Chris Barker

What happens when every soldier controls a drone swarm instead of a rifle?

What happens when one soldier going rogue can commandeer a whole army?

What happens when the school shooter’s weapon of choice becomes the drone, rather than a gun?

These were questions which preyed on my mind and provided the inspiration for my short story, Mutiny. As the automation of military increases, it necessarily puts more power in the hands of fewer people- people who are still prone to human emotion and human mistakes.

The other thing which preyed on my mind was the idea that it isn’t the machines we need to be careful of, it is always the human element- hence The Madman, who is the most personable machine I could think of. (Or maybe he’s just a human. Or a blend of the two. The lines get fuzzy, when our technology becomes indistinguishable from magic).

I hope you enjoy reading it, it was certainly interesting to write!