Avonna

by Nathan M. Beauchamp, N.J. Tanger

Avonna just tried to commit suicide. But Avonna's not real—she's a low-AI, created as the android face of a shampoo brand. The video of her suicide attempt has gone viral, creating a massive headache for Lewis, the corporate salesman and fixer assigned to deal with the situation.

This isn't the first time Lewis has dealt with the mess left by a Corporate Person. The last one thought she was in love. With him. But something about this situation feels different. With time running out and the higher-ups at his company watching his every move, Lewis must decide whether or not to have Avonna "decomped." An untenable choice that starts to look an awful lot like life or death ...

From the story:

I’d seen the video that morning as I spooned soggy cereal into my mouth. Shot on Avonna’s cell, she struts into a spacious bedroom wearing a pink bra and panties, hair damp from the shower. She stands in front of the mirror and powers on the blow dryer. Her eyes widen and she leans towards the mirror. A slight tremor runs through her. She blinks and her face resets to its usual confidence. She draws a comb through the satin sheen of her brown hair—back on script for the fourth installment of the Hair Diary campaign Lotus created for Avonna beauty products. Her movements are herky-jerky, almost spastic. Another tremor runs through her. She stares into the mirror, confused.

Shot in super-definition, the bedroom lighting carefully designed to show off her curves (and of course her glistening hair), Avonna sets the dryer to maximum and places it directly against her abdomen. Her synthetic skin begins to melt, revealing the ductworks beneath. She tilts her head, smiling, her hair falling to the side. Oily smoke rises from the blackened place below her rib cage.

“So smooth,” she says.

27 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 22, 2015

About the author

Nathan M. Beauchamp started writing stories at nine-years-old and never stopped. From his first grisly tales about carnivorous catfish, mole detectives, and cyborg housecats, his interests have always delved into strange waters. Nathan is an academic mercenary (Adjunct Professor of English), and earns paltry sums in exchange for warping young minds. His hobbies include photography, reading, arguing for sport, pondering the eventual heat death of the universe, and sarcasm. He has published many short stories in magazines and anthologies and holds an MFA in creative writing from Western State Colorado University. Nathan co-created the award winning YA science fiction series Universe Eventual where he writes under the pseudonym N.J. Tanger (www.njtanger.com).

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decades ago Mr. Asimov bequeathed is the three laws of robotics. You can hear some echoes of that theory in this story, but there's nothing unoriginal about this terrific story. Expertly crafted and well worth reading. In many ways, it feels more like a pulp-era science fiction story than anything else.