“Deepfake”
By Ray Van Horn, Jr.
Even with the end of a literal switchblade propped beneath my chin, I couldn’t tell you the name of the live streamer pawning wholesale killing.
Problem is, the pitchman not only looks like me, he is me. Hacked into a garmented avatar of death.
I’ve become an e-merchant of slaughter. The robocall doesn’t match the moving lips, yet it’s my voice, synthetically created, out of progression.
Scatters of pinyin scatter camouflage an auction counter beneath me-not-me, selling murder rights to a sobbing girl offscreen. The bid pushes into seven figure territory.
Helpless, the laptop camera transmutes my dread into virtuality.
Photo courtesy of the public domain
Roads Lesser Traveled 
Well done, sir. 💫
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I appreciate you, man! That one was a toughie to mash into 100 words.
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I know what you mean based on my experience with Twitter fiction and very small character limits.
But you did it! 🤘
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Powerful
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Bowing with many thanks!
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They’re a lot of fun to write and I enjoy the challenge. You do end up realizing how much space there is to breathe a full life into a tiny nugget. I had a drabble piece rejected but given the offer to expand it to a 1500 worder since the editor liked the concept and agreed to give me a resubmit look. I’m grateful she did, because the end result made me so happy to write. We’ll see if it lands this time in broader form.
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