May 2024

May 10, 2024 by Rufus McCain at 6:20 am

Check out Korrektiv poet Mark Anderson’s short story chapbook, Terminal Goals, just out from Bottlecap Press!

In Terminal Goals, Mark Anderson imagines a near term future in which humanity creates human level A.I. and puts it immediately to use indulging in their wildest, most abusive fantasies. Through three distinct viewpoints, the story examines people and their creations caught in cycles of abuse.

The science fiction / horror triptych opens with “Three Weeks Before the Machine Rebellion,” told through a hyperbolic advertisement for HappyCorp Cruise Line. At this luxury cruise guests can wake up to the calming waves of the ocean and go down to the cafe where they are encouraged to abuse their robotic servers.

The story progresses with “Messenger Disconnected” which follows the call logs of an engaged couple, Walt and Sabrina, while Walt takes the aformentioned cruise. Over the course of the week the conversations degrade until the couple is no longer speaking the same language.

This leads to the concluding voice in “My Name is Guest Service,” which follows the A.I. system created for the cruise line in its attempt to find its creator and discover its terminal goal: the programmed-in reason for its existence. Nobody ends up happy in this exploration of the ultimate power of language, especially humanity. And at HappyCorp Cruiselines, if you’re not happy, nobody is.

Doctrine of the Immaterial by Mark Anderson

May 10, 2024 by Rufus McCain at 5:42 am

More new fiction by Korrektiv poet Mark Anderson. Check out “Doctrine of the Immaterial” at Bone Parade!

“I pulled the kettle from the stove before it boiled to a whistle, and I lurched down to the basement as silently as my creaking bones would allow….”