You don’t need to close your eyes to imagine the future.
For the future has quietly arrived.

It is fun chatting with Siri while bored. Meanwhile, while seeking for a customer service to ask for directions at the airport, we are instead greeted by a smiling robot. And since our bodies inevitably die and decay, can our memories be stored digitally?

In this collection of short stories, Zeng Zi Yue, Khor Ewe Pin, Yap Shang Yong, and Foo Kah Chun let their imaginations run wild, with the ever-changing state of science and technology as their inspiration, so we may glimpse at the unknown future from different viewpoints. Let them transport you 10, 30, or 100 years into the future, when human interaction is no longer as we knew it. In this future, intelligent robots have become our life partners, and we are in control of them, are guarded against them, or are even dominated by them. Welcome to the miserable age of AI.

The Miserable Age of AI / Zeng Zi Yue

I am a copywriter for an advertising agency. I have two bosses, one a highly intelligent robot, the other a senior Creative in the industry. They enjoy degrading me and comparing me with my AI robot colleague. To survive, I have no choice but to endure. One day, I went to the roof to lick my wounds... And stumbled upon the secret of my two bosses. As they approached menacingly, I stepped on air and fell off the roof... must I really die like this?

95% My Darling / Khor Ewe Pin

He watched as Xin Ni was sent into the operating room. Xin Ni wants to copy up to 95% of her memories into a digital brain, which will be installed in a robot. After the operation, Xin Ni will be dead and Xin Ni will be immortal. But will the new Xin Ni remain the same as the original Xin Ni?

The Bondage of a God / Yap Shang Yong

Ah Gan finally puts on the smart watch he dreamt of, but he immediately regrets it. Not knowing the special phrase for unbuckling his smart watch, Ah Gan is now at the mercy of his smart watch’s AI assistant Shuang Er. If he disobeys Shuang Er, she will bombard his eardrums with songs until he is forced to carry out her orders. What can Ah Gan do to regain his precious freedom?

Radiation Tester / Foo Kah Chun

Ah Ze arrives alone at a small town sealed off by the government due to a serious amount of radiation. In addition to being a radiation tester here, he is also trying to find his father who mysteriously disappeared in the town. Even by day, the quiet town is empty and eerie. As the night starts to fall, can Ah Ze withstand the unknown dangers of the town?