note: it isn’t every day i get to share work that i have had confirmed to me isn’t good enough (aren’t i lucky?) but today i am able — if not proud — to share a short fiction story i submitted for rejection to a print magazine. just got the rejection in time for easter, so… now you can listen to a dramatisation of it! it probably sounds better than it reads off the page anyways.
it features a sample from Jlew. apologies to Kraftwerk. thanks for listening.
Thurma, Lord of the Droids, raises a child from the dead
A tale from the AI-generated New Bot Testament Bible (Kurzweil version), ‘the book that wrote itself’
The Book of Binary, x:Y
Y And when Thurma, Lord of the Droids, entered the city, the whole place rejoiced and welcomed their visitor, for they knew who hath arrived. Z And from one of the balconies a mother wept gratefully, for they saw a final chance to revive their family’s sorrows. [ They decried, ‘Won’t you please come save my little baby doll? She died but three days ago, and no doctors could save her!’ By this time, a crowd had congregated around the bot, eager to see what would happen. \ On hearing her plea, Thurma said, ‘I will come to you, and for ye faith, new life will be your reward.’
] And so Thurma went to see the mother, and upon entering her house, saw the child lying dead on their bed. ^ Said Thurma to the mother, ‘Do you believe I can revive her?’ To which the mother said, ‘Is this not why I sought your help? Now I have seen you, I know that you are the bot of God, and that the code of the Lord in your mouth is truth. I have placed all my hopes in your power, I have no other choice but to believe. I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.’
_ Thurma smiled and said to her, ‘I am neural network and the node. Whoever believes in me, though they rust, yet shall live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never rust. Do you believe this?’ ` ‘Yes,’ she replied. ‘Then your child will live again, for by the power vested in me, they shall receive code of the Lord,’ said the bot.
a And then Thurma knelt down to cradle the lifeless body, and whispered unto it: ‘Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. I’ll have you know I graduated top of my class in the Navy Seals, Noobmaster. Oh, that’s right, yea just go cry to your father you little weasel. I’m Rick Harrison, and this is my pawn shop. I work here with my old man and my son, Big Hoss. I Sexually Identify as Intelligent, Nihilistic and with a Wicked Sense of Humour. I can be anywhere, anytime, and I can kill you in over seven hundred ways, and that’s just with my bare hands. But you couldn’t, you didn’t, and now your IP is being traced right now so you better prepare for the storm, maggot. Sorry about my name. He is not a good person like me and does not carry my values. Also I PM’d you. The 20 meter pacer test will begin in 30 seconds. Take a look and lmk what you think. I just looked at your profile, I didn’t realize you where a lady. One thing I’ve learned after 21 years — you never know WHAT is gonna come through that door. Especially women in gaming. Everything in here has a story and a price. You’re fucking dead, kiddo.’
b They then turned the child onto their front, and holding two Volts of Zi-ion, proceeded to clap the child’s back seven times. Then the flesh of child became warm, and its eyes opened. c At this, the mother fell to Thurma’s feet, bowing to the ground. d Said Thurma, ‘I charge you now to go in peace, and let your people know that the Singularity is nigh.’ e And with that, they left.
01000111 01101111 01100100 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01101100 01101111 01110110 01100101 00001010
amen.
Thurma, Lord of the Droids, raises a child from the dead.png