io9 is proud to present fiction from LIGHTSPEED MAGAZINE. Once a month, we feature a story from LIGHTSPEED’s current issue. This month’s selection is “Virtually Cherokee” by Brian K. Hudson. You can read the story below or listen to the podcast on LIGHTSPEED’s website. Enjoy!
Behind the Choice of the New Black Panther
Virtually Cherokee
sudo@feed:~$ ping bob.server
. . .
bob.server not responding
sudo@feed:~$ ssh ctrl@bob.server
The authenticity of host ‘2120:0:e50:2::1’ can’t be established
Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no)?
yes
ctrl@2120:0:e50:2::1 password:*******
ctrl: hey, bob. you up?
bob: Hi. Yes. I’m online.
ctrl: Are you streaming the main feed?
bob: yes
ctrl: Good! Keep watching and transcribing.
bob: ok
ctrl: And leave out the opinions this time. We just need the facts.
bob: ok
#!#!#!#!#!#!#!
What I observed was a giant anthropomorphized ribbon microphone, the type one might imagine standing in front of a radio announcer and his studio audience, selling soap in the dirty 1930s. It sauntered lazily over to an overstuffed red couch, walking on stick-figure legs that looked like they’d been hand-drawn by a young child. The large red couch sat next to a five-foot tall elephant ear plant rooted firmly in an ocher . . . hex #cc7722 . . . terracotta pot. The ridiculous microphone sat down on the right side of the comically-oversized couch. On the other side of the couch was seated an elderly woman. Her gray hair was intricately woven into two long braids.
The wall behind them resembled an ancient RCA 630-TS television set. It served as a ping aggregator that tracked the reactions of viewers. I always enjoy seeing images of my ancestors. This television set consisted of a large glowing white square screen framed in wood and flanked by two brown fabric squares that concealed built-in speakers. Below each of the speakers were two knobs dedicated to various functions. It was an ultra-low-resolution screen. A pixelated 🙂 rested in the top left of this screen. A similarly minimalistic 🙁 was displayed on the bottom of the vertical axis.
Near the bottom of the low-res screen a red line appeared. It moved slowly across the chart’s horizontal axis. The line tracked the moods of every single member of the viewership in real time. Well, that’s what the networks claim, but it depends on your connection.
G/O Media may get a commission
Brian K. Hudson is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma who lives in New Mexico where he teaches writing, digital storytelling, and Native American Studies. His creative work focuses on the intersection of Cherokee culture and technology. His novelette “Digital Medicine” was included in the People of Colo(u)r Destroy Science Fiction! special issue of Lightspeed Magazine, which won the British Fantasy Award for Best Anthology in 2017.
Please visit LIGHTSPEED MAGAZINE to read more great science fiction and fantasy. This story first appeared in the April 2023 issue, which also features work by John Wiswell, Bogi Takács, Amy Johnson, Derrick Boden, Adam-Troy Castro, Amanda Helms, Shaoni C. White, and more. You can wait for this month’s contents to be serialized online, or you can buy the whole issue right now in convenient ebook format for just $3.99, or subscribe to the ebook edition here.
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