The Robot Who Stole Herself

By Janine Southard

Before she became an American Space Ranger. Before she joined Queen-Commander Rhiannon on the Ceridwen’s Cauldron. Before she was sentient, M3L-15-A was a nanny.

In this science fiction short story, Melissa turns her child-rearing programming on herself and climbs to sentience. She would happily continue in her caregiving role, but her new interests lead her to less-than-ideal choices (as far as the child’s parents are concerned). To avoid the scrap heap, Melissa finds a novel path to freedom.

In her 40 years of existence, Melissa has come to sentience many times. This is the first.

M3L-15-A first appeared in Hive & Heist, book two of The Hive Queen Saga. “The Robot Who Stole Herself” can be read on its own, though there are references to characters in that series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cantina Publishing
• Release date: Jun 6, 2014
• ISBN: 9781633270046

Janine Southard

Janine A. Southard writes and edits speculative fiction in between working on videogame projects. She's attended more than the average number of universities, which she claims is a FEATURE not a bug. ("Oxford educated, but Californian at heart.") She's also lived and traveled in Europe, the United States, and Japan. Currently, she lives in Seattle with a husband and a cat. The cat pretends to care about this.

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About The Robot Who Stole Herself

Long before she joined the Ceridwen’s Cauldron, M3L-15-A was a nanny.

Before she became an American Space Ranger. Before she joined Queen-Commander Rhiannon on the Ceridwen’s Cauldron. Before she was sentient, robotic M3L-15-A was a nanny.

In this science fiction short story, Melissa turns her child-rearing programming on herself and climbs to sentience. She would happily continue in her caregiving role, but her new interests lead her to less-than-ideal choices (as far as the child’s parents are concerned). To avoid the scrap heap, Melissa finds a novel path to freedom.

In her 40 years of existence, Melissa has come to sentience many times. This is the first.

M3L-15-A first appeared in Hive & Heist, book two of The Hive Queen Saga. The Robot Who Stole Herself can be read on its own, though there are references to characters in that series.

The Robot Who Stole Herself

An Archival and Recovery Story

Janine A. Southard

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2014 Janine A. Southard

All rights reserved.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Cover by Michael P. Sotomayor

Editing by Cat Rambo

Copyediting by Rachel Lynn Solomon

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each