The format here is of a narrator telling you a story. So, you are the one being asked to kill four people. But exactly who (or even what) you are is unclear for most of the story. This is by design. The story you are told is one of enslavement of sentient automatons made of paper. They have a short life at the end of which they are chopped up and put back into the machine that will birth a new automaton from the recycled material. The tale grows in suspense until just near the end with a very satisfying reveal.
The writing here is close to the action and can be somewhat unclear at first. This closeness, though, really engages the reader with vivid imagery and metaphor that are almost poetic. The characters are highly relatable in their experience. This is a wonderful tale of resisting oppression.
Length: 12,590 words (about 50 minutes)
My rating: 4/5
