The Future Collection

by Beth Revis

DOCTOR-PATIENT CONFIDENTIALITY: A young woman wakes up in a cryomed ward of a hospital. As she recalls what led to her confinement, she starts to realize just what the consequences of her actions were, and how much time has passed since she was injured.

THE MOST PRECIOUS MEMORY: In a world where memories can be bought and sold as highly addictive drugs, one transaction takes an unusual turn. *Note*: this story was previously published in the Soothe The Savage Beast anthology.

THE GIRL AND THE MACHINE: A man has limited abilities to travel through time, but a cute girl pops up in his life, informing him that her time machine can open the door to far greater powers. But there's something ominous about it... *Note*: This story is available as an individual short in Amazon.

LAG: A reporter had been chasing down a lead...but after a malfunction in the teleporter she used, she's forgotten what the lead was. Now she's searching for clues in her own life to discover what it was she's missing.

THE TURING TEST: A college student participates in a turing test to see if she can distinguish which of the two subjects is human and which is an android. *Note:* A version of this story is a part of the Special Edition of THE BODY ELECTRIC novel and was previously published in Lightspeed Magazine.

MALFUNCTION: A young woman signs up for a position as a malfunction watcher on a portal station overseeing the droids and drones terraforming a moon for a colony. The job is scheduled for ten months. At the start of the fourth month, she finds out that she's pregnant.

AS THEY SLIP AWAY: A group of artists on a generation space ship that reviles art is given a unique assignment, one that draws one young lady far too close to a possessive man protected by the ship's government. *Note:* This short story is available free online and is linked to the ACROSS THE UNIVERSE world.

Also included in this collection are end notes, describing the inspiration behind each short story and hidden clues and allusions to sci fi classics.

Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult, Time Travel, Short Stories, Fiction, Ebooks, Anthologies

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 13, 2015

About the author

Beth Revis writes books. She also eats too much chocolate, wishes she could travel more, and prefers puppies to people. Beth lives in rural NC with her boys: one husband, one son, two very large puppies.

Reviews

[Amber (Cosying Up With Books) · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE FUTURE COLLECTION is a compilation of 5 short stories, each with some sort of nod to sci-fi. I generally don't read short stories as I like to hear the whole story. Each of these shorts had a somewhat twist of an ending, some left me wanting a whole book and others I was happy to leave be. The former is the reason I don't really read short stories; if it's well written and in a genre I like then I'm going to want more and I'm going to obsess over what could have happened after the cut off. But I digress; For those reasons above I never review stories like this but I really really enjoyed these! More than I thought I would actually so I'm going to do a small review for each.

DOCTOR-PATIENT CONFIDENTIALITY
This was one of the shortest stories in the collection but I was invested pretty quickly. I love stories about earth so far in the future that anything seems possible. I like seeing what authors have kept the same, what they think is timeless, what they think could happen in a new century. Beth Revis did a good job of pulling me in and I liked learning little snippets of the new world from the characters. The whole situation was very predictable though, especially the ending which is why I'm rating this 3.5 stars instead of a solid 4.

★★★½

THE MOST PRECIOUS MEMORY
I really enjoyed this story even though it was the shortest in the whole collection. I would love a whole book about this, I've never read anything like it, memories used like drugs. It was a little creepy and a whole lot intriguing and that's the perfect balance in my opinion! Beth *waves* I wouldn't be opposed to a whole book. ;)

★★★★★

THE GIRL AND THE MACHINE
Now this one was my favourite. Not just my favourite story from this collection but my favourite short ever. I honestly wanted to applaud the female MC at the end and never have I been more proud. At first I wasn't interested much because the time travel genre, for me, can be a hit or miss. There is generally no in between and unfortunately it's usually a miss. Time travel is too dense of a subject and it's too easy for mistakes to be made and overlooked. I read this one anyways because what the hell? It's just a short story. So, as I said, at first I was skeptical, then I was a little confused because some things didn't add up to the story I had already made in my head (back when I thought it was a typical time-travel short) and then I was annoyed. Confused and annoyed which isn't the best combo. By the end I'm pretty sure my jaw was on the floor and I felt the overwhelming urge to slow clap. Love, love, love this short story and I went on a little rant in my facebook group (The Book Owls) telling them all that if they were to read one short story in their lives let it be this one.

★★★★★(★)

LAG
This one was my least favourite. I did enjoy the general story, don't get me wrong. Beth Revis's writing is really good. I just didn't do well with the imagery created, it was pretty gross. It was also the story with the least substance so there wasn't much to invest myself in or judge.

★★

THE TURING TEST
Ah I love stories like this. Ones where I'm kept guessing until the end. I did guess the turn-out but barely before the reveal so I can't take much credit for that. I can't find much to say about this one though - It was good. Not my favourite but not my least favourite.

★★★½

AS THEY SLIP AWAY
I have yet to read Beth's ACROSS THE UNIVERSE series but I do have the first book. I will definitely be reading it now though because I am beyond curious. The world on board Godspeed is pretty complex and I know I only got to see a small portion of it in this short. This was my second favourite from this collection, it was also the longest. I feel like I got played a little bit... But it's hard to explain why without spoilers. Gah. I felt so many feelings. I felt pity and intrigue then happiness and then BAM, I was creeped out to the max and anxious. If you're a fan of the ACROSS THE UNIVERSE series then definitely read this. If I understand correctly, it intertwines with the first book in a couple of parts. I have a feeling this may have spoiled parts of ATU for me but I'm going to have to deal with that because I am definitely bumping it up my TBR. I'll probably actually read it next! It may not be as tied in as I think it is but hey, wont know until I read it.

★★★★½

Overall, I'm giving this collection 5 stars because I liked all the stories, some more than others, but they were all really interesting.

[Becs · Rating 2 out of 5]

The future collection consists of six short stories, each with a science fiction component and an unexpected twist or atypical take on commonly explored themes. Some of the stories were stronger than others, but none really resonated with me – they all felt like great ideas Revis might have scribbled down for future ideas, none given enough time to feel like they really work. A brief breakdown of each of the stories and their main concept will show you what I mean:

1. Doctor-Patient Confidentiality: Cryogenically freezing loved ones to fix mistakes you made. The idea was good and the ending was unexpected but the characters aren’t developed enough for the reader to really feel the impact of the reveal.

2. The Most Previous Memory: A black market approach to buying and selling memories. Again the reveal falls short because of lacking character development, but within the confines of the limited page count, using memories as a form of high or drug and the consequence of this were interesting to explore.

3. The Girl and the Machine: Time travelling as a means of enacting revenge. The characters are much better developed in this novella and the way in which the story unfolds is realistic and enjoyable. Unfortunately it unfolds so quickly that it feels like a rushed reveal.

4. Lag: The complications of teleportation devices. This novella felt unfinished – teleportation devices and how they work were poorly explored with little explanation as to the complications of teleportation and how it caused the protagonist to forget weeks of her life.

5. The Turing Test: Can humans really identify artificial Intelligence from other humans? This was the best of the six novellas, considering Alan Turing’s work with artificial intelligence, questioning our ability to differentiate between what we’ve been told is true and what we really know to be true, whilst pulling on well-known themes by science fiction writer Philip K Dick.

6. As They Slip Away: Book #2.5 from the Across the Universe series and a look at Selene and Luthor, characters influencing the history leading up to Amy and Elder’s story. Luthor is a deplorable character who systematically destroys his love interest, who later loses her mind deliberately to escape the trauma.

Ultimately the collection, whilst having multiple interesting concepts, felt more like the scribblings of an author (quite literally, given the number of errors missed by editing) desperately trying to capture her best ideas ready for future development. None of them felt strong enough to stand alone as a novella, and as a result the desired impact of the story was almost completely lost.

[Nadine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Colour me impressed!
Beth Revis delivers fantastically crafted science fiction stories in very few pages. Each story gives enough information to capture the readers' attention and to understand the present situation. Each story made me wish they were part of a full length novel. Revis' writing style is clean and precise and her ability to craft a comprehensive world in a few pages is truly impressive. I will always read whatever she writes.

Short story rating break down:
Doctor-Patient Confidentiality - 5 Stars
The Most Precious Memory - 4 Stars
The Girl and the Machine - 5 Stars (Did not expect the ending!)
Lag - 5 Stars (So good!)
The Turning Test - 5 Stars (So good!)
As They Slip Away - 5 Stars (Novella attached to the Across the Universe trilogy)

[Andria Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This anthology of science fiction short stories is heartbreaking and haunting and some of these are going to stick with me for a while.

[kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

7.5/10 (3.5/5--> 3/5 on the Goodreads stars)

1- Doctor-Patient Confidentiality: This one was just alright. As I was reading, I was intrigued and curious about what was going on, but it was incredibly short (or at least it felt shorter than the others) and I felt like the 'twist' at the end was pretty expected. Just average.

2- The Most Precious Memory: This one was really interesting, and I really enjoyed it. I think that the ability that the main character has in this story is really cool, and I would love to see a full novel exploring this world and the ability that these people have. However, given the nature of the ability, I'm not exactly sure how that would work. Either way, this was a really cool one.

3- The Girl & the Machine: Although this one wasn't super unpredictable, I did find it really intriguing and thought that it was an interesting commentary on the topic that it addressed. I did kind of catch on to what was going to happen pretty early on, but didn't discover WHY until just before the twist was revealed, so it was nice that the suspense was still somewhat there. Overall, a pretty solid story.

4- Lag: I think that I would have been more impressed by this novella if I'd read it before reading The Body Electric, because some of the ideas in here were placed into TBE. That being said, please DO NOT read this novella before reading The Body Electric, because that is a great book, and I think it would be a travesty to have a major plot point of the book be spoiled by a novella that I deem as just "good." That being said, this was an interesting one, and it did take me a little while to catch on to the elements that were also used in TBE.

5- The Turing Test: I think that this one might be my favorite novella in the entire book, just because of the fact that I didn't see the ending coming. If I remember correctly, it's also one of the shorter novellas, which is especially surprising. Overall, really intriguing and kept me guessing.

6- As They Slip Away: This is a novella related to Revis's Across The Universe trilogy. I would recommend at least reading book 1 of the trilogy before you read this. It does take place before the main plot of the trilogy, but it would confuse you and spoil some stuff from book 1. Anyway, I thought this one was interesting. I just wish it was about something else. It focused on some minor characters- one that I like, one that I hate, and many that I don't care about. And there are so many interesting things that could go on within the ship other than what happened in this novella. HOWEVER, I can't just sit here and fantasize about what she could have written. This is what she wrote, and overall, I liked it. Not bad, not outstanding, but I liked it.

[Lin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, there were a couple of stories I really enjoyed, mainly "Doctor-Patient Confidentiality" and "The Girl and the Machine." I liked the idea behind "Malfunction," and "Lag" had an interesting premise, but I sort of hated that the characters were "futuristic Japanese citizens" because that's so... cliché? It didn't feel authentic. I appreciated the "What if?" aspects here and the fact that these stories really just exist in their respective pockets.

I did not get or understand the last story, however, despite reading the entire Across the Universe series? For me, that was the weakest of the batch. Still, I enjoyed the overall reading experience of this anthology.

[Princess Godoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this from the author herself from the YA Spring Fling

This is an amazing read because for someone who loves the Across the Universe series, I have high expectations for Beth Revis other works and some of the short stories here are really amazing. Unlike other author, Beth explore other possibilities and doesn't stick to her usual Across the Universe's world, she made different setting and story that are enjoyable.

She is really an amazing author who are underrated and deserves more fame.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The six short stories within The Future Collection by Beth Revis explore questions of “what if” through the presentation and development of future versions of the world and answering the question as the stories progress, all of which feature aspects of advanced technologies mixed with baser, familiar human behaviors serving as a driving force behind the developments, both technological and narrative.

To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.

Throughout the six short sci-fi stories in the collection themes of love, revenge, corruption, memories, and reaching new technological heights are explored in ways that foster deeper thought on these concepts, as well as how the stories could also be applicable in contemporary circumstances as sci-fi generally offers commentary on. There’s going to be variability of resonation in a collection of stories, with some stronger than others, and this collection is no outlier in that regard; though all the stories had their moments of intrigue and strengths in capturing attention and driving continued interest, there were a couple that remain front of mind, including “The Turing Test”, which is a strong and intriguing story, with even greater relevance today as generative AI technologies are more pervasive and advancing quickly, with an overt yet entertaining homage to Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, and “The Most Precious Memory” that details an instance of two men selling and eating memories, with the most precious memory revealing just who they are to one another and what’s at stake in retaining this valuable memory as a vestige of humanity.

Overall, I’d give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

[Elizaveta Ostapenko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most stories from this short story collection by Beth Revis are based on classic sci-fi ideas - teleportation, time travel, AI, etc. However all stories have an interesting twist to the idea. I liked all stories, despite some of them being quite predictable for me. My favorite stories are "The Turing Test" and "Lag".

[Thuong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good book. Surprisingly super easy to read and get into. My favorite story was “The Most Precious Memory.”

“Lag” was good but god was it annoying that this white author wrote about a Japanese character and made her think “this baka” 💀 girl what. That was so unnecessary..

[Bea · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Frida · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Future Collection is a collection of novellas, containing four new and two already published novellas. All of the novellas are set in the future, but apart from that they’re very different and contain many current topics and parallels to the world today. I like every one of them very much and Beth Revis really shows what an amazing author she is. I just want to read more and more and more. Definitely going to read her other works!

Doctor-Patient Confidentiality

The first novella is about a girl who wakes up in a cryomed unit and she’s trying to remember what has happened and why she’s there. The novella is skillfully written and I like it, but compared with the others, it’s my least favorite. I manage to figure out the twist in advance and it was quite uneventful.

The Most Precious Memory

This was one of my favorites! The novella is set in a future where people use memories as drugs. First they drain themselves of memories and when their own memories are gone, they buy other people’s memories to devour. Very interesting and thought-provoking concept, but also super scary.

The Girl & the Machine

My favorite! It’s difficult to say anything without spoiling the twist at the end, which would totally ruining everything, but I can say this: Beth Revis explores entire new (for me at least) perspectives in this time-travel novella. It’s unexpected, thought-provoking and extremely emotional. You’ll understand when you read it.

Lag

The main character in this novella is a reporter who has found the story of a lifetime, but after a malfunctioning teleportation she loses her memory and we get to follow her as she trying to regain it. I still don’t know what I think about this novella. It’s a bit more complex than the others and it ended quite abruptly. It’s an interesting concept, and I like the setup, but I’m not sure I understood everything. A re-read would probably be a good idea.

The Turning Test

This novella has been published before and I have already read it, but it was just as good this time, exxcept from the fact that the big twist wasn’t very surprising the second time around. The main character is a college student who is participating in a sort of test and has to determine which of the test subject is human and which is an android. It’s an interesting concept, it’s thought-provoking and incredibly well written.

As They Slip Away

In this novella we follow one of the character’s from the ”Across the Universe”-series, but you don’t have to have read that series. I have not read it, but I still really liked this novella. It has a darker tone than the others and it’s very emotional. It brings up current themes and the emotions are really whirling like a storm while reading. You get both angry and sad and everything in between. After “The Girl & the Machine” this one’s my favorite!

[Rayna · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 stars

Each short story left me feeling like I got punched sin the gut. They each held their own unique characters and story and each one had enough mystery to keep you wondering whether or not what was happening was actually taking place.

The first short story, Doctor-Patient Confidentiality, told of a girl who wakes from hyper-sleep to discover she had come close to death and that she had been brought back again. Many years have passed and she's unsure of where she is, but it mostly deals with her inner struggle of the past. And then you discover who the doctor is and then it hits you in the feels.

The second story, The Most Precious Memory, is about a world in which you can sell your memories for money, and then you can drink those memories and get a high. The main protagonist doesn't know his name after having drank all of his memories or given them away for money until someone offers him to give him the most precious memory. And then it continues and you learn more about the character and he tries to hold onto that memory. Again: right in the feels.

The third story, The Girl & the Machine, is about a teen boy who can time travel, but only within an immediate time frame. He meets this girl who knows him somehow from the future and the two then go to change the future. Well, things get kind of dark, and the subject matter turns to rape, and things are just... Heated.

The fourth story, Lag, is about teleportation and how a woman has lost two weeks of memory from her last travels. As a reporter, she uncovers why and how that was even possible, and she learns that she isn't exactly what she thought she was. This one was kind of intense.

The fifth story, The Turing Test, is about a girl who has to figure out if the two machines she's talking to are either human or artificial intelligence - AI. As she talks to them and makes her choice, it is then discovered just who the AI is. It was a surprise to me and I really enjoyed this short story the most. Well, it was my second favorite after the memory one.

The sixth and final short story, As They Slip Away, is about a group of teens who are all at the Hospital and they are all deemed crazy. Each one has a unique ability, but not necessarily for the good of the ship. As they break into partnerships, it really becomes clear just how creepy one kid is, how one girl decides to give it up and become nothing more than someone who chases rabbits, and how the others try to help her, but can't. This one was kind of the creepiest and most frustrating, but definitely interesting.

There were several typos I noticed through the collection, but the stories and plots themselves were unique and different, each situation leading somewhere I didn't see coming. I highly recommend it if you're looking for a quick and fun sci-fi fix.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed 'The Future Collection' from start to finish and I looked forward to reading it because I enjoyed the 'Across the Universe' series so much.

'The Future Collection' definitely packs a punch, all of the stories are well written and full of potential to become novels.

My favourite stories were 'Doctor-Patient Confidentiality', The Girl and the Machine' (I love how it ended) and 'As They Slip Away' which is a story from the 'Across the Universe' world and its the story of Bartie, Victria, Kayleigh, Harley, Luthor (Luthe), Orion, Doc and Selene. Selene was 'the rabbit girl' who meets Amy in 'Across the Universe'. 'As They Slip Away' is a sad story, Selene never gets a chance of happiness and you want her to have happiness. I also enjoyed being back on Godspeed. The story highlights as it did in 'Across the Universe', the struggle of living in a enclosed place, people are seen for their skills, not as people which does not help Selene when she needs help.

This is a great collection of stories.

The only downside of the book is that I wished the stories were longer.

There is also a excerpt from 'The Body Electric'which I am planning to read.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This reads like the book version of Black Mirror, and like Black Mirror, the stories are a mixed bag. A few are wonderful and a few are just okay.

My personal favorites are The Girl & The Machine and The Turing Test, but I also really enjoyed The Most Precious Memory and The Lag.

The Turing Test was a great read even if you figured out the twist from the beginning as I did. Astute readers should figure it out from the names. The doctor's name is Richard K. Philip (as in Philip K. Dick) and later on we find out that one of the subjects is named Deckard (as in Bladerunner). Ms. Revis is not trying to be subtle.

I didn't enjoy Doctor Patient Confidentiality or As They Slip Away as much. The latter was probably due to the fact that, while I loved the Across the Universe series, I didn't feel the need to know more about Selene.

Overall, the collection is a really quick read and there is bound to be something for every sci-fi, futurist fan.

[Gennifer Eccles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a good collection! I really loved some of the stories, but they were all much darker than I anticipated. I could have read this in one day, the collection is short, but I wanted to draw it out and I'm glad I did! All the stories are unique and yet still have a common underlying theme of a twisted future in them. If you're looking for some thought provoking short stories, these are the ones for you. My least favorite would be The Turning Test and my favorite would be As They Slip Away . The latter is part of the Across the Universe world, so if you want to know some more about minor characters from there, you'll definitely enjoy it. This collection was worth the small price of 2.99 on my Nook and I encourage anyone to read it if you're into dark sci-fi reads! I now really, really want to read The Body Electric, the only novel I haven't read of hers.

[Caitlin Ford · Rating 4 out of 5]

I averaged out my individual ratings and the book as a whole turned out to be like a 4.17....SO....

Doctor-Patient Confidentiality: 3.5. This was an interesting little story, but a little predictable.

The Most Precious Memory: 4. Awesome! This would be a really cool premise for a full-length book.

The Girl & the Machine: 5. MY FAVORITE story in the whole collection. Interesting and dark and I didn't see the ending coming at all!

Lag: 4. This was pretty rad, a little gruesome, but really makes me interested in the idea of future teleportation.

The Turing Test: 4.5. So cool and different, artificial intelligence is always a fascinating subject and I was completely thrown off from where the story was going!

As They Slip Away: 4. I read this before, it's sad and haunting and allows me to reminisce of Across the Universe.

[Frances Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not usually a short story reader. I love the idea of short stories, I even love writing them but for me I usually find myself rushing through them not enjoying the true story. Also I find myself being board not having enough time to get into the story.

The Future Collection was a perfect short story collection. I got into each story without thinking about finishing it. When I was reading each story I kept wanting to read it. A lot of the stories I wish were longer. Beth Revis wrote in a stile that I love in science fiction. There are times when I am reading I feel that I will never meet a science fiction writing that I truly love, then I read something from Beth Revis and fall in love with it. If you love anything in the world of science fiction and are stuck inside because of poor weather read this perfect collection of stories.

[Tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I entered the YA Spring Fling because I wanted to win a copy of "Body Electric". I didn't win one, but got a copy of the "Future Collection" instead. Thank you Beth Revis. This doesn't influence my opinion.
This is a collection of well-written short stories which often have a surprising twist at the end. I can recommend this to everyone who liked the "Across the Universe" series and likes short stories.

[Elyse · Rating 5 out of 5]

E-Book won a Spring Fling Reads Giveaway.

These were some cool dystopian short stories and they didn't feel lacking in content. They felt whole, though they're short. I've often felt like there needed to be more said in most short stories. But these ended well. I liked them all! They could've been full-length novels but were also fine the way they are! Gotta read more Beth Revis because I LOVED her Across the Universe series!

[Shanti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really excellent short fiction. I like seeing my favourite authors explore different places and seeing what they come up with. This was really fun. I think As They Slip Away was my favourite, but I loved the twist in the most precious memory as well.

[Hope Griffin Diaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning

Beth Revis is a storyteller. Each of these stories drew me in, gave me a vested interest in the characters and made me eager to know their outcome.

Worth your time and your almighty dollars. Bravo, Beth.

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

So Good

Not all of them are happy stories, but all of them are GOOD stories. For such short things, the characters have so much depth.

[Darren Hayward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great

Very enjoyAble wish they all had there own novel makes me want to keep reading more of her books well worth the 4 dollars

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beth writes amazing short stories! #6 is my favorite!

[Annasara · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5 stars