"Left of Bang: Preemptive Self-Actualization Autonomous Systems" by Vajra Chandrasekera

"Left of Bang: Preemptive Self-Actualization Autonomous Systems" by Vajra Chandrasekera 

This story comes from Clarkeworld Magazine issue #127, April 2017.  You can read it free here: http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/chandrasekera_04_17/ 

I'm not sure which direction the author was taking this story, but I'll talk about the way I perceived this story and what I thought it was about. 

A new model of android was being developed and tested.  More than likely this was a private firm who developed the android.  They had the full range of people in the group testing the android.  Engineers, cyberneticists, programmers, psychologists, project managers, and even more including the people funding this android project. 

The goal of the testing was assassinations.  They were testing to see if they could assassinate the android and how the android responded to each threat.  There were many different types of tests each becoming more difficult with each phase of testing. 

Eventually the final phase of testing came around.  Lookout killer on the loose! 

This was a fairly short story, but doesn't mean that it was bad at all.  There was quite a bit of story in that short story.  This story encompassed the emotions of the android while he was being tested and also showed the lack of emotions.  It had action and conflict.  The author fit it all in this story. 

The ending was how I could really see a project like this ending.  I actually laughed after the last part of the ending because of who was left alive.  That is also what made me suppose this was a private firm, but could very well of been a government agency as well.  Either way sometimes secrets go to the grave. 

I enjoyed this quick read very much.  Like I said it even made me laugh.  The story read fast and packed quite the wallop

“Cassandra” by Ken Liu

“Cassandra” by Ken Liu 

I read this story in “The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy and Horror 2016” edited by Paula Guran.  Originally published in Clarkesworld Magazine. 

You can read this story free for here: http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/liu_03_15/ 

This is a story about what is good vs. what is bad (evil).  It’s also a superhero story, albeit not your normal run of the mill.  It looks at perspective and how it shapes our views of life and society. 

The story is narrated by the anti-superhero (or the superhero) depending on your perspective.  Ken Liu explores how just a little bit of a different view can dramatically change the entire perspective of the situation.  Glass half full, glass half empty, type stuff.   

The narrator’s name is Cassandra.  She talks about a superhero crime fighter, faster than a speeding bullet, etc., with a big S on his chest.  She calls him “’S’howboat”.  He loves to show off for the cameras and talk about himself. 

Cassandra one day discovers she too has a super power that she never experienced before.  She can touch a spot previously touched by someone else, and see their future.  However, only the bad futures seem to be shown when it works. 

Cassandra attempts to tell Showboat about her new-found ability.  She hopes Showboat will investigate what she has foreseen and put a stop to the crime.  She ends up being disappointed when he returns to tell her everything looks good and that she doesn’t actually have the power to see the future.  She tries to argue that no one thought what he did was possible until he showed up, but he refused to believe her.  That’s when she decides to take matters into her own hands. 

Cassandra starts to refine her ablity and get better with it.  She starts to use it for “good” by killing people to stop crimes before they happen.  She sees her actions as a good superhero because she is stopping future crimes from happening.  Even though she is killing “innocent” people in the process because they technically haven’t committed the crimes yet. 

This is where Showboat and Cassandra clash.  This is where perspective come into play.  Depending on what side of the coin they are on, is their cup half full, or half empty?  Showboat knows she is behind the “crimes” she is committing, but she is staying one step ahead of him.  It’s a game of who is right and who is wrong.  Or are they both right?

Tortoiseshell Cats Are Not Refundable by Cat Rambo

Tortoiseshell Cats Are Not Refundable by Cat Rambo 

I read this story in "The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2015" and it was originally published in Clarkesworld Magazine.  This anthology was edited by John Joseph Adams and guest editor Joe Hill.

You can read the story for free here: http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/rambo_02_14/   

This is a story about a man who lives during a futuristic time where cloning is just starting to come out of infancy.  The problem is there are still quite a few quirks in the process.  However that might be, he decides to take a look at what cloning might have to offer him. 

In the beginning of the story we find out he is wanting to do something nice for his mother.   Then we find out he is grief stricken over the loss of his wife.  What turns into a nice gesture leads to decisions that have to be made. 

I like the story and how it leads to the questions of what would the future look like if we could bring back the dead.  What would the world look like if we could just copy ourselves or our loved ones and know nothing bad could ever take them away from us. 

This story sort of revolves around that line of thinking.  It makes the reader ponder what existence could be like, but also, what should it look like.