Short story about a man thwarted and framed by automated support system

Post date: 2023-06-01 07:53:09

Trying to remember a sci-fi story I read decades ago about a man trying to resolve some issue (with tech support?) but is thwarted by the automated system.

Memory of the story is hazy, but here's what I remember:

The story is written as the transcript of a series of interactions.

I think he's interacting with an automated support system.

Had sort of a dystopian Brazil-esque vibe.

At one point late in the story, the system gets the man arrested for murder, possibly his own.

My most concrete recollection is of an investigator asking about the status of a "victim" and the system responding "Deceased", leading them to erroneously conclude a murder had taken place. (I think that as a result of the man's previously interactions he had managed to get himself declared dead.)

I think it was implied the system was acting deliberately. My recollection is reading the story decades ago (before 2000), but I'm not 100% sure.

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