Evil Robot Monkey by Mary Robinette Kowal

“Evil Robot Monkey” is a 2008 science fiction short story by Mary Robinette Kowal. It is about a clay molding chimp whose implant makes him more than an animal but less than a human.

Non-Spoiler Summary In A Nutshell:

Sly is a unique chimp – his implant and artistic abilities makes that obvious to him and his trainer, but not to other people. Thus when a group of school kids make fun of him he gets angry and does some things that cause him to lose his favorite privilege.

Someone banged on the window of his pen. Sly jumped and then screamed as the vase collapsed under its own weight. He spun and hurled it at the picture window like feces. The clay spattered against the Plexiglas, sliding down the window.

In the courtyard beyond the glass, a group of school kids leapt back, laughing. One of them swung his arms aping Sly crudely. Sly bared his teeth, knowing these people would take it as a grin, but he meant it as a threat. Swinging down from his stool, he crossed his room in three long strides and pressed his dirty hand against the window. Still grinning, he wrote SSA. Outside, the letters would be reversed.

My Two Cents:

• The good:

• Sly is a great character. His personality is obviously deeper than we are shown, and he was just so funny!
• And going along with Sly is another good character: Vern. The guy is the kind of care taker any uplifted chimp would want!
• I like Mary Robinette Kowal’s style in “Evil Robot Monkey” – in very few words she gives the sense of a much deeper story. It is kind of cool to extrapolate ideas without being given all the details.

• The bad:

• The corollary to not being given all the details is that sometimes I wish we were given more! This would have made a great longer story.

Fact Sheet:
• Page Count: 3
• Word Count: 963
• “Evil Robot Monkey” garnered the following awards:

• It was nominated for the 2009 Hugo Award for Best Short Story.

Where you can find “Evil Robot Monkey”:

• This short story first appeared in the 2008 collection entitled The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction: Volume 2.
• You can read a free online version of “Evil Robot Monkey” at Mary Robinette Kowal’s web site. (Also available in PDF and audio formats)

Some Interesting Links:

• Did you know that Mary Robinette Kowal has been a professional puppeteer since 1989? Yep. Check out her web site’s FAQ page for more information about this science fiction author.

Craving More Stories?
If you enjoyed this story then you might also like The Dyslexicon, about a dyslexic robot who is trying to join a geek organization, by Carl Frederick.

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