In the days when dedicated word processors were still popular, the main character, a middle-aged writer disenchanted with his wife (a large-figured, shrewish, tyrannical woman), teenage son (an amateur "musician" with an attitude disorder), and life in general, gets a gift from his nephew (a teenage genius) – a custom-built word processor. Unfortunately, the nephew has recently died in a car accident (at the hands of his own violent father, the protagonist's brother, who was driving drunk), so the writer must figure out on his own how to use it. He discovers that, with this word processor, he can write things into existence, and also delete them – at least, as long as the rickety word processor can last.
"Word Processor of the Gods" is a short story by Stephen King first published in the January 1983 issue of Playboy magazine under the title "The Word Processor", and collected in King's 1985 collection Skeleton Crew.
Description:
In the days when dedicated word processors were still popular, the main character, a middle-aged writer disenchanted with his wife (a large-figured, shrewish, tyrannical woman), teenage son (an amateur "musician" with an attitude disorder), and life in general, gets a gift from his nephew (a teenage genius) – a custom-built word processor. Unfortunately, the nephew has recently died in a car accident (at the hands of his own violent father, the protagonist's brother, who was driving drunk), so the writer must figure out on his own how to use it. He discovers that, with this word processor, he can write things into existence, and also delete them – at least, as long as the rickety word processor can last. "Word Processor of the Gods" is a short story by Stephen King first published in the January 1983 issue of Playboy magazine under the title "The Word Processor", and collected in King's 1985 collection Skeleton Crew.