I have been subscribed to Clarkesworld for forever and I have only ever actually read a few stories on there, all of which have been phenomenal, including what is almost certainly my favourite sci-fi and short story of all time [Helicopter Story] by Isabel Fall, and this is no exception! What it is is a reminder to check out more new stories and try to get out of the AuDHD, gamified, subconscious second-guessing about whether or not a story may or may not have an entry on here, as if that means anything!

In a world where algorithms and things we call 'AI' that have phenomenal potential to do good, but are almost entirely used for nefarious, lazy, ugly, and exploitative capitalistic; anti-human, pro-profit, ends, a story like this is a tough sell, but the writing is so charming and the narrative is so elegantly told that I absolutely loved it and absolutely need to read more of this intriguing author.

Kate Baker's narration for the Clarkesworld podcast version of this story only adds the the richness and delightful wonder of this tale: https://youtu.be/w22JFN2Ivy4?si=3hVFpJ1_bZGCDehn