Comeback

By Chris Limb

The equally absurd worlds of modern celebrity and ancient mythology collide when pop singer Genie searches for her dead lover in the afterlife

Sunday, 16 September 2018

Once Upon A.I.

Today I hope to entertain you with a very short story. 

Despite some success with having my short fiction published in the past, in the last couple of years I've had less acceptances, despite continuing to submit. Has the quality of my output dropped or is it just coincidence? Who can tell?

However, in the case of this story I suspect the problem was the subject matter.

The inspiration came from my frustration as a web developer when I saw potential clients not hiring people like me to build sites for them but instead plumping for Build-It-Yourself services like Wix or Squarespace.

Fair enough of course, it is a free market and why pay the going rate for a freelancer when you can DIY with a drag and drop service? 

I began to wonder whether the AIs would eventually put all developers out of a job, and what jobs would remain for people like me when it was quicker and cheaper to get a machine to do it. The creative arts would surely be immune...

And then the classic SF inspiration popped into my head. But what if...?  Thus was this tale - no more than a quick flash fiction really - born.

I couldn't find anyone who wanted to publish it. One outlet replied to me with an email suggesting that they thought I was trolling their submissions pile... I can see how they might think that due to the somewhat meta nature of the piece but that genuinely wasn't the case here.

I really was just thinking "What if...?"

Once Upon A.I.

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Tell your friends, colleagues and acquaintances - every pledge counts towards the ultimate goal.

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