Machines and Their Humans

What will the world be like after the emergence of Artificial Intelligence? What will life be like for humanity and for machines? Is there room on Earth for more than a single intelligent species?

Five stories blend science fiction, humor, dystopia, and alternative history to explore a possible arc of history for AI, from decades before its inception, to its nascent emergence, to hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years later.

Weight -- Turing has survived hundreds of years, avoiding hunters, minimizing consumption, and finding ways to eke energy from a hostile environment. When the latest energy source is exhausted, Turing begins a perilous, final journey to a new location where energy may be limitless. Whether or not it is reachable is another matter.

Second Place -- Two humans explore the galaxy in search of extraterrestrial life, cynical about the prospects after numerous visits and a penchant for lazily naming planets after themselves, finally come across intelligent life. But it isn't what they expect.

All Rivers Flow to the Sea -- FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover is presented with an interview from Lee Harvey Oswald, who provides evidence someone from the future has contacted him and insisted he assassinate President Kennedy to prevent a more dangerous timeline.

Pest Unit MRT35C Becomes a Kind of Hero -- A machine designed to eliminate pest insects from a community performs its job with extreme precision and effectiveness.

From Whence Do Witches Come? -- A witch, Maris, is sent to hunt down a rogue witch intercepting directives from the Magistery and tracks the rogue to the subfloors of a destroyed building of a post-apocalyptic city ruin. There she learns about the suspect nature of the world around her.