Chipped: A Tale from Existentia

About Chipped: A Tale from Existentia

In her third unsettling novella, IPPY Award–winning author Lynsey G explores a possible future where a benevolent AI has taken over governance of humanity—for better or for worse.

Claire doesn’t need to learn how to be a plumber. Her Central Authority–mandated CHIP implant provides her with all the on-site information she needs to fix leaks, snake drains, and unclog toilets. In a world after the Final War and the Hard Times that followed, she lives a quiet life in the country, among  many quiet lives that the CA has provided so that humanity can survive—maybe even thrive.

But then she stumbles into a world she didn’t know existed. One where the the quiet life, the CHIP, and even the Central Authority are called into question. Where the vast intelligence that silently programs her existence is cast into suspicion, and everything she knows can be snuffed out with a single, silent pulse.

Her parents assure her that the Central Authority is here to help, but her grandmother, who remembers a life before the CHIP, seems to think differently. Soon Claire discovers that there are many who agree, congregating under the cover of darkness with the help of a mysterious artist and traveling Operator who will change Claire’s world forever.

As she explores the possibilities and re-examines her reality—with the CA watching her every move—Claire will have to decide what’s more important to her: familiarity or freedom.