by: M.A. Dosser

The birds on the power lines aren’t birds.

Mr. Johansson built them. With their hidden camera eyes and microphone beaks, he learned about the Burgwins’ financial troubles, the drugs the Merricks’ teenagers deal, and what Mr. Saunders does when his wife is at work.

The birds look real, of course. Mr. Johansson programmed them to flutter about, to preen, and even to chirp.

Today, Mr. Johansson uploaded the wrong audio file. The whole neighborhood heard.

Now everyone knows about Mr. Saunders and Mrs. Burgwin’s affair. And about the birds that aren’t birds.

But not about the squirrels that aren’t squirrels.

© 2024. M.A. Dosser

M.A. Dosser is the co-founder and editor of Flash Point SF, and he recently received his PhD in Communication from the University of Pittsburgh. You can read more about his creative and scholarly work at maxdosser.com.

Posted May 29, 2024.