"This is my first concert," she replied, mustering her confidence. "But I've been a huge fan since Death by Rock and Roll." She made sure to name-check Stephen's first album, if only to prove her devotion.

Machine of Death

ROCK AND ROLL : Written by Toby W. Rush + read by Rachael McCabe

Kris Straub and David Malki play a round of Machine of Death: The Game of Creative Assassination.

Machine of Death Card Game - Playtest

Kris Straub interviews Ryan North and David Malki ! at the Super-Stupendous Machine of Death Magic + Variety Show, November 2011.

Machine of Death 2 Interview : Kris Straub, Ryan North, + David Malki !

It was like that movie, back in the day, where the machine asks the kid, "How about a nice game of chess?" / "No," he types back. "Let's play Global Thermonuclear War." / That's what the slip of paper in my hand read. "Global Thermonuclear War."

CASSANDRA : Written + read by T.J. Radcliffe

He had not read his slip of paper. It was folded in an envelope in his left pocket. In his right pocket were several books of matches, and he was wearing a backpack. He pushed his way through the scrubby pine trees on the west border of the barrens. "This isn't how it works, you know. The machine is playing word games. You can't just say what's going to happen ahead of time. That's not how physical law works."

QUESTION MARK : Written by Randall Munroe + read by Howard Tayler

I saw the first ads in March. A week or two later it was all over the news, and then for the next few months you could not get away from it. Still, none of us expected it to have the impact it did. It was a killer. By November I had only had eight or nine dreams when I used to have three or four a week. This is how I make my living.

DROWNING : Written by C.E. Guimont + read by Sean Casey

She was somewhere north of forty. Her dark hair showed silver strands, and the beginnings of crow's feet bracketed chestnut-colored eyes. Tommy noticed her fingertips, purple and tender. She was a Repeater.

FRIENDLY FIRE : Written by Douglas J Lane + read by Zach Weiner

Timothy got up. "One hundred and one here; just like the Dalmatians. I'm going to die in a fire while trying to save another." / Isma spoke slowly; she was visibly trembling. "I'm going to die in one hundred and one days as well. In a fire."

WHILE TRYING TO SAVE ANOTHER : Written by Daliso Chaponda + read by Ike Amadi

The machine printed out the certificates on special paper, the same pinkish color as those new five-dollar bills. He put them face-down on a tray and handed them to us. Maggie and I sat down on the examination table, butcher paper crinkling and creasing under us, bunching between us as Maggie scooted closer. The doctor left us alone.

HEAT DEATH OF THE UNIVERSE : Written by James Foreman + read by Andrew Giordano

"It's an older model, but that's all that ever made it to Fukuoka before these things were outlawed altogether. It was functioning, as of a week ago. This was the machine that correctly predicted the death of Watanabe Yoshiro."

IMPROPERLY PREPARED BLOWFISH : Written by Gord Sellar + read by Brett Donnelly

At nine o'clock on a Tuesday morning, the parking lot in front of Jack Bogg Enterprises was somehow already full. Kelly didn't know quite what to do. It had never happened before, not once in the year she'd been working for JBE.

COCAINE AND PAINKILLERS : Written by David Malki ! + read by Nika Harper

SWF, 36, seeks SM 25-50. Must be employed, love outdoor hobbies. No OVERDOSE, ALCOHOLISM, similar readings, please. Box 1876.

LOVE AD NAUSEUM : Written by Sherri Jacobsen + read by Tiffany Petersen

For a while, he kept the little slip of paper hidden at the back of a desk drawer at work, still inside its official envelope. He didn't want it in the house -- Phil was bound to ferret it out. Phil was just one of those people who found things.

KILLED BY DANIEL : Written by Julia Wainwright + read by Timothy Volpert

In garish red and yellow, the flyer announced that You, Too, could "Defeat the Machine!" A colorful cartoon hammer smashed a predictor box, starbursts flying out zanily. A beaming man in a tie beckoned to his new best friend, You.

CANCER : Written + read by David Malki !

A shot kicked up dirt in front of Grale's face. He pulled himself backward, back to the dubious protection of the fallen sign. They all knew Grale would die here. God damn that machine.

SHOT BY SNIPER : Written by Bartholomew von Klick + read by Christopher Osborn

A collection of stories about people who know how they are going to die.

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Machine of Death

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