TERRORIST

Blackness enveloped the city.

The power curfew began at midnight. The grid was shutdown.

Homes were silent. Streetlights dark. A flicker of rare candlelight betrayed the restaurant or club that refused to close.

An occasional set of car headlights crept passed, driven by those lucky enough to still have access to the electricity needed to power them.

Beside the river rose two bright towers, the only illumination for miles around. The weapons factory was kept open twenty-four hours a day, three hundred and sixty-five days a year.

A shuttle train deposited the night shift. A fleet of robots fully charged and ready to work. The exhausted day shift departed, taken back to their pods to be re-energised.

As the train left the security monitor didn’t notice the tiny figure who leapt across the tracks.

In the shadows, Alejandro waited. He double-checked the wiring and the fuse on the package.

His death was imminent. His hope was that it would not be in vain.

Tonight, humanity began the fight back.


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Copyright Pamela S. Canepa

Written as part of Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers. The challenge is to write a flash fiction story in around 150 words, based on the weekly photo prompt. Thanks as always to the challenge host Priceless Joy. For more information visit HERE.

To read other stories based on this week’s prompt, visit HERE

37 responses to “TERRORIST”

  1. Nicely written! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Loved how you wrote the story .
    Thanks for inspiring me to research ‘dystopia’.

    Like

  3. “This is burned in by laser scan. Some of us were kept alive… to work… loading bodies. The disposal units ran night and day. We were that close to going out forever.”

    -Kyle Reese (played by Michael Biehn) in the 1984 film “The Terminator”

    Your story very much reminded me of Reese’s world of resistence and revolution against the machines.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks James, definitely something of that sort going on.

      Liked by 1 person

  4. With Artificial Intelligence growing in full bloom, this fiction may turn into reality some day. Keeping my fingers crossed that this doesn’t come true.
    Loved this futuristic take on the prompt!
    – Anagha From Team MocktailMomies

    Like

  5. Chilling story Iain! Great descriptions and the story is so topical. Great story!

    Liked by 1 person

  6. Iain, quite disturbing at first, hopeful at the end. The change-up to robot oppression was well crafted.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Finally a team we can all support! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  7. Ooh! I love it, You kept me guessing until the end. Humanity is fighting back and that’s a good thing.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Let’s hope it’s not too late. Glad you liked it.

      Liked by 1 person

  8. Go Humanity!

    Or, from the robot POV: Go, humanity.

    Hmmmm…

    Liked by 1 person

    1. One robot’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.

  9. Wow. Futuristic yet strong feelings of humanity and willpower. Great one, Iain.

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Another great thriller. Sounds like the start of a great story!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you, that’s reassuring as it is in my mind to expand this world into a novel length story 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I’ll look forward to more!

        Liked by 1 person

  11. You’ve taken us one step beyond the next chapter where even robots will become extinct! Excellent.

    Click to read my FFfAW

    Liked by 1 person

    1. And then what will be left – nature, perhaps it would be best if we left it to that.

      Like

  12. Please don’t make him fall in love with a robot 😀 I look forward to the novel length story you have promised.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Definitely not going to love a robot 🙂

      Like

  13. Yikes! Too easy to imagine it being true. Well written, Iain.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hopefully not, but it certainly seems robots are going to be taking an awful lot of our jobs in the future.

      Like

      1. let’s hope they don’t learn to write compelling short fiction.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. I’m sure they’re already working on that, and then where will we be?!

        Liked by 1 person

  14. long live the resistance!

    Liked by 1 person

  15. Sacrifices must be made if a revolution is to be successful. A martyr for the cause! Loved it .

    Liked by 1 person

  16. Oh WOW, WOW, WOW! What a thriller! I haven´t yet read the rest of the takes on this prompt. But, this is super creative. I loved the sci-fi angle that you brought to this story. And the narrative is brilliant…builds up the thriller. May the force always be with us, humanity! 🙂 Keep writing!

    Like

  17. Great descriptive writing, Kelly.

    Liked by 1 person

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