Friday, February 18, 2011

Second Last Life


Ten days previous, while mooging the southern spiral, he’d run into the Exactor’s trace elements and picked up a Trojan the size of forever.
Nine-times out of ten that would have been enough to bypass the hex and leave a man in the abyss without backup, but Mikael-Eight was built of sturdier code and they ported him a new shell before the virus could do its work.
Seven decimal places of tolerance served him up with synaptic loose ends and a porting hangover the size of Greenland.
Six hours of backup and he was none the wiser as to the Exactor’s intentions but did have a hookup arranged with a promise of payload.
Five minutes to hookup, the transporter delivered him to the street, his armour undefining him, merging him with the vapourlight orange and black.
Four levels up, he took the stairs with measured strides and on the landing he was surprised to find the corridor clear.
Three steps from the door and his head was removed by the blade of the Exactor’s wrathcode.
Two lives from the abyss his reassembly came with a government health warning on bodycare and maintenance.
One more month like this, he thought, and I’m gonna have to get out of the business.


for the attention-span deficit

6 comments:

Tom said...

how's the benefit's package?

love the micros

Garth said...

Tom: Contract work only - no results, no pay. :)

Harlequin said...

your mind is one amazing landscape; thanks for letting us in there!

Laura Tattoo said...

perhaps contracting the virus would have been better for him (but it's doubtful) love the development, each step worse than the last! does underscore the saying, "cheer up! it can only get worse..." you are a genius, dear pisces, with a wit that never quits. how the hell do you do it? just an old soul (figurative) with a lot of accumulated wisdom and righteous anger. xoxoxoox

weird verif word: "untan". is it a island country off the north coast of africa?

Garth said...

Harlequin: "your mind is one amazing landscape" - like the surface of the moon :]

Laura: It works better when the anger just simmers ;D

Laura Tattoo said...

yes, avoid a stress illness at all costs, darlink. xoxooxox

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