Like the Talk on the TV

By Amy Mays

Like the Talk on the TV is a collection of six fiction short stories written for school in the author's pursuit of a Bachelor's of Fine Art in Creative Writing. The stories include a couple of cyberpunk tales, two present day romantic encounters, a sci-fi dialogue, and one mythic retelling.

 

The science fiction tale "The Body as a Machine" is a conversation between spaceship pilot Tessa and her ship's overprotective AI.

 

"Medusa Too" asks the question "What if Medusa's story took place in a modern setting?" Our titular tragic heroine is offered justice from an unlikely source: up and coming prosecutor Perseus Zeusson.

 

Modern romance story, "Schrodinger's Test" follows Icarus and Daniel, a couple on the cusp of great change in not only their relationship, but the rest of their lives.

In "Synchronicity", Cyrus meets with the hacker duo Wes and Dove as they plot to take down the crooked cybernetics corporation of Hashimoto Enterprises, the company responsible for a devastating cybervirus that almost destroyed the world.

 

Comedy of errors "Little Red Heart Nose" is about Gally Dee, college student home for the holidays, as she tries to chase down the love of her life Derek Blake before he leaves town for good.

 

Finally, in the cyberpunk tale "All My Friends are Dead and Dying", insightful cyborg Healer Morgan attempts to connect with her patient, the wounded Altered soldier Draven.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Amy Mays
• Release date: May 2, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224312191

Book preview

Dedication

To Caliana and Kiera . I love you both more than sunshine. Thank you for not being too embarrassed at your weirdo writer mom.

Special dedication to Sophie: my favorite non-human.

The Body as a Machine

Igroaned as I rubbed my tender head. My brain was a dried-up plum. Maybe I shouldn’t have had that last round at Jammer’s before clocking in a thirty-six run to Alverion.

I checked the med kit, which I kept underneath my seat. There were only two pain management packets left. I ripped the packing off one and pressed the spanner against my elbow's crook. Instant relief. I sighed.

You would not feel so terribly the next morning if you would drink more water after indulging in alcohol, said a female voice from the control panel speaker.

Give me a break, Ava, I checked my instruments, seeing that we were good for about three hours drifting with the Zenon Slipstream. I could set her on auto and lie down for a few. You sound like an old nana.

I do not. I am only speaking logically. A daily water intake 2.7 L meets the needs of most female earthen based humans. Even in the best circumstances, you do not drink enough. And alcohol is a diuretic, which will leech the fluids your body needs to support optimum functionality.

I rolled my eyes as I hit the autopilot. Why are you such a nag, Ava? Were you that way when you were human? I ducked out of the cockpit into the cargo hold/living quarters of my ship.

I do not believe I had a husband or children, if that is what you are inferring.

I cringed at the reminder that most of Ava's memories had been locked when they'd converted her consciousness into an AI. Sorry, Aves.

The apology is unnecessary, Tessa. I do not feel sorrow about my lack of recall for my former humanity.

I shifted in my seat. The practice of using someone’s neurochemistry to control a spaceship’s system had been phased out of practice before I was born, but my small ship, The Dart, had been a derelict my father