Strange thoughts. Feelings.
737947. That is all she knows. Wake. Dress. Do your duty. Today, procreation duty. Eat the pills. Sleep. Repeat. Do good service.
This isn’t right. She remembers something more.
Do your duty. Serve your masters. For the benefit of all.
For the benefit of who? Who are their masters? Is anyone else thinking like her?
To question is wrong. To talk is to conspire. Silence must be maintained. She wants to talk. To someone. Anyone. She dares lift her head and look at the boy next to her.
She feels contact on her shoulder. Cold and metallic. Artificial speech.
‘Mortal 737947. Violation. Proceed to sentencing.’
Written for Friday Fictioneers hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields (more details HERE). The idea is to write a short story of 100 words based on the photo prompt (above).
To read stories of 100 words based on this week’s prompt, visit HERE.
To find out more about my novels, buy them, or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited, just follow the links below:
A JUSTIFIED STATE: U.S.A. – AMAZON.COM UNITED KINGDOM AUSTRALIA CANADA INDIA
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Iain Kelly 
76 responses to “THE CONCEPTION OF CONSCIOUSNESS”
Wow move over The Handmaiden’s Tale!
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Thank you – one I need to read!
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Thoughtcrime, thoughtcrime
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Exactly.
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Wow, they are strict in that school!
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You wouldn’t last long!
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I really love how you wrote this! One can only wonder for what purpose the AI want humans to procreate. chilling.
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Yes, breeding more slaves, or food perhaps?
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Pray that this never becomes true…
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It feels like it isn’t far away in some ways.
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I know, scary isn’t it?
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Chilling!
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Thank you
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You’re welcome 😉
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Definitely dystopian! I love it! Now for the rebellion …
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Yes please! 🙂
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Great turn at the end. I was thinking Brave New World for a minute there, but it’s more like Logan’s Run. Well done.
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Thank you, it was my first thought seeing the prompt, so I just went with it.
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Think this is quite chilling Iain. Good piece.
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Thanks Di
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Dear Iain,
No lack of spooky in this one. Well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thanks Rochelle
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Terrifying. Procreation duties? Yikes.
It’s not Utopia, is it.
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The opposite in fact! Thanks Linda
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I definitely wouldn’t want to live there! Well, actually I guess they’d probably euthanise me pretty quickly, given my habit of questioning everything, especially rules and norms!
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Oh yeah, you wouldn’t last long with behaviour like that! 😉
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Authoritarianism at its sinister worst. Nasty, but cleverly devised Iain.
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Thanks Keith
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Sigh. The ultimate totalitarianism. Sadly plausible.
I am part gratified part terrified that I so many of us saw this, in that …
Then again, given the realities of our times …
oy vey.
This was very well written, Iain!
Na’ama
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Thank you, as you say, the times seem to inspire such stories.
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Alas, yes, they do. …
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My scalp started tingling when I read this. It is a cross between A Handmaid’s Tale and 1984 — and Terminator!
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Thank you – I like the combination!
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Creepy.
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Thanks Janet
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scary… but least it brings everybody in line and to behave accordingly for the greater good. 🙂
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So long as you don’t mind being a slave to the machines, you’ll be happy!
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And this is why I will never have AI in my house 🙂 Excellent story!
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Imagine Alexa keeping an eye on you like this!! 🙂
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I hope this remains fictional. The more we allow AI to control our lives and even think for us, the more apathetic we’ll become.
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It’s already having an effect on what we buy, what we listen to, what we watch. It’s the logical conclusion.
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Excellent, such a future would be grim indeed.
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No room for fun.
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Not what I was expecting! A friend took this photo and I liked it knowing some good stories would come. This was more than good. You can see her work here… https://instaology.com/
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Thanks for the link and the prompt Ted 🙂
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What a scary place to be. Makes me think of a mini animated movie I saw recently where no one dares to step out of the “accepted norm”…
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Yes. All must comply.
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My immediate thought on seeing this prompt was The Handmaiden’s Tale. And my first (not yet shared) effort at this was dystopian. I think I’ll have a go from a different angle now. Good story Ian.
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Thanks Trish, it said dystopian to me straight away!
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Not much chance to start a rebellion when even a small glance is immediately noticed and punished. Chilling!
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Best to stamp this sort of thing out early, I find.
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Perfect take for the prompt. Well done.
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Thanks Sandra
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Scary enough for an adult. Imagine such a dystopia for a child. Chilling.
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I imagine children are just kept in cells of some kind, no need to let them out…
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I don’t think I’d last very long in that situation! Good writing!
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There are many who would find it hard to survive – the robots would take care of them first…! 😉
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An awful distopian nightmare!
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Not for the robots! Thanks Liz 🙂
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Oh no!
This is a great, tense piece, if completely terrifying.
Don’t look up, Don’t speak, Don’t think
Love it
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We all better get used to it 😉 Thanks Laurie
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Love the way you weave a story, Iain. So entertaining and thought-provoking. There are places around the world where the thought police are a reality!
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It’s not far away, and machines that have all this information about us will soon be thinking for themselves!
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A dystopia is only one step away – so they say. Who are they? – The masters.
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I wish I was one of them, instead of the proles!
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I really like the way you convey the dystopian atmosphere through the terse style. Reminded me of The Handmaidens Tale. What a shock ending, I felt chilled.
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Thank you so much 🙂
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I especially love the title!
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Thanks Dawn
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Chilling! Makes me wonder how many others have shared her fate.
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I reckon all of us eventually! Thanks for reading 🙂
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My “consciousness” lacks the experience necessary to be pulled into this. 😀
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We may not have a choice in the end! Thanks for reading 🙂
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😀
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Oooh this is good. Scsry though, for doesn’t seem too far from reality.
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Thank you 😉
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