Cover Photo: Still from the television series Mr. Robot
Still from the television series Mr. Robot

Origin Stories: Mr. Robot and the Death of My Father

“Tragedy taught me one thing: Bad shit happens, and it can happen to me and the people I love.”

“The only way to patch a vulnerability is by exposing it first . . . the flip side being that exposing the vulnerability leaves you open for an exploit.” —Elliot Alderson,

Mr. Robot

HackersThe MatrixFight ClubMr. Robot

“Memories fucking suck sometimes. Like dreams, almost. You only get pieces. Never the whole.” —Elliot, from the

Mr. Robot

“Why is that always your go-to with me? I mean, trust me, in this day and age it’s sicker not having panic attacks. Since when did pretending everything’s okay suddenly become the almighty norm?” —Darlene Alderson,

Mr. Robot

Click

“Do you remember the first command you ever taught me when my computer kept crashing? It was init1. That became our thing, and I am telling you right now, I’m fucking crashing, man, and so are you, and I need your help.”Darlene,

The Careful Massacre of the BourgeoisieMr. Robot

“Annihilation is always the answer. We destroy parts of ourselves every day. We Photoshop our warts away. We edit the parts we hate about ourselves, modify the parts we think people hate. We curate our identity. Carve it. Distill it . . . Annihilation is all we are.” —Elliot

Hamilton

“Dream. You gotta find out the future you’re fighting for. Sometimes, you gotta close your eyes and really envision that shit, bro. If you like it, then it’s beautiful. If you don’t, then you might as well fade the fuck out right now.”Leon,

Jessa Marie Mendez, a freelance writer and editor, is the co-editor of Rough Magick, an anthology of short fiction. She is currently working on her first novel and other assorted literary goodness.