KEITH BURKHOLDER - SHORT-STORIES

Keith Burkholder has been published in Creative Juices, Sol Magazine, Trellis Magazine, Foliate Oak Literary Journal, New Delta Review, Poetry Quarterly, Scarlet Leaf Review, and Birmingham Arts Journal.  He has a bachelor's degree in statistics with a minor in mathematics from SUNY at Buffalo (UB).​​

​While in prison a spirit sets him free

​  Winston has been in jail for five years now.  One day while asleep in his cell he saw a spirit sitting at the end of his bed.
                He was alone in this jail cell.  The spirit was interested in him getting out of jail.  He wanted Winston to be free.
                The spirit knew that Winston was jailed for a crime he did not commit.  He wanted Winston to get out now.  Winston was jailed for the length of twenty years.  The spirit knew of a way that Winston could be set free without anyone knowing.  Also, he would never get caught in the process.
                Winston’s body was developed into another presence.  This presence was shown to have committed suicide in jail by handing itself.
                The spirit then put a spell on Winston to disappear.  He no longer was in jail.  The spirit also developed a new identity for Winston.  In other words, he is a different person now.
                Winston and the spirit are now far away from the prison.  He is no longer a prisoner there and no one can trace him down.
                What does the future hold for Winston?  He can do anything he wants to, and this is appealing to him.  He can run his own business like he wants to or have anything career where self-employment exists.
                He is free and his life is what he will make of it.  The spirit will help him get settled somewhere in a different town.  He cannot wait to find life elsewhere as his life is now different than before.  This is the way it will be for him here on out.

​Deconstruction of a Human Life into a Robotic Form

​ Allen has a huge fascination for robots.  He has found a way to construct himself into a robot giving way to his human form.
                Allen wants to live forever.  He knows this can happen as a robot.  Robots can live forever if properly taken care of.
                Allen is tired of being a human being.  He wants to see other parts of the solar system and meet other inhabitants there.
                Humans on average only live to about eighty years of age.  He wants to keep living and being a robot is the only way for this to occur.
                Allen has built a device that can transform him into a robot without surgery or other ways that could detriment his life.  This device has been tested on rabbits and mice and they all turned into miniature robots.
                Allen will stay the same size that he is, but he will change into a robot.  He will look entirely different, but he can function normally as any human would.  He breathes and talks like a human and defecates and urinates the same way as humans.  Instead of eating food he will consume oil to stay alive and fit. 
                It is interesting how unique Allen is, but has some human qualities.  Allen is a robot that has a conscience as well.
                Robots are made to program and function with different commands.  In the case of Allen he has a conscience and cares for people. 
                The reason why Allen has human qualities as a robot is because he was a human being before.  The qualities humans possess never go away because of this transformation.
                Allen will always develop a conscience for human beings.  This is just the way it is for him and will always be for him even as a robot. 
                Being a human being was tough for Allen.  He was tired of being like everyone else and he feels that his life now will be better.
                Humans are more complex than robots.  They have so many more emotions and feelings that can be hard to describe. 
                Even though Allen is a robot, he feels pain like a human does.  He feels pain because his human nature is still with him.
                Allen will have a memory like a computer.  He will be able to understand life this way and remember everything he sees afterward. 
                The idea of living forever is amazing to Allen.  He can live and thrive for years and will never die at all.
                Allen loves the fact that as long as he maintains his well-being, his life will always continue on.  This really fascinates him and he will do what he can to stay healthy and never die. 
                Death is a powerful concept to humans.  No one wants to die, but it happens to human life every day.
                Allen would love to see other worlds and continue to do this forever.  In the case of Allen, forever is part of his life. 
                Allen wonders what will happen to planet Earth in the distant future.  He wonders what life will be like on Earth.
                Human evolution changes all of the time.  Allen has noticed that people have become more depressed and less friendly than in the past. 
                Allen loves change.  He loves that humans evolve and that change on planet Earth can happen for the best.
                Humans on planet Earth are unique in structure and presence.  They can be hard to figure out and this can lead to some frustration. 
                Allen loves the way he is now.  He loves being robotic and have strengths that he never had as total human being.
                Human beings have always baffled Allen.  Now, he can deal with them, but as a robot and this should make his life easier this way. 
                Robots can be immune to a lot that goes around them.  They are not human in nature and can just operate any which way that they like.
                Allen will still have human feelings.  However, he can really act on them because of his robotic self.  This doesn’t really bother him because he would rather stay robotic.
                Allen has traveled far and wide.  He has experienced planet Earth.  He will continue to evolve as a robotic force.
                Now is the time for him to enjoy life.  His robotic life is important and he will continue to exist this way for as long as the solar system stays in existence.  

​Extinction of humanity

      It is two hundred thousand years into the future.  Humanity is about to become extinct.  This latest war has ended with a nuclear bombing.
                This nuclear blast has officially killed off humanity from Earth.  For some time now, alien life has circled Earth and wants to take over this planet.
                The planet Earth needs a new breed of life to take over and bring new concepts of idealism to it.  Humanity proved to be too destructive to Earth and its own self.
                The planet is in ruins after so much punishment from its previous life forms.  It will cleanse itself and this new life believes in peace and tranquility.
                Humanity was too destructive to itself.  It was only a matter of time before destruction would happen to its own kind.
                This new race of life lives elsewhere in the solar system as well.  However, it needs to breed on Earth because its world is too crowded with life.  Planet Earth is a perfect place to have more of its life stay and live there.
                Humans have always hated one another.  This was the case on planet Earth.  Now a new breed of life is there.  This new breed can bring life to Earth and salvage space on its home world as well.
                Planet Earth will take time to recuperate after the last nuclear war.  However, this will take time, but it will also become a reality as well.
                This new race of life will take time to get settled on Earth.  Earth is still in ruins, but it is a quiet world now that humanity is extinct.
                This new breed of life will transfer life from its home world to Earth as well.  The world they are a part of needs life to leave there and go to Earth.  There is plenty of space on Earth to accommodate the life from the world they are originally from.
                Planet Earth really took a beating from the last nuclear there.  This war was damaging even to Earth as well.
                Planet Earth will recuperate over time.  This new breed of life understands this and will do what it can to help in the recuperation process as well.
                Planet Earth needs a break from destruction and bad karma in general.  It needs peace to be instilled inside of it.
                This new breed of life will see to this.  They want a world where they can live in and not worry about wars and destruction.
                Planet Earth will get better each day.  It needs to cleanse itself out and recuperate from the constant wars’ humans had when they existed there.
                The planet is an amazing structure.  It will be a great world to this new breed of life, and it will be a great place for the rest of its population to live and thrive in as well.
                Planet Earth will always continue to revolve around the sun.  It will continue to evolve as well as time passes on.
                The new breed of life is still sending more of its kind to Earth.  The people sent here are also cleaning up Earth after the last nuclear war that occurred on this planet, too.
                Over time, planet Earth has gotten even greater.  This new breed of life is backing up with how they feel and say about Earth.
                This world continues to improve each day.  This what it is supposed to do.  I hope everything continues optimistically.  This is great for anyone that lives on Earth now and will continue as time carries forward.
 

​The Dead are given a second chance at life

​Only selected people from Earth are given this chance.  The ones chosen to come to life again are people that were very decent on planet Earth when they were alive.
                The life in the heavens know of such people.  They are very much few and far between on planet Earth.
                When the dead do come back life, they resume their lives as they were previously.  The people who keep track of the census know about reincarnation.  This has become a reality on Earth at this time.
                There are a lot of people that will remain dead.  Most of them were not good people while alive on planet Earth.
                This is a tough concept to understand.  Many people come and go in life, but the very few here are given a second chance at living on planet Earth.
                This is how the heavens work with the dead.  To them reincarnation is sacred and the newly living should be chosen as the nicest who existed previously on planet Earth.
                The people that have come back to life are doing well again on Earth.  They are contributing to Earth in positive ways.
                The planet will continue to thrive with the ones that have been reincarnated.  The planet needs their input again in society.
                The heavens know who to select and who will be a great addition once again to planet Earth.  This is just how they do business with Earth.
                The planet will continue forward from this.  It will continue to thrive with these people that were chose to be reincarnated.
                Humans that are living are aware of reincarnation.  They understand it fully and will continue to believe in it now.
                Again, only a select few are chosen to be alive again.  This is how heaven handles this and will continue to be this way.
                The dead come in all shapes and sizes and personalities.  There are people who die of old age or other health causes.
                Time will continue forward for those on Earth.  Reincarnation will carry forward as time passes each day.
                This how things will continue to be run with those who live in heaven.  This is how it is and how life will continue forward each day one step at a time.