Sarah

By W.E. Larson

A Sci-Fi short story that presents an open-ended dilemma.

Set in the near future, police technician Ethan Pollard crosses paths with a beautiful Human Analog Bio-robotic. She’s on the run and has a head full of fragmented memories of a life she’s never lived. Only H.A.Bs don’t run away and they certainly don’t have some stranger’s memories.

"Sarah" is about 7,300 words and is more about raising ethical questions than answering them. I’d call it PG-13.

• Language: English
• Publisher: W.E. Larson
• Release date: Jun 21, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476105253

W.E. Larson

I’m a software engineer living in the Kansas City area with my wife, two kids, and three dogs. I also write science fiction and fantasy which you probably guessed from the blog. Yes, I’m the very definition of a nerd. To top it off I have a degree in physics.

Book preview

Sarah

By W.E. Larson

Copyright 2012 W.E. Larson

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Sarah

Two gunmen held ten hostages, half of them kids. Blinds shielded every window, and infrared wasn’t in the playbook for this scenario. The officer would be going in alone without a clue about the positioning.

She used low-yield detonating cord to take down the door. Before the slab of metal hit the carpet, she put down both hostiles with two clean shots. Sure, we’d never let it go down this way in the real world, but I was still impressed. I had downloaded the scenario into their simulator immediately before they ran the HAB officer through it. This wasn't a scripted dog and pony show.

One second to assess the situation and take the shots, the sales rep said when the wall screen faded back to white. What you don’t see are the calculations to eliminate any chance of hitting a hostage. You could give us a thousand variations and a bystander would never be harmed.

I turned to see the officer take off its simulation goggles before exiting the hamster ball that let it move in the virtual world. Almost every police force had the same kind of training equipment.

The officer looked good: skin a raceless shade of brown, and long, black hair tied back in a ponytail. The contours and features were all female even if it didn’t really have a gender. I didn’t doubt for a second that, had a woman come out for the demo, they’d have wheeled out an equally attractive male version.

I turned back to the sales rep. It’s an impressive HAB, but you know the force isn’t going to give them guns.

"The upgrades aren’t only for firearm use, and it’s