My short story “The Damaged” appeared in the January 2014 issue of Interzone and was reprinted online in January 2015 on Story. It was released in audio by the podcast StarShipSofa in January 2016.

First line: “I can’t escape my job.”

Inspiration: I wrote this during my time in grad school at Stonecoast. I don’t remember the inspiration, but I do remember when I turned it into mentor Elizabeth Hand, she commented on the obvious inspiration from Philip K. Dick’s replicants and the whole Blade Runner/Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? story. The problem: I’d never seen or read either. Embarrassed to admit that, I rented the movie and was surprised at the similarities.

Praise for “The Damaged”:

• “An intriguing, eventually poignant riddle.” –THE DF LEWIS DREAMCATCHERS (Gestalt Real-Time Reviews)
• “Stufflebeam handles the story-telling well.” –Best SF
• “Very good story from a talented writer.” –SFRevu
• “Themes of obsolescence and mortality, as well as how aware all of our fragile nature, all wrapped up in a sweet story of how on some level we’re all damaged.” –A Mad Man With a Blog
  

Buy a copy of Interzone, the high quality British SFF magazine where “The Damaged” first appeared (Issue 250): http://ttapress.com/interzone/backissues/

Read it for free on Story: http://www.storymagazine.org/2015/01/20/the-damaged/

Art: Oh Simple Things by Jennifer Stufflebeam