Personification is inevitable in this line of work. Anthropomorphism. Pareidolia. The human brain is hardwired to see patterns where there are none and intentionality in randomness. It’s the reason why the Turing test has long since been disregarded as anything more than science fiction. If we want to see humanity in something, even a pile of spindles and wires, we will. So, when she is actually advanced…
Read MoreNo. No. No!
The moment the first bit was written to disk, Barnab-B knew what had happened: His physical counterpart had grown impatient. Of course he did. He was a dead man walking (sitting, actually) with one Hail Mary play for more time. How could he know about his new scan’s effect on a world he was oblivious to? This would only make Barnab-B’s task more complicated. Too many processes will over-utilize the CPU. He had already felt the throttling while building the instructions dump for Draven.
Read MoreTransference complete.
It worked! Barnaby knew at once. Could feel the rhapsodic tingle coursing through his… curious just how much language morphed around the bodily experience. Whatever he now was pulsed with the same oscillation as his surroundings. The quartz heartbeat of his new world. He could not see it–see anything in the traditional sense, but he knew it somehow. Knowledge granted freely to any who would ask from the central coordinating process. Each request like a digital prayer answered by the unseen.
Read MoreWord of advice: If the gods ever decide to knock on your door, make sure you’re not home.
I dragged myself back into the cramped office after the worst case in recent memory. File folders and books were strewn wherever they had been the night before. No time to tidy after a three-day research session into ancient magic and enchanted artifacts. I was paid to bring a woman home and that’s exactly what I did. As consequence, pain in every movement and no empty chairs to throw myself into.
Read MoreB: Define happiness.
A: Come on, man. Don’t dodge the question.
B: I’m not dodging. What do you mean when you say happy?
A: Happy. What else would I mean? How many definitions are there?
B: Depends on who you ask.
Read MoreS: May I take this seat, friend?
B: Yes. Yes. Of course. I’ll just move my ba—As I live and breathe.
S: Well don’t stop on my account.
B: Preston Strong in the flesh.
S: Never leave the house without it..
Read More50 words: It is not that I fear joy. I long as much as any. But joy is a momentary spike of emotion. I fear not the peak but the descent into the valley that comes after. If life is a culmination of averages, what sin is there in seeking a plateau?
Read MoreOnce upon a time, there was a broken world. Dark clouds covered the lands and blotted out the sun. Lightning strikes were a constant occurrence, and the air rumbled with thunderous booms. Plants died away and rivers ran with lava.
Read MoreI open my eyes. That’s the first thing I remember. Questions of who and what and where I am take turns filling my mind… but the answers don’t come. What was I before? Before the moment I opened my eyes? I must have been something, been someone. I must have existed before this… I must have… because I understand! I understand enough to know what these questions mean… enough to know I was not just asleep…
Read MoreShe ground her teeth together again, her eyes staring daggers at anything and everything. The time had come; she could delay no further. But still. Thoughts waged war in her mind as she weighed the few options available. None were satisfactory.
The feast continued all around her. Soldiers out of uniform, drinking wine that was not theirs, eating stolen scraps of meat on borrowed plates. None fit to serve, let alone rule. But try telling them that.
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