the story
Never-ending customer demands at Plan B Repairs left me little time to rest, but I had developed the will and skill to help them all. To my advantage, I carried a mystical energy inside of me, accessible via the markings on my palms. Whatever the problem, I always found a way to fix it. I had identity, purpose, friends. Yet a lonely emptiness crept into my rare moments of quiet, when my thoughts invariably turned to the same woman, the one I could not reach. Then, a surreal sequence of events drew me into what felt like a foreign world, and suddenly, she was there!
Our union was promptly imperiled by the maneuvers of a monstrous mastermind, intent on sucking the life from me, and killing everyone he did not enslave. His webs of minions extended everywhere, and the line between friend and enemy blurred. My once steady life swung from giddy tingles of soaring hopes, to stabbing pains of creeping dangers. I knew only that I had to be with her. Together we weathered his ruthless attacks, but at a terrible cost. And still it was not enough. Our only path to freedom went directly through the depths of his treacherous lair, where we soon proved to be easy prey. Hope was in short supply. Even if we managed to survive, I feared our time together was ultimately doomed.
There was a secret dark side to my power, one that I could not control.
Our union was promptly imperiled by the maneuvers of a monstrous mastermind, intent on sucking the life from me, and killing everyone he did not enslave. His webs of minions extended everywhere, and the line between friend and enemy blurred. My once steady life swung from giddy tingles of soaring hopes, to stabbing pains of creeping dangers. I knew only that I had to be with her. Together we weathered his ruthless attacks, but at a terrible cost. And still it was not enough. Our only path to freedom went directly through the depths of his treacherous lair, where we soon proved to be easy prey. Hope was in short supply. Even if we managed to survive, I feared our time together was ultimately doomed.
There was a secret dark side to my power, one that I could not control.
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old
I opened his office door to a labyrinth of screens, cords, and keyboards beneath a motley of paper, electronic components, and devices. Raz himself was also covered by paper, electronic components, and devices. He stood with one foot on a chair, transcribing some pattern from a sticky note on his leg via electronic stencil. Cords draped on his shoulders like suspenders.
new
Just then, a bright light pierced the dim fluorescence of the sleepy bridge hall like lightning though a foggy dusk. I turned in my chair and squinted against the glare to see a flock of small, white birds angle skyward behind a curved silhouette, seductively swaying within oscillating rays of light and shadow. While the sight was a blur, the clacking sound of heels on the tiled floor was crisp and clear, growing both louder and faster. The view only improved as my eyes adjusted to the glare. It was a woman, coming toward me. Not just a woman: the woman. Arctic blue eyes, inviting smile. Long, shapely legs, straining against her skirt. It was her.
borrowed
“Harmony knows an old friend of Will’s who still has a VIC-20 and a Datasette recorder. He let me borrow both. So, here it goes.”
Blue
“This is the best time of every day, just before the sun rises. Look closely. It’s a tiny sliver, but it is always there. It is my one moment of joy.” I was sleepy and skeptical, but I stared where she pointed. Then, I saw it. She was right. A delicate trace above the dingy brown.
“Blue,” I breathed.
“Blue,” I breathed.