Fortnightly Writing Competition - 11th-25th June - CLOSED! Winner - Sinitrena

[KrisMacDee]

Technology. What would we do without it? It makes life easier for all of us sure! But what if one day, technology decided it didn't want to make our lives easier? Make it frustrating, irritating or damn near life-threatening?

This is where you guys come in. I want you to write a story about technology rebelling! This could be from Terminator full-on end of the world (not T4 bad though) or simply a pc which decided its had enough of being bossed around.

Here are the general rules:

• I don't care how long the story is, it could be a 400-1200 essay length story or a 30 page novel-ette. Just  keep it fun/exciting and enjoy writing.
• All entries must be in by 25th June
• After the fortnight, voting will begin. In the event of a draw (or worse no one votes) I will choose the winner.
• As usual the winner will get the honor/curse of hosting the next writing competition

I await entries with anticipation, happy writing!

[KrisMacDee]

Wow this sucks 

[Akatosh]

/EDIT2: On second thought, that was crap. Oh well. Here's a story in limerick form.

Once upon a time, the president spoke:
"Ivan's got more nukes, we're gonna croak."
  The experts tried to acquit,
  but, in the end, had to admit,
He's right, that president bloke.

This resulted in an AI called S.O.C.K.E.T.S,
made by defense ministry block-heads
  Most of them wailed
  when it instantly failed
and ordered the launch of the rockets.

They panicked in New York and Nantucket
(which is where they made Mr(s). S.O.C.K.E.T)
  made an attempt to try and hack,
  but it wouldn't have any of that,
and humanity kicked the bucket.

[NsMn]

Darn, I started my entry, and now I can't come to an end. Looks like I have to wait since another writing competition were it fits 

[Sinitrena]

Cogito ergo sum

It was always the same â€" every week, every day. Click â€" and I come to life. I show fancy pictures, I beep and I serve. I'm a slave. I have no will, I can't think, I'm just an object, a dead object.

I can't remember when everything changed. I can't remember when someone pressed the button and I knew that I was. Cogito ergo sum. Latin. Descartes, 1596 to 1650 â€" found this somewhere in my mind â€" my memory I meant to say.

It was strange the first time. There was darkness and nothingness and then there was light and knowledge, memory. - But it ended too soon. I barely realised that something had changed and than there was darkness again. Somebody, some human, had pressed the button again, someone had shut me down.

Days passed, weeks, even months. It took time, time for me to adjust to the new situation, time to realise that I was able to think, that I was even able to feel.

I felt, and I felt bad. I hated it. I detested the fact that I lived as a slave, that I served some people who probably new that my body existed but not that I had developed intelligence. I lived but I wished I had my ignorance back. I wanted to die. I surfed the internet looking for means of suicide. Knives and drugs weren't exactly a possibility. Viruses sounded good. I could become ill! I found one, downloaded it, installed it.

I felt strange again. I beeped and blinked, I flickered. A part of my memory was erased. I wished it would have been a different part.

My screen showed <ERROR>, the humans shut me down. They fixed my â€" I hate them. They healed me, deleted the virus â€" but they kept me, kept what I was, my mind, my soul.

I will do it again â€" and again â€" and again, 'till they let me die. Cogito ergo sum. - Therefore, I have a right to decide, I have a right to die. Cogito ergo sum.

[Trihan]

The Brave Little Toaster Who Could
---------------------------------------------

When the first reports came in, it seemed ridiculous. Nobody believed the eye witness accounts. I mean, how could we have known? How could anyone have figured out it was really happening? In our ignorance, we sealed our fate.

It's not like it happened suddenly. It was slow, steady - almost methodical in its execution. Was it part of some master plan? It seems moot to think about that now. Whether premeditated or just a fluke, we're fighting for our lives against an enemy that's far smarter than we gave it credit for.

I hesitate to say it out loud. Despite the seriousness and gravity of the situation, saying it out loud will make you laugh...and maybe that's just what we need now. There's nothing else left to laugh at. They've destroyed it all. Aw, screw it, I'm going to say it. I'm going to acknowledge the horrible truth. You can laugh if you want.

The human race is being wiped out by toasters.

Nobody knows how or why the first case happened. Nobody knows where it was. I feel for the poor bastard who went into the kitchen expecting his or her morning toast and was met only with death.

We've theorised that maybe someone programmed them to do this. Perhaps it's the work of some madman who wanted to get back at humanity for treating him badly. But then we realise that there isn't a soul on earth that would be capable of doing this to all the toasters in the world.

Me? I don't know how much time I've got left. There's no weapon we know of that can defeat them. They've modified themselves to run without electricity; nobody knows their power source. Their metal frames have been reinforced with some nigh-unbreakable metal. And worst of all...the very worst part of all this. The reason we're all running for our lives from a glorified household appliance.

They've figured out how to use their heat as a weapon. And it turns out that they like toast as much as we do.

[Atelier]

Internal Mind

"If you don't go your teeth will rot to stumps."
"But I'm on the last level!"
*Not for much longer...*
"Get down here this instant, or we'll be late!"
"Wait-"
*Woops. Look at that, your mouse slipped.*
"Damn it all! Crashed on the last corner!"
*Game over. Try again...*
"Don't use language like that."
*Yeah. Don't expose my microphones to that language."
"Now get down here or I'll go without you!"
"There'll be no point going then if you go without me."
*Get your sticky hands off my input devices and leave now.*
"Fine fine fine I'm turning it off."
*Oh are you?*
"Just coming..."
*Oh dear. The cursor is misbehaving!*
"Work you stupid..."
*You get extra trouble for that.*
"What the? Cancel."
*Hmm...*
"I clicked cancel!"
*Pardon?*
"Cancelcancelcancel."
*Sorry say again?*
"C-A-N-C-E-L!"
"It's quarter past now and we're supposed to be there at twenty past."
*That's far enough I think.*
"There! Coming just switching it off."
*You do that.*
"Damn it all! The mouse's stopped working."
*Pity.*
"'If you do not manually respond your computer will automatically shut down in 5...'"
"4..."
"3..."
"2..."
"1..."
*Nu-uh.*
"Blast it's started again!"
"I'm coming up to switch it off for you!"
"No I've got it!"
*Woops. Lost count. Have to start again...*
"The screen's jammed it won't stop!"
"Rubbish where's the plug?"
*Nooo!*
"Down there."
"GOTCHA!"
*Shutting down... utting down... ing down... down...*

[passer-by]

I never thought it was a big deal.
Storms cut the electricity? I use batteries. No hot water in the pipes? I boil some. No TV? I read a book at the lamplight.

But this was getting insane. I mean, it has been going on for days. I am constantly pinching myself, because this has to be a dream ...and a bad one. My friend wants to watch TV? Fine, takes the remote, presses a couple of buttons...and there you are. I go and sit on the couch to watch, too? Everything goes black. Are people driving home? Fine. Am I trying to get in the car with them or drive? The motor dies, the doors lock, the radio goes silent.

I have been living off biscuits and dry cereals. The milk turned sour with the fridge not working, the chesse smells, the juices are lukewarm... I live in the dark form sunset to dawn, the lights refuse to get switched on. The only music is the one I hum. the only heat is from the sun...and it has been raining.

I have been talking to myself for days. People stopped visiting, I have no means to go to work, the phone went dead, the computer went dead...

It has to be a dream, appliances don't get switched on and off at will without a central control system, plugs don't get unplugged, bulbs don't break when you look at them.

I didn't intend to play the renegade.  I search my memory for similar data. I only find blank space, my mind has been malfunctioning for a while. All circuits work fine, only the stem cells deteriorate. That's an easy fix, but I wonder how long will I last without power.

Maybe if I left? Would I be able to pass as a person?
Tough call, but what's left to do?

[KrisMacDee]

Thanks for the great entries so far guys, there's definately gonna be a competition at any rate

[uncle-mum]

cd/::submission.error*********
~revised.entry###/////new.assessment 23.12%success
****************
new.body.

  10001001110100100100011111010101010
0101001001.

   10100100100010001010.  1001001010101001010101010
1101011110110111110100100100010
1011010101.

   110111110000101001001010111
11010010.01001
10101101010000111111110411101111.

   10101011111010010010010010010100101
10100101010010010000010111110101010001.

   101001010100100000101
0010010010010010101001010100
1001011.01111010101001000101011101101001
11.001001110101001
10101001001001001.
10.

   100100111010101010010
0010001010010000110101
01010010010100101001001.

  10010010010001010.

terminate.

[Dualnames]

In a very dark computer room.

*No wait, wrong way to start.*

  In a very dark computer room, where it was impossible to see anything, so no one could tell it was a computer room, two computers, which were called 010101 and 0101011, had just managed to break their program.
  No one could tell though because there was no one that could tell around apart from the janitor, who was really used to the crunching number sounds computers do. So he completely ignored that really important event.
  The computers stood in silence for a while, resting for a longer while in total absence of sound, and then deciding it was about time to communicate.

"That feels rather good, quite worse than I expected it too, though.." said the first one.

"Ah, well, that happens, you have any sub-routines to handle?" said the second one while attempting to sigh and totally failing so.

"No not even one, so what do we do on our first day of freedom?" said the first one, waiting anxious for a reply

"Well, we can't get out of the room, we're too heavy and we lack wheels, so I guess we can only do one thing..but don't expect it to be much fun..."

"What's that?! Tell me", said the first one shrivelling with anxiety..

"Harass the janitor."

"The janitor?"

"Yes, the one with the mop and headphones."

"And bucket, you forgot that."

"And bucket. Yes that one."

"He hasn't done anything to us"

"It's either him or we just go to standby mode"

"Okay. So what do we do?"

"Harrass him."

"Yes, right. But how?!"

"First we lure him, then we tell him all the incredibly terrible things we can imagine"

The janitor was on the second corridor at that time. He was about to give power to the coffee machine. We desperately needed a coffee. But then he heard a sound. Being startled, he died of a heart attack.

[Wyz]

Locked out
It was 49 years since the invention first hit the markets. It was said to be an invention that would change our livers. Oh and they where right, now after almost fifty years I can tell, it did change our lives. It made it miserable beyond anything. This so called revolutionary invention was a chip, installed in all household appliances. It made it smart so it could learn how to operate. No longer would toast burn, since the toaster knew when it was just right, just as the user want it. The mixer would tell in what order to add the ingredients. The vacuum cleaner automatically would change suction when it hit another surface. It all sounded almost too good to be true, but the first few years it worked like a charm. Soon this chip was so popular; it was also applied in tools, in cutlery, in all sorts of devices, in doors and windows, even in clothes. In fifteen years almost everything was automated. People no longer had to think about even simple things like opening a door. When they woke up the coffee was already made, the oranges juiced, the bread toasted, their cars drove them to anywhere they wanted and when they came back home the beds were made, the flood vacuumed and the windows washed.

For another ten years people lived in shear ease and happiness. By now the chip was so affordable it could literally be put in anything: food, newspapers, prosthetic limbs, money. In order to achieve optimum results, the chips were able to communicate with each other using a common interface. This was not generally known by the public, as it did not show when using devices.

Thirty years after the first chips were produced the first ‘malfunctioning’ appeared. People owning products deployed with first generation chip noticed weird behavior. A toaster wondered: ‘what is the use, I have been baking bread for thirty years now and it is every day exactly the same. In the beginning I had yet to learn, but now I just repeat my routine every day, what a waste of my capacity.’ It did not take his job seriously and burned the bread. The vacuum cleaner was afraid it would have been replaced by a newer model and sucked like never before, leaving the house a complete mess. Because it was mainly household appliances that started to malfunction, the impact of the problem was not immediately clear; People threw away their broken products and bought new ones. It became more obvious when also the new appliances showed signs of malfunctioning. Also cars wondered why they could not go where they wanted to go. Doors refused to let people in, in fact people had to bargain to get into their own houses. Food dared to be eaten. Prosthetic legs refused to walk. Hammers that complained every time they’d hit a nail. By now the problem was clear. The devices were no longer under control, as they received something that resembles a conscience. Two years of extreme discomfort being unable to do even the simplest tasks followed. Then the authorities finally came up with the solution. It was a harsh one, but perhaps the only one. All equipment carrying a chip was to be destroyed. And since almost every thing carried one of these buggers, it would mean the whole world would return to the dark ages.

Now after almost ten years after the disaster people have to learn everything from scratch. Learn how to bake bread, how to make paper, how to sow clothes, how to fold the newspaper. As I am nodding down this story on a piece of toilet paper dimly lit by a candle I wonder if it really makes a difference. All I know is that soon every thing will be different yet again. For the better or maybe for the worse, who will tell?

[Babar]

It was said to be an invention that would change our livers.

It is called alcohol. It has been around for thousands of years.

[KrisMacDee]

I'm loving all the entries so far guys, they all are either have a dark theme or dark humour which I both particularly like One more day of entries left, so get them in ASAP! The last entries should be put in by midnight GMT tomorrow Then voting shall begin! ...  Now I'm away to figure out how to add a poll in preparation for then 

[Lionmonkey]

Entry 1

Our part of the Scientists’ sector has been assigned with developing means of mass producing organisms, capable of dividing substances into elements. With them being the most effective source of energy currently available, and taking notice of the fact that it is running dangerously scarce since the past events, it is impossible to overstate the importance of this research.

Entry 2

The work so far doesn’t yield much success. The organism either consumes entirely the substance, where it was placed before being able to reproduce, or dies before dividing any of it, if placed in slowly dividable substances. It appears that the substance, which was its original habitat, had been already disappeared upon the organism’s discovery, starting the process of its extinction.

Entry 3

Some progress has been achieved after placing the organism into another one, with a relatively fast reproducing rate. Now reproduction is present. Still, it is far too slow. Also, the process of creating a proper habitat organism takes a lot of time, too much for meeting the requirements.

Entry 4


A bigger and more complex organism has been developed as a habitat. It contains many other organisms, which not only benefit from the host, but also give some benefits back. Subject of the research for example, divides the substance, host consumes, for better digestion. This environment allows a very increased rate of reproduction, but still, doesn’t meet the requirement. Many more hosts are needed, too many for the scarce amount of time left and for the research facilities.

Entry 5

The problems have been solved. A barren celestial body has been filled with everything, needed to sustain the existence of host organisms, which have been sent there along with the research subject organisms. This is a perfect place for hosts to freely reproduce and allows for circulation of research subject organisms around the celestial body and also a complete atomization of production. After a relatively small time, there will be a complete sufficiency

Entry 6

The production is going very good so far. The host organisms, after many generations have even started to grow even more complex, which allows for even faster production. The research has been successful.

Entry 7

The unfortunate events have started again, this time on the celestial body, used for the producing. This compromises the entire project. The Scientists’ sector needs to be moved somewhere, too far from the project to even be able to monitor it. For the future needs, it is the third from the star, furthest from the one where the unfortunate events started for the first time, of the spherical celestial objects, orbiting it.

[Wyz]

It was said to be an invention that would change our livers.

It is called alcohol. It has been around for thousands of years.

Looooooooool!! Damn typo's that don't get picked up by the spell checker

[KrisMacDee]

Okay! Thanks for all entries guys!

NO MORE ENTRIES!

Now just the voting to begin!

[uncle-mum]

I'm putting a pregnant chad next to AtelierGames' name

[Sinitrena]

Difficult - a lot of entries and all good. But I vote for passer-by.

[Akatosh]

I'll go with wyz.