SN_33P'sCoolZine.pdf by Tenacity Plys

When SN_33P (aka Sneep) learns their creator Carol is going to be executed and turned into a living neural net, their digital punk zine becomes an exegesis of their grieving process. Things get more complicated when they realize Carol might be planning to kill them to save herself. This graphic novella is a story of loss, art, and disillusionment.

Tenacity Plys is a nonbinary writer based in Brooklyn, with publications in Bullshit Lit, Alien Buddha, Word Gathering, and Defunkt. Xe has been nominated for a Pushcart and a Best of the Net. Xir first novella Family Curse is available now from Bottlecap Press. You can find more of xir work at tenacityplys.com!

"THIS IS ONE GODDAMN COOL ZINE!" —Sarah Rose Etter

"I never thought I'd feel emotionally connected to AI. SN_33P's Cool Zine forces a beautiful conversation between what it means to "be" and to grieve, how technology impacts all of the above and where it's going. The machine has always been a difficult subject, the idea of beings created by us to assist, taking on emotions is usually frightening. With this, you start to realize every being needs purpose and connection. To feel belonging. You are truly embedded in the emotional geography of an AI learning what it means to be alive, in the ways it can. A punch in the gut." —Erin Taylor

"I saw an early version of this project performed at the World Trans Forum and fell in love with the idea of a naive artificial intelligence writing a zine to cheer up its doomed human creator. The tone of SN33P's zine is cheerful, its zany dark humor and sly pathos layered and developed with a care that makes it look effortless, but this is a story that lingers in the mind. The familiarity of the stock science fiction elements allows Tenacity to craft their dramatic irony and comedic timing so deftly that the familiar becomes new again and rings true. Witty, precise, and wonderful." —Maya Deane