Short story- Outsourced

Tom got the notice by e-mail that he was being replaced by one of the new artificial intelligence workers and that his last duty as an employee of Terracon industries would be to train his replacement. 

Tom knew that he wasn't the only one being replaced by a machine, but it still hurt. Ten years he had given the company and now he was being discarded for something that didn't need to pay a mortgage or feed its children.

Later in the morning, his still human supervisor brought down his replacement. The machine held out its hand "I am w-43"  The voice emanating from the machine was almost human-sounding. Tom ignored the hand and wondered why they bothered to program human customs into a robot.

Tom looked closely at his replacement. "Are you supposed to be a male or a female" he asked the device. "My designer gave me an androgynous appearance so that I could function in a variety of positions." the machine answered.

Tome was not in the least surprised that w-43 understood his duties much faster than he ever did. By the end of the week, Tom's replacement had learned everything necessary to perform his job. "You are a good teacher" the machine commented. "Are you programmed to care too?" Tom asked The machines face looked puzzled. "I'm not sure what you mean."  "When I go to work, I care about doing a good job so the company will do well and I can continue to support my family with my wages." The machine nodded in understanding. "Yes, a concern for doing quality work has been inserted into my central processor"

 What Tom had considered to be the last human advantage had already been taken away in a lab somewhere.

Book Review- "The Creek" by Jennifer L. Holm.

 The young adult novel "The Creek" by Jennifer L. Holm  is the dark side of suburbia through the eyes of thirteen year old Penny Carson.

Bad boy Caleb Devlin is back after a stay in juvenile hall and suddenly awful things start happening in the neighborhood including murder. Penny and her friends are convinced that Caleb is behind the crimes, but everyone has a secret on Mockingbird Lane including Penny.

Unlike most young teen heroines, Penny has a sinister side. (at one point, she attempts to cut the brake lines of Caleb's car.)  Penny also develops a wild attraction to the older Caleb.

The Creek may be a little tame compared to some of the popular media aimed at teens, but elements of the novel are more adult than adolescent.

 

The Fisherman

With his home-made pole, The Fisherman seemed slightly out of place among the expensive fiberglass poles that most of the other anglers held at the dock. Still The Fisherman's bucket was usually full of fish. This was a man who knew what he was doing.

 In my early teens, I developed an obsession with fishing and I would often ride my bike down to Dash Point to try my luck off the dock. The Fisherman was usually there when I arrived, his wooden pole dangling over the railing. Sometimes, I would choose a place close by so I could watch him at his craft. 

The Fisherman was old and appeared to be from the south Pacific region. I suspected that for him fishing was a part of life rather than a hobby like it was for me. At that time, I was only beginning to understand that being successful at getting food is a matter of survival for many people.

A couple of years later, I began to drive and the dock and other places were left behind. But I still think about The Fisherman and the lessons I learned from him. 

     
                   Craig  Zimmerman