“Red Dust,” a new SF Western by Amanda Lord

A few months ago, Crossed Genres, the online magazine of Science Fiction & Fantasy with a twist, published a short story entitled “Red Dust” (2009), by Amanda Lord. Essentially a SF Western set on Mars, “Red Dust” revolves around an artificial intelligence unit named Lewis. Here are the opening lines:

Call me Lewis. I have lived here on Mars for nearly fifty years. I was the most advanced AI in existence when they shipped me to Mars. Now? Fifty years of red dust in my gears. Fifty years of pieces wearing down, wearing out. I have sent missive upon missive back to Earth, but, I won’t send this one. When the colonists come in two years’ time, they may read this. They’ll come with new bots, newer AI to replace me. I won’t be here to greet them. ...

Amanda Lord earned a B.A. in English and a M.S. in library science. She maintains a LiveJournal and lives in a dilapidated Victorian house in New York State with her husband Joel. “Red Dust,” her first publication in a SF magazine, will be reprinted in Crossed Genres’ first short story anthology, scheduled to be published in February 2010