
It was wrong, I know, but I was angry. I struck out, at a Master. My nail caught in his cheek, and a layer of skin sloughed off.
Underneath, not bone and blood, but levers and pinions.
I ran and ran.
In the dormitory, my workmates crowded round.
“The Masters,” I babbled. “They’re machines, not people.”
“Okay,” Slabbert said,” and so?”
“And so we have to do something.”
“What can we do? Better to concentrate on the things you can control. Like the choice between skinny latte and macchiato.”
Friday fictioneers is a weekly challenge set by Rochelle Wisoff Fields to write a 100-word story in response to a photo prompt. You can find other stories here
Different folk, different priorities!
Funny, but sad
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Thanks. Funny but sad was exactly what I was going for
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I got a Dr Who vibe… 😀
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Thanks Tannille
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Dear Neil,
Ripping good sci fi that has me wondering if Slabbert isn’t one of “them.”
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thanks, Rochelle. You can never tell who’s really who, even in today’s world
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And disaster will erupt because good boys do nothing. I love the name Slabbert. I know you’re not a fan, but to me it was pure Dickens.
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Thanks Jilly. I was quite pleased with Slabbert too.
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First things first, hey? Such a graphic scenario. Even the use of the word ‘dormitory’ lent a whole dystopian aspect to the piece.
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Sometimes all it takes is apathy. Thanks so much, Sandra
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Ever practical, Slabbert. I mean, really, which is more important? I vote macchiato 😉
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The rebellion may be a long time coming
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I think so. Seems that way in the here and now as well – people care more about their lattes than what is happening in the world.
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The right coffee is important…!
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Absolutely
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Machines are never far away – they make the coffee too!
Here’s my story!.
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And so much more
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There is that, isn’t there… the picking your battles thing. Right now, mine is with the pharmacy.
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Everything depends on the criteria you select
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It seems to me that the masters need to get thicker skin,
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Their construction is a tad shoddy
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Perhaps they did not realise how difficult students could be, I am glad that I am not a master
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What a wonderful story! You indict our whole consumerist culture in 100 words. Bloody brilliant, mate!
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Thanks, Penny. It’s not having choice that matters, it’s what you have choice over
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Them Masters need some skin adjustments … and I’m wondering if the workers are the ones who’d be tasked with creating it … 😉 As for the priorities – to each their own … 😉
Well done! I wanna know more about that world …
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Thanks so much. That world is now officially terminated.
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I’m okay with that. Sort of … I think … 😉
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I’m very intrigued by the mechanical masters, but right now I just have bigger things to worry about, like are they really going to do a winter series of Love Island?
Great story. 😉
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Thanks so much
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Do make the choice while you have time…. soon there won’t be anything else than tepid brown water pretending to be coffee
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Perhaps they’ll make the choice to have other choices, but I don’t think so
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Oy. Reducing the important things in life to coffee choices. Really good writing.
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Thanks so much, Linda
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I feel like this every time I talk about climate change in the U.S. And so…?
Interesting take in the prompt.
Tracey
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Thanks so much. Tracey. It was indeed a satire on the dumb stance in the face of the power
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That’s probably exactly how that scene would play out. “Remember your rights? Well, look over there.” “Ooh, a new cell phone.” “Ooh, TV.” “Ooh, coffee.”
“Keep you doped with religion and sex and TV,
and you think you’re so clever and classless and free,
but you’re still fucking peasants as far as I can see”
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Nice bright shiny
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That thing he struck out at didn’t have straw hair and orange skin did it? Great story, Neil.
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Thanks so much, Jade
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You’re welcome.
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Precursor of the future? I wonder.
Good one
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Thanks so much. Less a prediction than a warning, I hope
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Definitely funny but sad. Until the machines take over, let us drink coffee…
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Maybe the machines already have. The coffee’s good though
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Thank goodness for that
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It’s like “v” with Robots! Good take on the prompt
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Thanks so much
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Oooo I love the idea of robot teachers… they’d hear everything
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You saw the Masters as teachers? Interesting
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Well not very nice ones… lol
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Priorities differ. Choose the right friend to bring about a change. Story of our lives.
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Thanks for reading
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A possible near future, I can’t help thinking.
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Probably not in exactly this form, but the human behaviour I think may be accurate
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I wonder about the Masters myself. Well done.
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They’re everywhere. Thanks, Joshua
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I’m surprised he got away!
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It’s surely only temporary
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Yes, while I sipped my Americano and milk, I also wonder: Who gave the Masters the power?
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We did, of course. It’s always us
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I always wondered about my last boss… but not long enough to miss break time coffee and biscuits. Great story. Great message!
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Thanks so much
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I think Slabbert already knew and maybe found out the hard way to stick with what he had control over. A good cup of coffee. A brilliant piece of sci-fi with certain applications to life.
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Thanks so much, Brenda.
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With the last line, this sci-fi dystopic thriller becomes a sitcom. Sounds like a case of it being better to laugh than cry when nothing can be done to change a bad situation.
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In that comedy, I’d hope there might also be tragedy
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Yes, definitely.
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Good sci-fi, Neil. That academy must save a bundle on salaries. They just need to pay for repairs. Of course, these days that probably wouldn’t be cheap either. Well done, Neil. 🙂 — Suzanne
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Thanks so much, Suzanne. I’d intended it to be a factory not an academy
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Wow…so accepting…that’s what makes it scary!
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That is the really terrifying thing about dictatorships
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