“Esteemed colleagues, we have a problem: data centres consume vast quantities of energy. allow me to demonstrate the answer.”
A hush fell like snow on the room.
He continued, “I give you Cerebronic.”
A bank of lights flicked on behind him.
“Cerebronic is biological. We built it of nerve cells instead of energy-hungry microchips. The thing runs on thirty watts—our contribution to solving the climate crisis.”
The lights flashed on and off in a seemingly patterned way.
One audience member shouted. “That’s Morse code. I think it read, ‘Welcome to the next crisis’.”
.
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
Neil MacDonald Author 
Neil – what a great piece of flash- you manage to establish a setting, introduce a high-concept sci-fi premise, build tension and deliver a chilling punchline in 100 words! It reads like a classic from the The Twilight Zone 🙌
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Thanks so much. The march towards the denoument had to be more rushed than I would have done wiht 3,000 words
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😅 sometimes less is more!
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Thanks
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I think we are already there!
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Not quite, but we need to think about it now
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Time to relearn morse code so we can advance to the next level of computing.
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Or perhaps just run
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That never works in the movies.
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