You are listening to a Clarkshold magazine podcast. I'm your host and narrator Kate Baker. Welcome to the third story of the month for January 2026, issue 232. I hope this podcast finds you as well as can be. And I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for showing up and listening, for sending emails, for letting

me know how you feel about a certain story, or if you have any sort of feedback for the episode

itself. I want to thank you for going to patreon.com.4.4thcrowd. Without your support, we wouldn't exist.

So thank you for granting me the permission to continue doing what I'm doing, what we're all doing here at Clark's World.

Our story is titled Donor Unknown and is by Nika Murphy.

Nika Murphy is a Ukrainian-born writer of speculative fiction.

Her stories have appeared or are forthcoming in Clark's World Apex and other fine venues and anthologies.

She lives in Florida with her family.

If you like what you hear, you can go back to a guide to matchmaking on Station 9

and the art of navigating an affair in a time rift.

So my dear listener, I hope that you can sit back, relax, and let me tell you a story.

ORI occupies the interstitial time between matchmaking appointments by shutting off their own facial display.

Olli's face swirls down to a single pixel, then dissolves in Ori's mercury screen.

The android glances at the corner of the shrine dedicated to their deceased companion.

Alia's framed photo reflects in Ori's blank silver face, and they turn away. It feels good to shed Alia's visage even for a moment.

The next client knocks.

If Ori had lungs, they'd sigh.

Instead, they access the client's file on their internal heads-up display and turn on

Ali's face.

Come in, Ori says in Ali's voice, in her accent.

The woman enters and stares.

Ori doesn't like to peek at the file before meeting clients in person.

...