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your (“spell”) says
cut a vein and stain
the pried petals
of a (“rose”) {
  but synthBlooms cost
  too.pretty.a.penny and
  the petals hold fast,
  live=longer than your (“ancestors”)
  did {
    and when you rend
    your wristHatch open you cannot
    (“bleed”) for your lost.heritage {
      you can only tangle
      your fingers+in the wires,
      pull to feel the zap.of.something that {
        in another (“life”);
      } couldn’t {
        be turned () off;
      }
    }
  }
}



Elis Montgomery is a speculative fiction writer from Vancouver, Canada. She is a member of SFWA and Codex. When she’s not writing, she’s usually hanging upside down in an aerial arts class or a murky cave. Find her there or at elismontgomery.com.
Current Issue
17 Mar 2025

Strange Horizons will have three open fiction submissions throughout 2025.
The customer shakes me until his disc drops into the bin below. Please take your receipt, sir. He kicks me in the side and says, “Thanks for nothing, you piece of shit vending machine!”
In this whole ocean, not a single reply.
We are men making machines, making men.
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By: River
Issue 20 Jan 2025
Strange Horizons
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Issue 13 Jan 2025
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Issue 23 Dec 2024
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