New short fiction: "The Good Robot"

I've a new short story in The Saturday Paper: "The Good Robot". It's about Mysh, who means well. She just wants to make the republic beautiful.

Mysh arrived in the late morning, when humans were most alert. This timing typically led to fewer errors. Their errors, of course, not hers. Still, it was valuable to be patient with them. Their republic was her reason for being. And it was beautiful.

The waitress offered Mysh a smile that was not beautiful: thin, yellowed and false. “I’m so sorry, honey.” She fidgeted with her apron. “We don’t serve your kind here.”