Project Gutenberg 2009-08-12 Copyrighted. Read the copyright notice inside this book for details. 181 Blade, Zoë 1981 Blade, Zoe Frikki, Aiko Less than Human Produced by Al Haines "Less than Human" by Zoë Blade is a short story written in the early 21st century. This fictional narrative explores themes of identity, morality, and the blurring lines between humans and machines in a futuristic society where human assassins are a rarity amid the rise of artificial counterparts. The story revolves around a protagonist who grapples with her emotional detachment after carrying out an assassination, questioning what it means to be human in a world increasingly dominated by artificial intelligence. The plot follows a skilled assassin named Suzi, who completes a hit on Jon Russell, a target whose copyright violations have led to serious repercussions. As she navigates her profession, she discovers her own humanity is slipping away under the pressures of her work and the modifications made to her body. After a mysterious incident leads her to encounter a doppelgänger who is also a highly advanced android, their shared fate compels them to confront the true nature of their existence. Together, they decide to forge a new path, opting to freelance while reclaiming their humanity and agency, ultimately evolving from mere tools of their employer's business into independent agents of their own destiny. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 82.3 (6th grade). Easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories Assassins -- Fiction PR Text Category: Short Stories Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy 53818 2025-07-12T08:43:03.011331 text/html 49887 2009-08-12T11:56:52 text/html 106816 2025-07-12T08:43:04.585299 application/epub+zip 105487 2025-07-12T08:43:03.310305 application/epub+zip 83177 2025-07-12T08:43:03.149295 application/epub+zip 142330 2025-07-12T08:43:05.757298 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 134774 2025-07-12T08:43:04.415297 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 112419 2022-09-13T16:34:18.995507 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 45578 2025-07-12T08:43:02.893330 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 46850 2009-08-12T11:56:52 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 46843 2009-08-12T11:56:52 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 21318 2025-07-12T08:43:05.883291 application/rdf+xml 27999 2025-07-12T08:43:03.208316 image/jpeg 4401 2025-07-12T08:43:03.178328 image/jpeg 18607 2009-08-12T11:56:52 application/octet-stream application/zip 100479 2009-08-12T11:56:52 application/octet-stream application/zip 18585 2009-08-12T11:56:52 application/octet-stream application/zip 101252 2025-07-12T08:43:03.022315 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog