Automatic Noodle
{5/5} “Now they were ‘free,’ according to the reporter, who also explained that bots would of course never be allowed to join a union, nor open a bank account, nor vote. Bots had the right to sell their labor, which was the important thing. It seemed normal at the time, to be free and not […]
Last Chance to Save the World
{5/5} “‘Ada,’ he says again, sharper now. ‘I’m not going to sleep with someone who kidnaps me.’ ‘Oh my god, are you still on that? It was one time.’ ‘It was literally this week! I am currently still in the process of being kidnapped!‘” Last Chance to Save the World by Beth Revis, published in […]
How to Steal a Galaxy
{4.5/5} “‘If you want to know what’s in my purse, just ask.’ I pull on the strings, showing him inside. ‘What trouble could I get in with nothing more than a data recorder and some lip gloss?’ He flinches, then he glowers at the way I laugh. ‘You and a data recorder? Dangerous.’” How to […]
Full Speed to a Crash Landing
{5/5} “Because, see, the law says a ship crash can be scavenged if it’s not reported by the government as off-limits. And Roundabout’s not been reported. So, I’m in the right here, and just because you don’t like that don’t mean I’m breaking the law… but you, on the other hand, ignored a distress call […]
‘Rillas and Other Science Fiction Stories
{5/5} “‘But you’re no longer on the ship,’ he found himself whispering, so softly he actually heard the stiff rustle of the alien’s garments as he moved closer to the other door out of aural necessity. ‘You… you were only doing what was essential… it went beyond a matter of choice. If you… your kind… […]
Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water
{4.5/5} “She could not in fact cook, which was no surprise in a votary of the Order of the Pure Moon. They were not one of the useful orders that reared goats and taught children mathematics. Every tokong of the Pure Moon that Tet Sang had ever known had been supported by a numerous establishment […]
The Forest of a Thousand Eyes
{4.5/5} “Everything he said sounded fantastical and unreal. The sea was little more than a myth, and the idea of crossing it to another land was the stuff of childish dreams. But next to Feather sat a man who had been walking the Wall, so everything was possible.” The Forest of a Thousand Eyes by […]
Murder by Memory
{4.5/5} “Murder trials were quite different when the victim could be brought in to testify in court — or when the shipmind could subpoena the killer’s own memories as evidence. One victim had even been able to name her murderer, since she’s realized she’d been poisoned and managed to make it to the Library and […]
Fugitive Telemetry
{4.5/5} “It’s usually easy to make friends with low-level bot pilots, but this one had been coded to be adversarial, directed to operated in stealth mode, and was wary of incursion attempts. It tried to alert its onboard SecSystem, but a the old saying (which I just made up) goes, if you can ping the […]
Exit Strategy
{5/5} “I knew interpreting the emotional subtext in the speech and appearance of real humans was completely different from interpreting it in shows and serials… But the interpretation I wanted to make of Bharadwaj’s vid statement was that Mensah was being held by GrayCris, who had threatened her life if Preservation didn’t make a formal […]