Last Rites - sf68 (Charles Beaumont)

  Father Courtney, a Catholic priest, is summoned to the bedside of his dying lifelong friend — George Donovan — who repeatedly requests confession and absolution on his deathbed. 

The story unfolds through flashbacks as George recounts his involvement in a clandestine experiment where scientists created an artificial being with human-like consciousness. This "thinking machine" experiences emotions, senses pleasure, and questions its own existence. 

 Father Courtney struggles with reconciling his theological beliefs against George’s claims — that this artificial being thinks, feels, and even possesses a soul. As a priest, Courtney believes true consciousness is spiritual and cannot be manufactured.