Review: "Kill Switch" by Steve Perry (2008)

Posted on February 15th, 2008

This is a very short story, coming in a little over 1300 words, but it is also a good example of why I have recently found so much respect for the genre. I used to be a novel snob, not wanting to get invested in a story that was going to end right when the getting got good, but I’ve shed that skin after reviewing all the short stories on this site.

Perry, in few words, manages to convey a future setting, complete a story arc, and even give some insight into both of the characters in the story. Here, a man is about to trigger the kill switch that will put down his Companion, a "woman" produced by coupling genetic manipulation and nanotech technology and designed to be a, well, a companion. The designers included the kill switch in case they became a threat and needed to be terminated.

It opens in a peaceful kitchen setting, but Perry tosses in a nice bit of foreshadowing by describing the Companion cutting vegetables with the "Japanese knife he had bought her for her birthday, a long, hand-made folded-steel thing so sharp that to risk the edge with your thumb even lightly would cut you." You just know somebody’s gonna get it after reading that line.

The story describes the confrontation between the two when the man readies himself to press the button, but as this review is getting to be almost as long as the story itself, and I was mainly looking to spread the word, I’ll just tell you to go read it and I’ll label it:

Very Good/Recommended. You can read it online here at Steve Perry’s site.

Tags: Review
Filed under Free Stuff, Perry, Steve, Review, Science Fiction & Fantasy (SFF) | Comments Off