My Deal Me In short story reading challenge deck turned up spades this week, which sent me to Daily Science Fiction. The Random button sent me to this story. SO GLAD!
A common writerly question is: Where do you get your ideas? Mr. Stewart got the idea for this one from a marvelous drawing, Repairs, by his brother, Timothy D. Stewart.
Whatta team!
Metal and Flesh
by Steven R. Stewart
This six-rocket story begins after a catastrophic meteor strike on a station on Mars–which already had my heart. I am all about the red planet.
ANYWAY, the strike was catastrophic, and one AI and one man are left, disabled but alive. They “compete” to see who can “repair” the other one most quickly, as if all that’s at stake is bragging rights.
One flash fiction story explores the nature of friendship, grace under pressure, and the meaning of humanity.
I’ll be looking for more from Mr. Stewart, for sure!
Steve grew up listening to his dad’s ghost stories and never recovered. He attended Uncle Orson’s Literary Boot Camp in 2009 and currently lives in Oklahoma in a small house full of girls. His stories have appeared in Intergalactic Medicine Show, Daily Science Fiction, Brain Harvest, and others. His nonfiction blog posts have been featured by Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.
If YOU need a short story to read, I have free ones here on my Free Reads page. I also have four collections for 99 cents each linked from my Short Stories page.
A WRITING PROMPT FROM ME TO YOU: Write about a relationship between two differing entities.
MA
