#perdea

PerDeA, a science fiction short story by Z. M. Lorenz

Summary → PerDeA, a personal defence automaton, must balance her primary objectives when they come into conflict with each other. Caught between following the orders of her creator and performing her programmed duty to keep his daughter happy and safe, she must find a way to uphold both directives—or find a way to circumvent the rules entirely.

Characters →

PerDeA, the automaton. Dedicated. Attentive. Stuck in the middle.

Dorothea “Tia” Holt, the caged heiress. Brilliant. Lonely. Dreaming of a different life.

Noah Bishop, the interloper. Kind. Funny. From the wrong social sphere.

Mr. Holt, the key holder. Controlling. Inflexible. Unaware that his actions will have consequences.

Links → Wattpad | Pinterest

Backstory → I wrote this as my final project for a creative writing class. I submitted it to several magazines, and it was selected for paid publication by SQ Mag, an international speculative fiction eZine, in their special edition centred around the theme of “Rebellion.” Unfortunately, it was never published as the eZine was shut down by its parent company just a few weeks before the publication date. 

I was tagged by the wonderful @stupid-elf! Thank you!

This will be a bit from PerDeA. They’re in the back of a limo, which was explained in the paragraph before.

“I wish you wouldn’t do that,” Tia Holt murmured. She was on the passenger side of the car, shoulder length brown hair shadowing her face as her manicured nails absently traced patterns on the leather upholstery.

“I am responsible for monitoring traffic for erratic patterns that may pose a threat,” PerDeA replied. “Lombard—”

“Lombard relies on you. Yes, I know. But if you’re helping him, wouldn’t it be better if you were in the front seat without the partition between you?” 

She blinked and the rings disappeared. “Then I would be unable to ensure I was complying with my prime directives.”

“Can you just stop with the overlay?” Tia waved a hand to indicate her eyes. “Just for tonight. We’re almost home.”

“Of course.” 

“Thank you.” The heiress of Holt Technologies leaned her head against the heavily tinted window, her pink painted lips pulled down into a soft bow.

Perd’s eyes glow when she’s using her overlays (also explained in the paragraph before), which is what Tia finds somewhat unsettling.

My sticky hands are taking an open tag by @akindofmagictoo for this one!

This is from PerDeA, my short story you can find over on Wattpad:

“I used to dream about being free,” Tia said. “Of having control of my own life. Of escaping my father’s clutches and never looking back. That’s weird, don’t you think?”

“I do not think you are weird.”

She laughed. “Thanks, Perd.”

PerDeA did her best imitation of a smile, making Tia laugh even harder.

Just a little look at the main relationship in this short story, because I love them.

I was tagged by @akindofmagictoo! Thank you!

Rules: Bold the themes that appear in your wip & italicize those that are loosely covered.

WIP: PerDeA -- another non-WIP, as it’s finished and posted on Wattpad! it’s a sci-fi short story, and was accepted for publication in a special edition of a magazine that was unfortunately shut down by its parent company before it could actually be published. i was so close and i cried when i got the email that it wasn’t happening.

addiction | beauty | betrayal | change vs. tradition | chaos vs. order | circle of life | coming of age | communication | convention vs. rebellion | corruption | courage | crime and law | dangers of ignorance | darkness and light | death | desire to escape | dreams | displacement | empowerment | facing darkness | facing reality | faith vs. doubt | fall from grace | fame and fortune | family | fate | fear | fear of failure | free will | friendship | fulfilment | good vs. bad | government | greed | guilt and forgiveness | hard work | heroism | hierarchy | honesty | hope | identity crisis | immortality | independence | individual vs. society | inner vs. outer strength | innocence | injustice | isolation | knowledge vs. ignorance | life | loneliness | lost love | love | man vs. nature | manipulation | materialism | motherhood | nature | nature vs. nurture | oppression | optimism | peer pressure | poverty | power | power of words | prejudice | pride | progress | quest | racism | rebirth | relationships | religion | responsibility | revenge | sacrifice | secrets | self-awareness | self-preservation | self-reliance | sexuality | social class structure | survival | technology | temptation and destruction | time | totalitarianism | weakness | vanity | war | wealth | wisdom of experience | youth

It is very short, but I am being generous with myself.

SHORT STORY INTRODUCTION → PERDEA

PerDeA, a personal defence automaton, must balance her primary objectives when they come into conflict with each other. Caught between following the orders of her creator and performing her programmed duty to keep his daughter happy and safe, she must find a way to uphold both directives—or find a way to circumvent the rules entirely.

Diana Șoșoacă îl provoacă pe procurorul general al României, Alex Florența, la o dezbatere televizată. Pe data de 5 octombrie, de la ora 20.00, discuția fără perdea. „Aveți termen până duminică”, arată europarlamentarul. ”Invitație către procurorul general al României Având în vedere faptul că vă place să vă televizați, obicei prin care ne amintiți cum se făcea actul de justiție pe vremea lui…