Boxed by Will McIntosh

“Boxed” is a 2004 science fiction short story by Will McIntosh. It is about a woman whose brain is serving time in solitary confinement.

Non-Spoiler Summary In A Nutshell:

“Boxed” is a story about Metta, a woman who got caught trying to commit suicide. As punishment her brain is put into a black box for a period of 57 years - and the catch is that she is conscious during every second of it! Wow - how bad would that suck? Quite a bit apparently, except that Metta figures out how to send messages to people. What does she do with this new found ability - send a note to friends and family? No, she uses it to insult a former suitor, Jackie, only it doesn’t quite work as planned and he takes it for an invitation to break her out and subject her to all his extreme and quirky forms of “goodness.” Oh goody.*

Jackie!!! I’m really out? Thank you! It was Hell in there. Get me some eyes and ears? Please!

Then it hit her. Her body was in cold storage, completely unreachable. And even if she could reach it, even if she could steal it, she doubted either she or Jackie’s “hi-tech” friends could access the technology necessary to put her mind back into it.

Jackie’s reply flashed across her mind’s eye.

I’m way ahead of you, love. I want to get a few hours out of Saratoga just in case they discover the switch. Then I’ll stop at a pawn shop and hook you up with some eyes and ears. I love you love you love you!

My Two Cents:

• The good:

• This story is built around a great idea! The prospect of true solitary confinement is fascinating - even if a little disturbing!
• Metta and Jackie - they are hilarious! I was constantly laughing at the sarcasm and quirkiness portrayed by them. Great characters!

• The bad:

• There is a lot of profanity in this story - so stay away if you don’t like plenty of four letter words starting with a variety of letters, including S and F!
• While there are no explicit sex scenes in “Boxed”, there are still some references to it.

Fact Sheet:
• Page Count: 12
• Word Count: 7,315

Where you can find “Boxed”:

• This short story first appeared in the November / December 2004 issue of Abyss & Apex: Magazine of Speculative Fiction.
• You can still read a nice HTML version of “Boxed” at the Abyss & Apex web site.

Some Interesting Links:

• Did you know that the author of this story, Will McIntosh, is a psychology professor? Yep. You can learn more about this science fiction author by reading the biography page on his web site.
• Thanks to Free SF Reader for pointing out this story!

Craving More Stories?
If you enjoyed this story then you might also like Who’s Afraid of Wolf 359?, about a man who agrees to investigate an abandoned experimental civilization around a distant red dwarf, by Ken MacLeod.

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