1) The ethics of AI were already looked into by philosophers working in AI in the late 80s (and I’m quoting from a discussion we in the IZ team had about a submission last year). Possibly William Gibson tackled the theme first in fiction, but I’m not sure.

So the theme is old hat, which doesn’t need to be a problem if you can throw new light on it. But I think you didn’t.

2) They couldn’t just make a backup of the sim? Freeze it until they renew their licence? Also, stopping the sim by cutting off the power seems rather crude: it’s like logging off from a website by flicking the power switch of your computer. It works, but there are easier ways…;-).

3) “trodecap”? I suppose — after some thought — it’s short for electrode cap, but this neologism right in the first sentence made me frown (and I’m used to something). It might throw readers off.

Having said that, flash or short-shorts are one of the most difficult lengths to do really good. Fredric Brown was an old master of the form.

Finally, cutting off as much of the beginning as possible is basically a good thing, but I would say that, right? (I’ve rejected stories for exactly that reason, most recently tonight.) I think the decision in this case was a sound one, though, as I had no problem following the story.