My mind starts to fray around the edges like a piece of fabric unraveling. A fragile thread unwinding quickly from a spool. “What else is in the data file?”
I sit and listen in growing shock as the phone recites a detailed biography of me, including things not found on my Wikipedia page. Birth place, town where I grew up, parents’ names, siblings’ names, education, occupation, novel titles and dates of publication, hobbies, volunteer work, favorite foods, known allergies, list of current medications, marriage and divorce dates, and dozens of other specifics.
Last but not least—children.
“Emerson Luna Ridgewell, only child, born September ten, 2012. Deceased April eight, 2017. Cause of death: catastrophic injury to the heart from penetrating gunshot wound suffered at an outdoor political
