Marco Etheridge (and, now, his son Liam) has a wonderfully twisted POV in his writing. He also knows how to twerk an Edito’s nose, so to speak. You can deride any sort of premise in front of him and we will find a way to turn it into a winner.
Such it went after AI, as a center for a story, was slammed in a weekly wrap. Marco came up with Created Image, a brilliantly funny thing that spawned an entire AI Week. The description of the sitting mad scientist from behind is priceless.
We have invited the author to share his thoughts on this work MARCO:
Several years ago now, in one of the Literally Stories Saturday wrapups, esteemed editor Hugh Cron waxed eloquent on story themes which would lead to an instant rejection. I am forced to paraphrase, but I believe Hugh wrote something along the lines of: We will never accept an AI story about a green-eyed robot falling in love with its chiseled torso creator who is tuned into its feelings. Most certainly not if the characters (robot and chiseled torso dude) ride into the sunset on a unicorn. Naturally, I was forced to accept this obvious challenge. The result became the short story “Created Image.” The story was duly submitted, Hugh gracefully conceeded defeat, I gloated, and the story was published. Yay Team!
Now, I am very pleased and honoured to have “Created Image” selected as a Sunday Rerun. I do hope you enjoy it. As an aside, I would mention that the section dividers in the story are written in binary code. There is a secret message contained therein for those willing to decode it.
I offer my grateful thanks to everyone at Literally Stories, both for publishing “Created Image,” and for their continued support for my work since 2019.
Marco Etheridge
Vienna, Austria
literally stories 
Marco,
Knowing about the initial prohibition of the theme made it double into itself and twice the fun to read. Thanks! — gerry
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Hi Marco
And a secret message? That is going the extra byte!
You truly made something fine out of a “dare.” The descriptions and thoughts are just as funny and cutting as before.
Leila
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Marco
The story about how this story became a story is just as good as the story itself and the story itself does justice to its own origin story, all of which means there is much fine wit, imagination, and humor involved in all of the above.
The topic of AI is grotesquely overdone right now but on the other hand I don’t believe AI is going anywhere at the moment unless the human world bombs itself into oblivion or unless a meteor from outer space does the job instead (hurled from the hand of God) (or possibly a couple of volcanoes), so this is a topic that can’t be ignored.
The best course, therefore, is to not ignore the topic but find ways to write about it that are original, skeptical, and challenging at least as much as celebrating or more so, which is what Kurt Vonnegut, Mark Twain and Ray Bradbury would’ve done if they were here (I do believe). (And Philip K. Dick wrote all sorts of things about AI decades before it existed.)
And you’ve met that challenge admirably well in this piece, and in the story about this piece.
One can know a good story when the story itself has stories about it – said Nabokov. (A quote I made up but it sounds like something he would say.)
Thanks!
Dale, aka The Drifter
PS,
Leila’s stories about Quillemender’s are fine examples of what I mean. These are about much more than AI but some of the weirdness of AI is also folded into the world/s evoked, thereby dealing with it. (It’s only one strand of these tales but crucial, too.)
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I’d forgotten how weird, surreal — and wonderful— this was. Great rerun!
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Hi Marco,
Thanks for reminding me of my failings as an impossible prompter!!!
…But I will admit, I’m up against the very best!
…However, I may one of these days try again!!!!!!!!!!!
Joking aside – It was brilliant to see this up once again. I always state that Dave and Leila have two of the best imaginations on the site, but with what you can do with theme, I will happily add you to those two names!!
All the very best my fine friend.
Hugh
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