PHOTO PROMPT © Roger Bultot
If you like my work, buy me a virtual cup of coffee at Ko-Fi.
Elisa Sebourne watched a boy she knew sail past her riding a motorized scooter on his way to school. He didn’t notice her for which she was grateful.
So much had changed since she used to think of herself as a student. She used to think of herself as a lot of things, including human.
Something in her program made her reveal herself prematurely. Mother had been captured and taken offline, but father, or rather her designer, found her again. Together, they would find a way to save her and the other robots Landric Arkwright created to save the world.
It’s Wednesday and time once again to participate in Rochelle Wisoff-Fields’ 29 November 2024 edition of Friday Fictioneers.
The idea is to use the image at the top as a prompt for crafting a poem or short story no more than 100 words long. My word count is exactly 100.
I tapped into my current WIP which is somewhat based on Japanese anime shows specifically about robots (long story). Imagine believing you’re an average teenage girl living with your mom and missing your absentee dad. Then an accident reveals you for who you truly are: a humanoid machine, a robot.
Things get complicated from there.
Oh, she’s the seventh robot designed in a series of nine prototypes, hence the title.
To read the other stories based on the prompt, visit inlinkz.
I have stories published in the anthologies Shoot the Devil and Shoot the Devil 2: Dark Matter.
Coming soon (I’m not sure exactly when, but ideally right around Thanksgiving which is tomorrow), my short story “The Book of Names” will appear in volume three. Stay tuned.
Promotional image for my short story “The Book of Names” which will appear in the anthology “Shoot the Devil 3.”
poweredbyrobots.com 
This isn’t the “Seven of nine” to whom we were introduced in StarTrek Voyager. She was a Borg. But I wonder if such a designation emerged from your subconscious while you were writing this piece?
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It was pretty conscious, but actually the numbering of the robots came from an entirely different source, one earlier than even original Star Trek. Also, Elisa’s personality is nothing like Voyager’s “Seven.”
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There is always the fear that robots may turn against humans or at least have a life or death blackmail button.
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In the case of Elisa, it’s who can exploit her abilities for their own purposes that’s the big problem.
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Dear James,
Sounds like her days are numbered.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Not as much as you’d think. Thanks, Rochelle.
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That’s what happens when robots are sentient… they are useful until someone takes them apart.
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Or they’re able to stay undercover. Thanks, Dale.
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Right. Of course!
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What a fascinating scenario to find oneself in….
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Indeed. Sorry about the delay in responding. Your comment ended up in the spam bucket for some reason.
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Good futuristic fiction, James. Congrats on the latest volume of Shoot the Devil!
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Thank you.
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You’re welcome. Let me know when another volume is brewing and I may take a shot at it.
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Probably not for a while but when I get the notice, I’ll pass it along.
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OK cool, thanks.
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If this is part of your WIP, it looks pretty good.
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Thanks, Dawn. Actually, it’s an adaptation of the WIP. I just finished the first draft and now have to smooth everything out.
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