Plot:
The narrator has a new boyfriend, which is charming. Complicating things, however, is that the boyfriend is “a planet-devouring cloud of nanobots the size of Jupiter.”
Since the people of earth will soon fire a rocket into the beloved’s heart, some decisions have to be made.
Thoughts:
An aura of surrealism permeates this odd little tale. The narrator refers to the conglomeration of nanobots as “beloved.” The beloved calls itself Destroyer of Worlds and Rightful Heir to the Oblivion, so she knows she can’t expect white picket fences. She also knows that human beings, usually a contentious lot, tend to band together against a common threat.
“I told you so,” she tells the beloved.
The mood is almost comical. Will the beloved be destroyed? Will they (the pronoun the story uses for the beloved) destroy the earth? Why aren’t they taking either of these rather weighty options seriously? Are they just too busy having sex to care?
I enjoyed this short piece.
Bio:
According to her blurb, author T. R. Siebert is a speculative fiction writer from Germany. Her short fiction has been published in Flash Fiction Online and Escape Pod. When she’s not busy writing, she can be found attempting to grow vegetables on her balcony or looking at pictures of cute dogs. Tweet at her @TR_Siebert.
The story can be read here.
Title: “Beloved”
Author: T. R. Siebert
First published: November 30, 2020, Daily Science Fiction
Reviews of Old and New Stories. Mostly Old 