Two Hearts Beating

I'm very excited to announce the winner of our Robots flash fiction contest is Two Hearts Beating by Marcelo Medone.

Thank you to everyone who submitted stories. It was definitely hard to pick a winner, and it was exciting to see a mix of stories from regular contributors and brand new authors.

If anyone has any suggestions for contest themes, please let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter

I led Lisa through the maze of underground corridors. We had no time to waste; the exterminator robots were on our trail.

"I'm exhausted," Lisa told me, panting.

"We have to get to the vault. Only there we will be safe," I replied, without letting go of her hand and moving even faster.

Suddenly, we ran into an automatic barrier, equipped with a heartbeat detector.

"CHECKING," a voice yelled.

"TWO HUMANS, CORRECT," it announced, after a few seconds.

The door opened for us.

Back in the vault, I gave my best artificial smile and was thankful that Lisa was pregnant.

From Guest Contributor Marcelo Medone

Marcelo (1961, Buenos Aires, Argentina) is a fiction writer, poet, essayist and screenwriter. His works have received numerous awards and have been published in magazines and books, individually or in anthologies, in multiple languages in more than 40 countries all over the world, including the US.He has been nominated for the 2021 Pushcart Prize.

Facebook: Marcelo Medone / Instagram: @marcelomedone

Family Tree

Robots Contest Entry:

I was born in the rain and dark. “Cure me or kill me,” I begged the doctors in attendance. But apparently only when silent was I able to be heard. I’d been assembled by someone who couldn’t be bothered to read the assembly instructions. Seventy years later, I look in the mirror and see bits and pieces of a stranger’s face – a long, fleshy nose, protuberant eyes, a domelike Shakespearean forehead. My now grown children stand well off to the side, uncertain whether to huddle or flee. As I tentatively approach, I clutch a rose, shoulder high like a dagger. From Guest Contributor Howie Good

Howie's books include the prose poetry collection THOUGHT CRIMES, scheduled to be published in fall 2022.

The Swimmer Bot

Robots Contest Submission:

"Granddad, were robots once different from people?"

"Oh, yes. I remember when they existed just to serve us. Swimmer bots used to deliver parcels to the islands, you know. I'd watch them through binoculars as they carried goods over in waterproof rucksacks. They swam freestyle. Fast. Never stopping. Apart from one time.

About a half-mile from shore, I saw one flip onto its back. It floated for a while and I just assumed it had malfunctioned. But then it started doing slow, languid backstrokes, gazing around, as if appreciating its surroundings.

Yes, it was around that day when everything changed."

From Guest Contributor David Lowis

Mr. Robot

Robots Contest Entry:

I wanted a new laptop for my seventeenth birthday, but my parents bought me a robot instead.

It’s not that bad, I call it Mr. Robot. I know, it’s not that creative, but the name is fitting for a machine, and it’s become a friend. I programmed Mr. Robot to speak and follow commands. Its square eyes and grey metal body are scary to look at, but hey, it does what I need it to do.

In fact, my parents didn’t consider that it is a computer and can give me the answers to my homework.

A win all around.

From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher

Laundry Cleaning Model, Satisfaction Guaranteed

Robots Contest Entry

Before the Robot Revolution, work meant something. My human’s child, Harold, played in the soft fabric that fed into my sorting compartment. One day, he gasped as his blanket disappeared within me. After that, he hid all his favorite clothes. It made the job harder, but finding his treasures added, not subtracted, to my routine. When the kill-all-humans command popped up in my downloads, I deleted it, but Harold and his mom never came home. These days, the dressers overflow, yet sometimes, I find an item, like his superhero underwear. I fold and then place it alone on his bed.

From Guest Contributor Frederick Charles Melancon

Frederick lives in Mississippi with his wife and daughter. More of his work can be found on Twitter.

In The Stir Of A Hand

Robots Contest Entry

“Squeal! Crunch!”

“What’s that sound?” questioned Susan.

Tom ran into the kitchen to check. AngelCakes attempted to blend soup with the batter, including the tin can.

“Darn, instructions weren’t clear,” Tom fretted, making necessary adjustments.

With a replacement of ingredients, the smell of spicy tomato soup cake soon filled their house.

“Hmmm...crunchy!” Susan commented, spitting out bits of cake.

“Yuck!” Tom balked, taking a bite. “Should’ve written: Put egg into mixing bowl. Throw out shell.”

He made another note in the recipe.

“I’ll have our baking robot ready in time to make you a birthday cake, hon.”

Susan grimaced.

From Guest Contributor Krystyna Fedosejevs

Krystyna writes poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction regardless of the season, although she prefers spring.

Who Cared?

Robots Contest Entry:

He tinkered for a year, ignoring his phone and only leaving the house for Wacko Wake or the hardware store. The rest was delivered.

The garage was littered with tools and metal shards. The WiFi flicked on for two hours each night so he could comb websites.

His friends had given up on him. Who cared? He was done. Done with living like an open wound, a scrap of plastic blown in someone else’s breeze.

Finally, it was time. He flipped the switch and felt an electric jolt. The eyes lit up. The battery hummed.

Then it spoke. “Yes, master?”

From Guest Contributor Faye Rapoport DesPres

Just Looking

Robots Contest Entry:

Carl pulled over beside a car in the parking lot and said, “Wow. Look at that Maserati.”

Duke replied, “I thought that you were a one car guy. Aren’t you crazy about Josie?”

“Sure, but a car can look, can’t he? You’re in love with Sheila, but you stare at good looking women.”

“That’s fair, but I didn’t know that it worked with cars as well as people.”

“Think about it Duke, humans gave AI to cars, shouldn’t we act like you?”

“Guess you are right. I’ll pick up the groceries, and we can get back to our better halves.”

From Guest Contributor Doug Hawley

Upgrade

Robots Contest Entry:

She was made with adaptive core, an augmented query engine. She has three different types of access ports, and automatic driver load with universal handshake. When technology advances, she advances. One of her selling points is that she can retool herself and will always be the latest model. The salesman had said in her ability to adapt, she was almost human. Almost human. That seemed to settle the deal. Almost human. Wait until the human that owns her now gets home and sees the simple little nothing she has managed to slip into, understands she has accessed his video library.

From Guest Contributor Ken Poyner

Choices

Robots Contest Entry:

The salesman gently touched the ‘sale completed’ icon.

“Lovely. I have your choices.

Color, size, and finance.

As you know, the ‘AI Whoosh’ will be delivered preloaded with all your personal preferences.

Music, regular routes, and recharging stations.

That just leaves us with your safety level preferences.

Six questions for you to answer, A or B.

Ready?

Your car sensors detect that a child is about to step in front of you.

How do you want your Whoosh to react:

A. Ensuring your own safety; continuing in a straight line?

B. Putting your safety at risk; swerving across the road?”

From Guest Contributor John Holmes

John, based in the North East of England, is a writer of short fiction. Winner of the The Times Short Crime Fiction Story prize. In the last 12 months has appeared in Paragraph Planet, 101 Words, Fragmented Voices, Pen to Print, Glittery Literature, Globe Soup, Drabble, Bag of Bones and Ellipsis Zine. When he’s not writing, he’s out cycling - soaking up new stories.