An excerpt from "Retro VR"

A priest, a rabbi and a minister walk into a bar on Christmas Eve. The mechanical prostitute slides up to the rabbi and says, “Struck out again, huh?”

The priest says, “I’ll have a Shirley Temple.”

The bartender says to the minister, “Hey, your ex-wife called! She wants her mechanical gigolo back that you borrowed! And make sure you clean him up this time!”

The Buddhist monk sitting at the bar says, “Stay single, mingle. Get married, get buried.”

The atheist sitting next to him says, “Masturbation for gratification. Artificial insemination for procreation.”

And the imam says, “This is offensive.”

Give Thanks for Soft Hearts

A news article about a man making sex robots inspired me to write “Retro VR.” I had to ask  myself why the topic interested me. I concluded that sex robots are but a recent manifestation of our hardness of heart. Pornography, prostitution, sex trafficking, infidelity, abandonment; these are all symptoms of our hard hearts. I remembered something I read:

"Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard, but it was not this way from the beginning." (Matthew 19:8. NIV)

Whether we were Created or we evolved, this tells me that we were not always so mean to each other. I felt compelled to type something about my own hard heart and how new technology could make it worse.

“Retro VR” is a near future science fiction story about a guy who gets recruited to beta test a system that uses virtual reality with lifelike sex robots for a fully immersive experience. A dream about his grade school sweetheart disrupts his plans.

You do not have to register to read the story. It costs nothing to download.

If you follow the link, you'll see a synopsis of the story. Look to the right of the screen. You should see a DOWNLOADS OPTIONS menu. I prefer PDF, but READ ONLINE works just as well. You can download it to a Kindle or ereader.

Please share the story on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.

Thank you

You don't have to spend money to help me.

Okay, so here's my deal:

I'm asking you to help me get some money. It won't cost you any money, though.

I entered a story in a writing contest: http://freeditorial.com/en/books/retro-vr

The sponsor of the story is offering cash prizes. First, second and third place in the contest will be mostly determined by how many times each entry is downloaded. Writing quality will come in if it's close.

You can help me win the contest by downloading the story. You do not have to register for anything to download it. The message you see about registering is for those who want to enter one of the writing contests.

If you follow the link, you'll see a synopsis of the story. Look to the right of the screen. You should see a DOWNLOADS OPTIONS menu. I prefer PDF, but READ ONLINE works just as well. You can download it to a Kindle or ereader.

I got the idea for the story when I read a New York Times article last year about a guy making sex robots. This paragraph caught my attention:

"One of the challenges that Mr. McMullen will have to contend with is the so-called uncanny valley. It is a concept first written about in 1970 by a Japanese researcher, that says people’s responses to robots will shift sharply from empathy to revulsion the more closely the robots resemble humans. In other words, something robotic that looks alive, but is not completely convincing, will creep people out." ("Sex Dolls That Talk Back," Emma Cott, The New York Times, June 11, 2015)

I felt compelled to write the story, and used Matthew 19:8 as its nucleus:

"He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives, but from the beginning it was not so."

Please share the story, or share this link, so that others can have a chance to download it.

What could go wrong?

Hello. My name is John Stevens, and I’m an aspiring author.

Someone asked me why I want to be an author. Well, Kurt Vonnegut’s novel, Player Piano, gave me the idea that a speculative fiction writer should address the question, “What could go wrong?”

So, that’s why I write and post stories about virtual reality and sex robots.

Now, virtual reality can help burn victims by making them think they’re in Antarctica. Imagine that. Some therapists use virtual reality as a tool to treat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, autism and fear of flying. Sex robots might help us address such problems as sex trafficking and sexually transmitted diseases.

I have a pretty good idea of what could go wrong with these technologies - especially if they’re used together - because I grew up watching too much TV. Then, after I got over a TV show called Love, American Style, free internet pornography came along just in time for my midlife crisis.

To read about how I imagine a future with virtual reality and sex robots, please download my long short story, Retro VR, or read my short story, Real Human Blood. I’ve included links in this post and on my Twitter profile. Retro VR is my entry in a writing contest. The more it’s downloaded, the better chance I have of winning. So, I’d appreciate it if you would share the story on social media, too. Or, share this video.

Thank you.

Retro VR

You do not have to register to read the story.

If you follow the link, you'll see a synopsis of the story. Look to the right of the screen. You should see a DOWNLOADS OPTIONS menu. I prefer PDF, but READ ONLINE works just as well. You can download it to a Kindle or ereader.

Retro VR

Real Human Blood

We've always wanted to escape reality

This link is to my entry in Freeditorial's Long Short Story Contest:

http://freeditorial.com/en/books/retro-vr

It's a near future science fiction story about a guy who gets recruited to beta test a system that uses virtual reality with lifelike sex robots for a fully immersive experience. A dream about his grade school sweetheart disrupts his plans.

You do not have to register to read the story.

If you follow the link, you'll see a synopsis of the story. Look to the right of the screen. You should see a DOWNLOADS OPTIONS menu. I prefer PDF, but READ ONLINE works just as well. You can download it to a Kindle or ereader.

If you like the story, feel free to share it.

Working on the Sequel

I’ve made progress on the sequel to Retro VR. I haven’t decided on a title, yet. I call it a sequel, but it feels like I’m writing a better ending. Anyway, I have the structure of the story the way I want it, so I just have to fill in the details.

Eventually, I would like to combine Retro VR with its sequel into a full-length novel. I have also scratched out a few lines of a hybrid live theatre/virtual reality play. The members of an audience of a play would receive a VR headset with their ticket. They see on the headset what the actors on the stage describe.

Retro VR questions whether virtual reality - combined with advanced sex robots - could alleviate social problems such as sex trafficking. I imagine that it would have unintended consequences of its own, such as the further dehumanization of sexual relationships.

I’m not ready to start a Kickstarter campaign yet. Freeditorial currently holds the rights to Retro VR. If you want to help me toward my goals of producing a novel or a hybrid play, please download Retro VR. The story is my entry in Freeditorial’s Long Short Story Contest. The winner will be determined by writing quality and the number of times each story is downloaded. I’m shooting for the First Place prize of $15,000. The prize money would help me get more work done.

You do not have to register to read the story.

If you follow the link, you'll see a synopsis of the story. Look to the right of the screen. You should see a DOWNLOADS OPTIONS menu. I prefer PDF, but READ ONLINE works just as well. You can download it to a Kindle or ereader.

If you enjoy Retro VR, please share it on Twitter or Facebook.

Thank you.

Tomorrow is the deadline

Tomorrow, July 31, 2016 is the deadline for entering a story in Freeditorial's Long Short Story Contest. The winner will be announced on Thanksgiving Day. The number of times each story is downloaded determines the winner. They say they'll consider writing quality if it's close.

First prize is $15,000

Second prize is $5,000

Third prize is $2,000

If you don't have your own story to enter in the contest, please download mine.

My entry in the contest, Retro VR, is now in Fifth place. It recently surpassed 400 downloads. I plan to keep Tweeting and sharing it on Facebook and Google+ until November. I keep thinking of NASCAR races I have watched with my son, and the strategies the drivers use. I'm content with 5th place for now. I was in Fourth place for a little while. I have hope that I can move up to First place in the next few months.

When I'm not Tweeting or doing yard work or ruining my son's summer vacation, I've been working on a sequel to Retro VR. I would eventually like to turn the story into a full length novel or a hybrid virtual reality / live theatre play. That is, you would go to see a play, and the ushers would give you a cardboard VR headset on your way in.

You do not have to register to read the story.

If you follow the link, you'll see a synopsis of the story. Look to the right of the screen. You should see a DOWNLOADS OPTIONS menu. I prefer PDF, but READ ONLINE works just as well. You can download it to a Kindle or ereader.

If you like the story, feel free to share it.