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When I married you, I was under a lot of pressure, but after our relationship lost steam, you left, and I feel lightweight, free of attachments. You were a gas, and freedom is not to be afraid of passing a gas.
Goodbye.
--Message in a bottle found on the shores of Ghana.
The bag on my head stank of sweat and tears. Someone pushed me against the wall.
“Prepare your weapons.”
The firing squad cocked their rifles, a ritual of intimidation.
“Something to say?”
I've always been a customer of your shop of false ideas, never a hero.
“Fire.”
I didn't hear the shoots.
The wobbling body of my host was having trouble keeping its humanoid shape; its body, once attractive, was melting like warm wax.
“What is this?” She pointed to the table.
“It's a puzzle.”
“Explain.”
“It's a segmented image.”
“Purpose.”
“Solve it?”
“Ah training.”
It was a perfect day in the Fatherland. Surrogate family and civil servants gathered at the spaceport for my return, although not everyone approved me for representing our species at the Olympics. Retro people were jealous of our superior talent there on Earth.
The grief of his death was unbearable, and I slowly settled into a state of permanent sadness where regrets were imprisoning my soul. I was waiting for death when you found me. Only you were able to pull me away from that limbo. This time, I won't take life for granted.
“Today is my 66th birthday.”
(Silence)
“Say something.”
AI: “You want me to congratulate you for having circling the sun 66 times. Is that correct?”
“You can cheer me up.”
AI: “Define cheer.”
“Instill happiness in me.”
(Silence)
AI: “I cannot do that.”
A tingling sensation began to rise from her pelvis, intense, pervasive. The noise in her head had structure, patterns of color, uttermost pleasure. The orgasmitron was a success. The problem was, how to force people to switch it off.
In a dream, the entity talked to me again.
“I will grant your wishes, but behold, if I remove the veil concealing the true about reality, you would yearn for the days when you were ignorant.”
“So be it.”
When I woke up, I've lost my will to live.
Changing lanes between moving trains, a moment forever lost to the untrained eye.
Prupose
Prupose
“We make mistakes, learn, and evolve. That's how we make progress. That's the difference between us and machines.”
“Now what, Charlton?”
“We walk to the next robot multiplex and nuke it to hell.”
“Okay. Could I get some shoes first?”
“Damn it!”
Ironic
Ironic
The next time jump took me to a time when people listened to the starts to find out if they were alone, ignoring the quiet call for help of those living on the same planet. Ironic.
Specimens
Specimens
“Little progress has been made in trying to communicate with the primitives, they fear us. They don't understand the concept of interdimensional travel. So, we captured a fertile couple to for the Queen's Terrarium. She'll be pleased with us.”
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