Welcome to Kearney is a 9,000 word novelette by Gary Kloster, featured in the July 2025 issue number 226 of the Clarkesworld science fiction and fantasy magazine. This story focuses on Jeremiah, a crotchety man opting to live in the middle of nowhere away from the rest of society, away from the social interaction and complexity that comes with being around other people and sapient robots.

Of course Jeremiah’s cozy life – if life as a caretaker in an area of sweltering heat can be called cozy – in the middle of nowhere, being the solo caretaker and attendant at a historical site and remote-in tourist attraction ends up disrupted after a damaged android finds him and his historical site before toppling over on the side of the road, when he opts to take her in and fix her up. This android, Ms. Otter, appears to be sapient herself and comes with her own troubles. I’d be very much interested in seeing where Ms. Otter and/or Jeremiah’s story goes should they be continued. 8/10 stars.