When seventeen-year-old Ko Scanlan finds a body behind a suburban pizzeria, she doesn't expect it to be her own.

One minute, Ko is dreaming of colleges and paychecks, earning enough to control her own damned life and take care of her underemployed mother. The next, she's got a surprise doppelganger and a fistful of questions. Like, how did this girl with Ko's face end up with her throat slit in sleepy Las Yerbas, California? Why are her lifeless hands clutching this weird game system? And, uh, since Ko helped herself to it, who's this dude with a glowing gun hunting her now?

But the body vanishes before the police arrive, and Ko's strangely well-armed mother doesn't recall birthing two of anyone. So as the guy with the gun closes in, Ko fires up the game system, hoping to find anything to persuade her mom to leave town. Except Ko discovers the game is much more than it seems—and uncovers secrets about her double's identity—secrets that make her begin to question her own.

What you can expect in Seven Robots Later :

🎮 a mysterious GTA-style video game

🔫 mothers with railguns

🏢 shadowy corporations

🚔 dumpster chases

🤖 AIs that just want bedtime stories

🗑️ everyday objects as portals

🩸 body horror

🫂 found family

🤦 a flawed, snarky, cynical, non-OP MC screwing up

👌 a focus on quality

The GameLit elements in this story are light, so no stats or blue boxes. But there is a mysterious video game system found in a dumpster that's central to the plot.

The story is fast-paced and fully written, which means it'll actually be completed here instead of getting abandoned or dragging on forever. And it's pretty short by RoyalRoad standards (around 400 pages), so strap in and enjoy the ride while it lasts! 🤖

New chapters are released Monday through Friday (5 chapters a week), although I reserve the right to go to 3 days a week if necessary.