by A. Merc Rustad
I really liked this one too, although it made me feel troubled and sad. But the ending is hopeful. The main character, Tesla, doesn\’t quite fit in with the norm- can\’t always figure out how to make human connections work, uses rational thinking and list-making. Tesla has a pretend boyfriend, and has fallen in love with a robot- in fact, Tesla wishes to actually become a robot. The robot in question is outdated and going to be scrapped for parts, but perhaps it is fixable. Tesla decides that as transforming into a robot seems impossible, and fixing up the robot proving very difficult, it might be easier just not to be alive. Thankfully Tesla has friends around, and the fake-boyfriend\’s new real boyfriend proves to be very understanding as well. Much as this story tugged at my heartstrings, I wished for more (usually the case when I find good short stories). Why isn\’t it longer? I would have gladly read a whole novel of this.
Also found via Jenny\’s Reading the End blog, read it on Lightspeed.
Rating: 4/5 Sept 2018