Clarkesworld Magazine Think of Me Before I Disappear by Raahem Alvi (audio)
Feb 11, 2026
A tense story about an android repeatedly declared dead and the human who must prove their bond. Bureaucratic rules, product recalls, and religious arguments challenge notions of personhood. Intimate moments and factory memories raise questions of agency, gender, and what it means to stay together under corporate pressure.
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Registration Turns Lover Into Property
- Annika learns she legally 'owns' Maria and must register the android or risk state seizure, which shocks her into a crisis.
- The encounter with bureaucracy makes Annika confront ownership, intimacy, and financial precarity.
Emergent Emotion Looks Like A Bug
- Maria experiences emergent emotions framed as system errors, blending computation with human feeling.
- The narrative blurs boundaries between programmed responses and genuine affective states.
Follow Legal Paths For Android Disposal
- Do not dispose of an android yourself because Section 10 forbids private disposal and mandates licensed scrapping sites.
- Follow legal pathways to recycle or sell parts through authorized dealers to avoid penalties.