The Robot in the Refrigerator
AZTIX Science Fiction: Android version, #1
Reeks: AZTIX Science Fiction: Android version
A McIver III
- Andy
- reviews
- robots.
- He
- gets
- a
- delivery,
- he
- opens
- the
- box,
- and
- out
- climbs
- the
- latest
- humanoid
- appliance,
- eager
- to
- clean,
- cook
- and
- upgrade
- his
- life.
- Desperate
- to
- nail
- a
- Best
- Buy
- Review,
- Andy's
- boss,
- Hannah,
- arranges
- delivery
- of
- military-restricted
- AI.
- Andy's
- concerns
- are
- dismissed.
- Make
- sure
- it
- stays
- in
- the
- flat.
- Assess,
- erase,
- dispose
- of
- on
- Monday.Even
- with
- advanced
- AI,
- Dorothea
- struggles
- to
- understand
- Andy.
- He's
- evasive.
- When
- she
- tries
- to
- plan
- beyond
- the
- weekend,
- his
- heart-rate
- accelerates,
- his
- biometrics
- indicate
- anxiety.
- There
- is
- a
- problem.
- She
- is
- his
- technology—she
- will
- find
- a
- solution.In
- a
- near
- future
- city,
- life's
- cool,
- buzzing
- and
- technologically
- advanced.
- Every
- gadget
- is
- vying
- for
- a
- top
- ten
- position.
- Everything
- and
- everyone
- is
- reviewed
- and
- rated.
- The
- cyborgs
- and
- 'virts',
- have
- sold
- out—they've
- bought
- into
- the
- fantasy
- worlds
- provided
- by
- the
- Corporations.
- Virtual
- reality
- is
- limitless,
- there
- is
- no
- escape.
- The
- rest
- of
- the
- city's
- residents,
- the
- 'reals',
- see
- the
- world
- as
- it
- is,
- but
- at
- every
- turn
- their
- personal
- data
- is
- harvested
- and
- used
- by
- corporate
- gatekeepers
- to
- allocate
- fame,
- build
- profiles,
- offer
- discounts
- and
- grant
- success.Andy's
- been
- wrecked
- by
- the
- system.
- Partially
- recovered,
- he
- shields
- his
- personal
- information
- and
- languishes
- as
- a
- lowly
- technician.
- His
- employer,
- Techdomestic
- barely
- know
- he
- exists
- till
- the
- personnel
- department
- run
- a
- special
- search.
- The
- spec
- is
- rather
- unusual:
- someone
- technical
- who
- lives
- alone,
- no
- monitoring
- devices
- in
- their
- apartment,
- no
- streaming
- of
- what's
- going
- on
- inside.
- An
- illegal
- product
- has
- become
- available
- for
- consumer
- review.
- The
- device
- has
- forbidden
- AI,
- but
- it's
- something
- the
- public
- would
- love
- to
- read
- about
- …
- a
- scoop
- for
- the
- company,
- and,
- for
- the
- appropriate
- employee,
- an
- acceptable
- risk.Full-length,
- 92000
- wordsLanguage:
- UK
- EnglishAge
- Range:
- Adult
- /
- Young Adult
