We were so blind

Science fiction comes naturally when it’s not fiction

‘My foolish young mind, normally so unwaveringly patriotic, held no thought for queen and country from the first instant I’d laid my eyes on the enemy. I was eight years old, and of course back then I, nor any of my naive countrymen, didn’t understand the immense capabilities of the machine. I still remember the masterful pull of its eyes, they drew you in; like a gnat to the heat of an exposed ankle. Drummond knew, of course he did. He knew something was wrong. Why else did he keep putting it in the wardrobe? But I was hooked. Little did I know Satan would be so attractive.’

‘A ‘Furby’ they called it. All the kids wanted one. And I, unaware of the catastrophic implications, wanted more. I couldn’t stop. I was an addict pining for the awkward embrace only it could provide. It was only when the Ruskies were standing on our front lawn shouting about Stalin that I realised this could have all been prevented.’

A short extract from L.E. Ogilvie’s’ ‘Dances with Furbies’.