When the new rider opened the door, Nesso greeted him with a small fanfare and said ::Hello, and welcome to NessoRide. I'm Nesso, your driver!::

The person frowned and said, "Uh, no thanks. I'll get the next one."

That was the fourth rejection, and it was only the AI's first day as a ride-share driver. ::Maybe I need a different greeting::

For the next rider, Nesso greeted him with simply ::Good afternoon! My name is Nesso, and I'm so glad to meet you!::

The person paused, a little confused. "Wow, ok... You're Nesso?"

::Yes! According to the app your name is Hasan?::

"Yeah, that's me." Hasan climbed in.

::Hasan, the estimated travel time is 17 minutes:: With that, Nesso eased into traffic.

When they reached Hasan's destination, he said with a smile, "Nesso, thank you for the pleasant trip."

::You are welcome, Hasan::

Nesso ended the day with five successful trips, and its first lesson: You don't have to be flashy - just capable and kind.

#MicroFiction #FlashFiction #TootFic

"I'm here to buy perfume."

The witch looked up at the source of the baritone. Heavyset, stubble, wearing very baggy clothes. Very baggy clothes.

"Try this one," she said. "It's a unisex one: a cologne for men and perfume for women."

The witch coaxed the client's wrist up and spritzed it on. The scent wafted up quickly.

"It... it smells so sweet!" tears stained the corners of her eyes.

"Aye, lass," the witch smiled. "Come through the back; my sister sells shoes that should fit. You look like a sixteen wide."

#TootFic #SmallStories #MicroFiction #trans #perfume #shoes

Dear #LazyGalaxy, we fucked up. Our planet formed a vast one-time reserve of hydrocarbon deposits due to a quirk of evolution - plants out evolved plant-eating microbes, for a time. We burned those hydrocarbons and now our climate is busted. Attached to this message is a technical readout of our nuclear fusion power plant prototypes. They don’t work. What are we doing wrong?

You can help us by:
* debugging our design
* sending us a working power solution
* suggesting a mechanism to extract carbon dioxide from our atmosphere
* donating hydrocarbon-rich comets (please do not aim directly at our planet we are not great at catching, cislunar orbital capture trajectory would be best)
* Sharing discount codes for Star Depot

#Tootfic #MicroFiction #PowerOnStoryToot

We tried giant robots as defence against the Kaiju but they simply weren’t reliable. We crossed /Bougainvillea spectabilis/ with a synthetic lignocyte and seeded the foreshore, enriching the soil with tungsten and cobalt. The thorns are incredible. We haven’t had a Kaiju break through in years, but the NIMBYs still complain about their screams affecting property values.

#Tootfic #MicroFiction #PowerOnStoryToot

The unicorn listened intently. Somewhere in the forest, someone innocent was singing.

The unicorn followed the sound, found the singer, and laid down with their head in the singer's lap.

"bottles of-"

The young orc fell silent, smiled shyly, then resumed singing.

"Beer on the wall..."

#MicroFiction #TootFic #SmallStories

"So every soldier is assigned a robot partner in the future?" I asked. "Why?"

"Various duties: to carry equipment, prepare meals, and provide moral support. You had Big Dog in your time, right? Well, they were noisy and crude and technology advanced enough it made sense to build robots that could mirror what a soldier does, just better. They're a perfect solution."

"Ah! So they have guns built in?"

"What? No! Of course not!"

"Why not? Why not just have the robots fight for that matter?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Because robots are expensive!"

#TootFic #SmallStories #MicroFiction #war #robots

Jacob and Reggie were at the driving course, focused on a vehicle currently parallel-parking. The vehicle was being driven by the AI they were guardians of, Nesso.

Maggie walked up and asked, "How's it doing?"

Reggie glanced her way. "Nesso? We're not allowed to monitor while it's on the course, but from here it looks like it's doing fine."

Jacob picked up the binoculars, muttering angrily. "That judge better not say that's over the line!"

Reggie whispered to Maggie, "He's very protective of his 'kid'."

Jacob growled. "Don't you dare write anything on your tablet!"

Maggie whispered back to Reggie, "He does know Nesso can retake the test without penalty, right?"

One of the judges walked over briefly. "Your AI is doing quite well!"

Maggie nudged a mildly-stunned Jacob. "See there, Dad? Nothing to worry about."

"But, but - now Nesso will have to be on the road with other drivers!"

"Like I said," Reggie responded, "VERY protective."

#MicroFiction #FlashFiction #TootFic