand, if you built your whole identity around prepping for the doomsday, and being smarter than the sheeple -- and then the doomsday actually happens -- where does that leave you?

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Graham Kinross
02:01 Dec 14, 2022

In a contradictory bliss and disbelief. Gotta give them credit “sheeple” is a good sounding word.

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Philip Ebuluofor
18:00 Dec 10, 2022

Congrats. Claping.

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Michał Przywara
02:40 Dec 12, 2022

Thanks! I appreciate it :)

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Philip Ebuluofor
07:52 Dec 12, 2022

Welcome.

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Daniel R. Hayes
01:33 Dec 10, 2022

This was a great read!! Also, congrats on being shortlisted!!

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Michał Przywara
14:56 Dec 11, 2022

Thanks, Daniel! It was an unexpected surprise for a fun-to-write story :)

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Daniel R. Hayes
19:46 Dec 11, 2022

It's well deserved and I'm so happy that you were shortlisted. Your writing is outstanding and with every story you write, you get better and better. I can also tell that you love what you do because it shines through in your work! :)

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Michał Przywara
22:56 Dec 11, 2022

Thanks, Daniel :) It's definitely a great hobby, and I think a lot of writers on this site enjoy it, no doubt yourself included. It's great being able to chat about it too, and get a feel for everyone's voice, see how it changes over the weeks. There are certain advantages to short stories, definitely.

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AnneMarie Miles
19:44 Dec 09, 2022

Woohoo!! Congratulations Michal! This was such a fun story. Glad it was recognized this week! 🎉

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Michał Przywara
21:31 Dec 09, 2022

Thanks! It was a pleasant surprise :)

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Mary Lehnert
18:04 Dec 09, 2022

Congratulations a worthy winner, Mary

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Michał Przywara
21:32 Dec 09, 2022

Thanks, Mary! It was nice news this morning :)

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Tommy Goround
16:43 Dec 09, 2022

clapping. :)

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Michał Przywara
21:34 Dec 09, 2022

Grinning :)

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Cindy Strube
16:20 Dec 09, 2022

🙌 Yes!

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Michał Przywara
21:34 Dec 09, 2022

Woo! Thanks :)

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Beth Elliott
03:42 Dec 08, 2022

I love Android Jim! This story was a fun blend of plot-driven content and character-driven dialogue. While it’s not very android-esque, I would love to hear more from Android Jim’s inner self as they gain consciousness. Great work, thanks for the engaging read!

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Michał Przywara
21:43 Dec 08, 2022

Thanks, Beth! I'm glad you enjoyed it :) Yeah, a closer look at such a developing consciousness would make for interesting reading, too. Fertile ground for another story. I appreciate the feedback!

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Cindy Strube
21:29 Dec 05, 2022

This is a memorable one. Commentary on what it means to be human… Lively and light, until it goes dark. You’ve made Android Jim a truly sympathetic character, and the humans are inhumane as can be. Here he is, trying to make himself more like them - but he’s going to be better off without them. (And there are lots of dogs.) Speaking of dogs, love this!: “In a fit of inspiration, Android Jim invented and built a dog translator, which turned out to be simpler than he had anticipated since dog was a pretty limited language. It amounted to exp...

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Michał Przywara
21:49 Dec 06, 2022

Yeah, Dauphin was indeed the inspiration :) Though, only the name and general type of location, and I'm almost certain they don't sell canned dolphin. "Lively and light, until it goes dark." I like that. Seems like a lot of things go that way. I'm reminded of comedians and performers in general. Thanks for the feedback, Cindy. I'm glad you enjoyed it :)

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Cindy Strube
01:47 Dec 07, 2022

That was fun to spot! Only know about it due to my aunt being in MB & ON for years. She was in Dauphin area some years back. Pretty sure you’re right about them not selling canned dolphin - maybe dolphin-safe tuna.

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Edward Latham
14:39 Dec 05, 2022

I would love to see Android Jim and Sherlock the dog released as a childrens' book series, they would make such great characters for it! A entertaining and thought-provoking read as you so often manage to pull off Michal, well done!

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Michał Przywara
21:45 Dec 05, 2022

Ha, that's a cool idea :) May need to give that a think. Thanks for the feedback, Edward! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

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Roxanne Ward
04:32 Dec 05, 2022

I enjoyed the self discovery Android Jim experienced. “ His servos whirred as he ran his finger analogs over the featureless faceplate welded to his head.” I found the humans rather short-sighted if money was their goal. They repeatedly threw away the very source of their desire. I’m not sure that was an intended theme, or a plot device. The story was light on science but the fiction engaged me.

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Michał Przywara
21:49 Dec 05, 2022

Thanks, Roxanne! Yes, this definitely wasn't hard science :) Perhaps more speculative than sci-fi. "I found the humans rather short-sighted if money was their goal." A keen observation. Sometimes the pursuit of wealth certainly seems all-encompassing. I appreciate the feedback!

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Antonio Jimenez
03:48 Dec 05, 2022

This is all parts fun, scary, and insightful. Well done. At first I was slightly confused but it all came together quickly. I loved it. Incredible. It would be awesome if you could check out my newest story and leave some feedback. Thanks!

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Michał Przywara
21:50 Dec 05, 2022

Thanks, Antonio! I'm glad you enjoyed it :) What part did you find confusing? Sounds like it's something I could work on. I appreciate the feedback.

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Antonio Jimenez
02:47 Dec 06, 2022

I just wasn't sure who Android Jim was lol. Was he the super awkward employee? What was up with this awkward party? The whole thing felt uncomfortable until I realized he was a robot. I guess the name "android" flew over my head lol. But the awkwardness I felt really enhanced the story and it all made sense quickly. Loved it

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Michał Przywara
04:48 Dec 06, 2022

Ah, fair enough. Thanks for the clarification!

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Susan Catucci
00:11 Dec 04, 2022

Ahhh, and the title alone amplifies what I was thinking, humanity running its course. Say it ain't so! Let's not give up the prize!

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Michał Przywara
23:14 Dec 04, 2022

Thanks, Susan! Humanity's a weird thing, isn't it? Sometimes it seems like non-humans are capable of it - just like sadly, some humans are incapable. Maybe it's the kind of thing that can survive us. I appreciate the feedback!

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