Aphelion

The so-so Canadian-produced TV series based on William Shatner's (ghostwritten) Tekwar novels had an interesting closing theme that included the lyrics

"Are you real or not?
It's a fine line..."

This story drops us into a situation where the line between real and artificial has become sidewalk chalk in a rainstorm. You may have to read it twice to really understand the events depicted.

Go. Read. Comment.

She wondered when the day would come for her own inhibitor chip to be installed to stop these feelings of uncertainty and disconnect.

And after reading this story three times, I wonder if I don't need an inhibitor chip, too . . . as it is, I just think that Allison needs a new OS and a good, swift reboot -- and I'm wondering why she hadn't gotten them long ago. Maybe she'll get that after someone repairs the boa-inflicted damage . . .

Could this be the ultimate in teenage rebelliousness?

Ah, but do higher artificial lifeforms (sentient humanoid types) in this world have the right to remain unaltered even if they begin to develop eccentric behavior? To take this story further, what if Alison decided that she was having trouble connecting emotionally with her human (or human-form robot?) family, and tried to remove THEIR inhibitor chips?

Beware of machines that are capable of deciding that YOU are malfunctioning, and have the ability to try to FIX you. (viz. also "Thy Kingdom Come, My Will Be Done", where the penalty for violating religious precepts may be death).

RM