“One Thousand Beetles in a Jumpsuit”

2019 Phetteplace, Dominica. “One Thousand Beetles in a Jumpsuit.” Lightspeed Science Fiction & Fantasy, no. 111 (August 2019). http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/one-thousand-beetles-in-a-jumpsuit/ Rpt. in The Best Science Fiction of the Year. Volume 5. Ed. Neil Clarke (New York: Night Shade Books, 2020), 189-210. Also rpt. as “One Thousand Beetles in a Jumpsuit. Robot Country: Part I.” Ignorance is Strength: The Dystopia Triptych 1. Ed. John Joseph Adams, Hugh Howey, and Christine Yant (New York/London: Broad Reach Publishing + Adamant Press, 2020), 171-96. PSt

The first story in a sequence given the general title Robot Country. The story is set in a climate-change dystopia controlled by corporations in which “Corporate treason was punishable by death.” The protagonist is supposedly testing procedures for surviving on Mars and ends up cooperating with the AIs rather than her corporate minders. In “Her Appetite, His Heart.” Lightspeed, no. 114 (November 2019). https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/her-appetite-his-heart/, the second story, the AIs have revolted and excluded their makers from their country. In The Dystopia Triptych sequence, the first story is followed by two different stories, which begin after the successful revolt of the AIs and the establishment of Robot Country. In “Paradise Requires a Wall. Robot Country: Part II.” Burn the Ashes: The Dystopia Triptych 2. Ed. John Joseph Adams, Hugh Howey, and Christine Yant (New York/London: Broad Reach Publishing + Adamant Press, 2020), 169-90, Robot Country has been established and is under constant attack from what remains of the United States, with the focus on the personal relations between a woman working with the AIs and a U.S. Forest Ranger trying to protect the little that remains of the forest. Followed by “Human Country. Robot Country: Part III.” or Else the Light: The Dystopia Triptych 3. Ed. John Joseph Adams, Hugh Howey, and Christine Yant (New York/London: Broad Reach Publishing + Adamant Press, 2020), 289-207, which develops those relations as he and other humans move into Robot Country. Female author.