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The Girls with Kaleidoscope Eyes

Howard V. Hendrix

First published May 2017
Type Short Fiction
Length Novella

Synopsis

"A government agent investigates an apparent attempt by a teacher to kill a classroom full of girls with a bomb, although at the last second he protected them from the explosion, seriously injuring himself in the process. She interviews the teacher while he is in custody in a hospital. He reveals his strange motive for his aborted crime, stating that 'before there can exist a world of machines that can pass for people, there first must be a world of people that can pass for machines.' Further interviews with others associated with the girls lead to a complex plot involving a polygamous sect of Latter Day Saints and a secretive data collection center of the National Security Agency. Eventually the true nature of the girls becomes apparent, and the agent must decide what to do about them." -- Tangent Online

Awards

YearAwardCategoryStatus
2017 Analog Award Best Novella Runner-up

Publications (3)

Date Publication Publisher Type Page
May 2017 Analog Science Fiction and Fact, May-June 2017 Dell Magazines MAGAZINE 8
August 2019 The Girls with Kaleidoscope Eyes: Analog Stories for a Digital Age Fairwood Press Collection
August 2019 The Girls with Kaleidoscope Eyes: Analog Stories for a Digital Age Fairwood Press Collection