Great story, I will hate to get old one day, but we all must do it. Sci-fi is my favorite material to read. I’m a big fan of Andy Weir, Hugh Howie, Ernest Cline, and now you.
It is so nice to finally see the sci-fi piece on your page. It was a really great read and I had shivers in a few places. The topic of death and how one may face it is close to me and something I have written on before in The Walk. Sometimes a choice is the last thing someone may have in their lives and it requires a lot of bravery to make the choice. Thanks for sharing it.
My question: The irony of robots behaving like humans is a hot topic. It would be interesting to explore that irony through the story vs reading explicitly in the second sentence. The main character struggles with her attachment to her robot caregivers and can't take another robot/friend loss; how can the irony of her feelings develop through her actions in the story vs at the start?
Yes, I appreciate your insight. The beginning is a bit slow for me—and I wrote it! 😆 There’s more I could insert later but I’m super focused on WIP novel. Been enjoying the comments, though! Thank you for reading!
Yes, hello and thank you for subscribing! I read a science article about future caretaker robots, told my husband about my story synopsis, and his smile and tears in his eyes endorsed the writing.
Amazing piece of work just like the one who penned it.
I wish we could have done this for my dad when he asked but where he lived it was prohibited. I believe causing the suffering of others in those final days is a misuse of life. Life needs quality not quantity.
I am glad you approached the subject with such grace and love.
Thank you so much for your kind feedback and personal perspective. As a former healthcare professional, I witnessed atrocious treatments of sweet elderly residents from earlier shifts, and I reported and corrected what I could myself.
I want to see more compassionate trends in many facets of our lives. 💖Thank you for reading—I appreciate you!
I really enjoyed reading this, thanks for sharing! I love sci-fi (my main big writing project is in that genre) so I'm looking forward to reading more of your work!
Heartfelt... Perhaps in my old age, I will see this, or maybe next generation. Heck, people are talking to AI now for therapy and career guide and such.
The ending... I wouldn't say a twist, but a needle, a sting that make me think and reflect.
Excellently done. Warm and tender in all the right places, cold and corporate where need be. I got a little lost time wise in the beginning, somewhere between just getting delivered and 2 plus years together, but its a wonderful short story.
A facade is the front face of a house. It is static, so you don’t perform it but keep it in place. The verb doesn’t fit.
My honest opinion?
The medical suicide arc needs more of a ramp-up. It would be better if Brenda’s intent with Ellie was clear from the start and the emotions were an accidental development, because right now it is not clear how old Brenda is, whether she is actually suffering, or why the company is keeping her alive against her wishes.
There are several interesting beats and the ending is very emotional, but for me, it came without texting first.
Great story, I will hate to get old one day, but we all must do it. Sci-fi is my favorite material to read. I’m a big fan of Andy Weir, Hugh Howie, Ernest Cline, and now you.
It is so nice to finally see the sci-fi piece on your page. It was a really great read and I had shivers in a few places. The topic of death and how one may face it is close to me and something I have written on before in The Walk. Sometimes a choice is the last thing someone may have in their lives and it requires a lot of bravery to make the choice. Thanks for sharing it.
Thank you!!🫶
Cool story!
My question: The irony of robots behaving like humans is a hot topic. It would be interesting to explore that irony through the story vs reading explicitly in the second sentence. The main character struggles with her attachment to her robot caregivers and can't take another robot/friend loss; how can the irony of her feelings develop through her actions in the story vs at the start?
Yes, I appreciate your insight. The beginning is a bit slow for me—and I wrote it! 😆 There’s more I could insert later but I’m super focused on WIP novel. Been enjoying the comments, though! Thank you for reading!
Well written, imaginative story. So thought provoking as we are on the eve of having machines like these in our homes
Yes, hello and thank you for subscribing! I read a science article about future caretaker robots, told my husband about my story synopsis, and his smile and tears in his eyes endorsed the writing.
Wow 🤩 intense, powerful, heartbreaking 😭and heartwarming. 🥰I couldn’t stop reading 😍
I am deeply moved when readers share their emotional reactions to my writing. Thank you for subscribing, Brooke!💖🫶
Amazing piece of work just like the one who penned it.
I wish we could have done this for my dad when he asked but where he lived it was prohibited. I believe causing the suffering of others in those final days is a misuse of life. Life needs quality not quantity.
I am glad you approached the subject with such grace and love.
Thank you so much for your kind feedback and personal perspective. As a former healthcare professional, I witnessed atrocious treatments of sweet elderly residents from earlier shifts, and I reported and corrected what I could myself.
I want to see more compassionate trends in many facets of our lives. 💖Thank you for reading—I appreciate you!
Really interesting concept and loved how you explored the deeper topics in it, thanks for sharing!
Thank you! I read innovative science articles, and then often a story idea emerges. Thanks for reading this one! 🫶🪐🛸
I really enjoyed reading this, thanks for sharing! I love sci-fi (my main big writing project is in that genre) so I'm looking forward to reading more of your work!
Thank you, Dan! I look forward to reading your big story when it comes out!
Thanks! I’ll likely post a few WIP extracts on here at some point too, just to keep the articles flowing 😊
Really good.
Thank you! 🫶
I really enjoyed this. Using robots for elderly care is really interesting to think about.
It’s coming. 🫶
Heartfelt... Perhaps in my old age, I will see this, or maybe next generation. Heck, people are talking to AI now for therapy and career guide and such.
The ending... I wouldn't say a twist, but a needle, a sting that make me think and reflect.
Thank you for sharing.
Thank you! I thought about adding a twist at the end, but I stayed with a theme. Thanks for reading and giving me feedback.
A well-written, heartbreaking story. Loved how you described Ellie's arc and her transformation from tool to companion.
Great story!
->It was one more day of irony to play out the façade that a robot is just like a human.
Did you mean to write this? Because you maintain a facade, but you play out a farce.
Excellently done. Warm and tender in all the right places, cold and corporate where need be. I got a little lost time wise in the beginning, somewhere between just getting delivered and 2 plus years together, but its a wonderful short story.
Thank you. I may polish it up. I need to focus on my WIP. Learning from all critiques. That’s how we become better writers.
Interesting observation—thanks for reading! I used façade based on the definition: “an outward appearance used to conceal a different reality.”
I usually look up words when they come to me, but this time I did not second-guess myself.
What did you think of the story itself?
A facade is the front face of a house. It is static, so you don’t perform it but keep it in place. The verb doesn’t fit.
My honest opinion?
The medical suicide arc needs more of a ramp-up. It would be better if Brenda’s intent with Ellie was clear from the start and the emotions were an accidental development, because right now it is not clear how old Brenda is, whether she is actually suffering, or why the company is keeping her alive against her wishes.
There are several interesting beats and the ending is very emotional, but for me, it came without texting first.
Thank you. So many ways to go with this story, and I appreciate your input. I’m glad there was some emotion at the end for you.