“The Lifecycle of Software Objects” by Ted Chiang (collected in “Exhalation: Stories”)

“Yep, all you have to do is train these digital pets to get to the level that they have intellect, self-awareness, cognizance of language, and empathy. We don’t exactly have all the dots connected with what we’re going to do with these pets, but we’re a business, so there’s only one way it can go. What do you say, former zookeeper? You up to the task?”

Me, looking at the considerable number of pages that make up this story: “Oh no. I don’t know how this is going to break my heart, but this is going to break my heart.”

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