Our Own Devices

How much control have we ceded to our devices? Do they influence us? Do they manipulate us to accept the absurd as truth and convince us that dystopia is actually utopia? The stories in our own devices explore those very questions.

I Am Machine
Your status in life rests in the circuitry of a computer unlike any before. Her name is May-Scene, and she is your AI guide to a better life. All you have to do to reach May-Scene level is accept the Social Credit System and let it control every aspect of your life.

Nattily Crossman has embraced the SCS and longs to reach May-Scene level. But her family never fell in line. What happens when Nattily decides it's time to elevate her station at any cost and May-Scene determines humans are no longer necessary?

Threshold
Our devices stream the world into our homes twenty-four hours a day. Endless news cycles have become the norm. The media mastered the use of fear to capture our attention and employs it with merciless efficiency.

When an unknown virus sweeps across the globe, the seed of fear is sown and nurtured, until it blossoms. Just ask Willamina Blatt. She'll be happy to share the knowledge she's gained from the nonstop news cycle. That is, of course, if she ever crosses the threshold again.

One
The One Kill Law has been voted on, and passed, by the American People. Its intent? Curb the spiraling crime rate by granting every citizen the right to kill one person without reprisal. This absurdity quickly gives birth to a new breed of Influencer. His name is Kalmin, and he's paid handsomely to kill for the entertainment of others. But he never counted on a man named Gage.

Challenge
When Iris finally wins a Challenge-bid, she's convinced internet fame will follow. She simply needs to live to enjoy it.