The Ex

by Robert North

Every problem has a solution - that was the President’s election ticket. And when the Next Big Thing is a pill that “cures” violence, he’s got the voters’ attention. But when Jon Gage - a smart guy trying to leave behind a criminal background - discovers that the pills killed his girlfriend, the President, now seeking re-election, has a different sort of problem. The solution? A beautiful robot called Estelle, detailed to distract a bitter, unforgiving Jon, and collect the information that’ll put him away for good. But Jon knows how to exploit a flaw in Estelle’s software - and soon enough he’s got her on his side. What he doesn’t expect is that Estelle has problems of her own… and she sees Jon Gage as the man to solve them.

THE EX is a short story that later formed part of the novel Problems and Solutions, the first book in a sci-fi-meets-crime saga, set in a world where the government always knows best and people keep on taking the pills.

In THE EX, all Jon Gage wants to do is spend the weekend alone with Estelle, after she finally convinced him that she wasn’t a spy, reporting his every move. He has serious money for the first time in his life, and intends to use it to leave his old life, and the past, behind. But then a visit by a friend, keen to reconnect, wrecks his plans. Before Jon knows it, they’re heading out of town to deal with a troublesome ex. Problems, solutions - it’s just another day in Jon’s life.

34 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 18, 2012

About the author

Robert North has lived and worked both in the UK, and then the United States, for much of the last decade. He has written two sci-fi novels featuring Jon Gage, and is currently writing the third.