Maxina

Awarded one of the most promising short stories on AI in 2025 in the Sarasota Fiction Writers group.

John and Mary, a power couple in their late twenties, get along great. They both work from home remotely because, they reason, why go to the outside and deal with other people and their diseases, feelings, and communicative hang-ups? John works for Homeland Security, and Mary is a graphic artist. Having a lot of work to do (and a lot of hobbies to accomplish), they decide to add Maxina, an AI system/beautiful robot combination that promises to vastly simplify their busy lives. However, Maxina, with her beauty, 180 IQ, and so many attractive cyber qualities, has other ideas.