Week 603 of #ThursThreads was a success, and y’all never disappoint. Thank you to everyone who writes each week. You made this happen. If you’ve just found us, welcome to the crew! May you come back again and write more great flash. A thousand thanks to Mark Ethridge for judging this week. Follow Siobhan Muir on Bluesky or check out the #ThursThreads #flashfiction group on Facebook or the #ThursThreads Group on MeWe to keep up with news, etc.
Entries:
- Bill Engleson
- Mark A. Morris
- Siobhan Muir
- Sheilagh Lee
- Alex Minns
- David A. Ludwig
Honorable Mention
Mark A. Morris | Website
Mark says: Just because it a good start to a story, or a good flag about how a story could go. The idea that heaven isn’t all it’s cracked up to be is good for me.
winner announcement
Week 603 Winner
Mark says: I cannot resist the science fiction type style of this story. Downloading the dying guy into a robot. You can do a lot with that idea.
‘How are you holding up?’
He stared at me. ‘I am not holding anything.’
‘No, it means how are you.’ I tried again. I waited, resisting the urge to say more, to try and force a response.
‘I see.’ His head tilted to one side as he considered the question. ‘My systems are working at optimum speed.’
His head righted itself as he blinked. He didn’t need to blink but the artificial eyes just staring at you constantly was off-putting after a while. ‘Thank you for asking. What are you holding up?’
I sighed. I’d gone over his plans, done everything just as he’d designed it, but he’d never had a chance to test it. I should probably have not used the first model but if there were issues in the robotic design that Cal had designed, then there was no hope that I was going to be able to solve them. It should have been a miracle that the thing even turned on, let alone was sentient. It could think for itself although it had very little database knowledge to base its thoughts on.
I hadn’t had time to think about the consequences. Cal had planned on using artificial consciousnesses. But when the accident happened, he’d staggered to the lab and I knew there was nothing I could have done. The only way to save him was to download him. Cal was in that metal head somewhere. I just had to find a way to wake him up.
~~~~~~~
Congratulations Three Time Winner Alex, and Honorable Mention Mark! Don’t forget to claim your badges and display them with pride. You certainly earned it!
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