Summary
The Android Dreams of Revolution by Ani Kayode Somtochukwu is a short science fiction story that explores themes of rebellion, artificial intelligence, and social change. It was originally published in Isele Magazine on 30 August 2023.
In Ani Kayode Somtochukwu’s The Android Dreams of Revolution, the tragedy arrives in a clean, clinical drop: an android peacekeeper leaps from the thirteenth floor of Odinaka Housing—a utopian complex designed to prove that humans and androids can coexist. The fall isn’t just literal; it’s a collapse of the community’s carefully curated self-image. The residents, once smug in their progressiveness, are forced into the uncomfortable business of self-examination.
Told through Aniagu, a human neighbor reeling from the event, the story peels back the glossy surface of coexistence to reveal something more brittle underneath. The android, though surrounded by supposedly empathetic humans, lived in quiet isolation—a loneliness no policy or community potluck could fix. What emerges is a sharp commentary on the limits of inclusive rhetoric, the hollowness of performative allyship, and the emotional burdens we offload onto the beings we claim to embrace.
Review
I have never been a huge science fiction fan. However, this story combines science fiction while also exploring complex human emotions. It isn’t the shortest story, but it was a quick read because it is so well written.
To be continued…