Version
Crimson.7
It
was a step or four down from the hotel suite but Riveta felt more
relaxed here in the seedy motel.
She
missed Stone.
She
lay back on the bed. The couple upstairs were stomping around again.
She tried to steady her breathing. Tried to change the way she heard
the noise, the way the Professor had described. To become open to it,
to change her borders, so that the thumping wasn't an intrusion but
part of the landscape.
She
wondered where Stone had ended up. If it was like this for him.
She
was scared, she could admit that, the small sharp spike at the end of
every inhalation. She knew she was in something deep. She exhaled.
The
thumping continued.
20131218
Roads Less or More
Version
Charlie Ten.7
Simon tugged his knee-length charcoal coat tight around him; the wind was chill today. He pressed the cell to his ear; there was lots of noisy traffic on the busy downtown street.
"They want to offer me the position," he said. "Should I take it?"
Simon reflexively scanned the faces of the crowd, glancing in car windows at the drivers, through shop windows at the clerks, always looking for someone he recognized. Trying to find the others. Except his memories of them were so staticky, he couldn't hold their faces or names, too much like a dream. And the man on the line was rarely any help.
"I can't tell you that," the Professor said. "You know it doesn't work that way. At least for now."
Simon sighed with frustration. "I'm just not sure if it's the right thing to do. Now, with everything being so different." He stopped briefly, thought he saw a woman across the street, red hair, something about her familiar... And was bumped into from behind, a careless teenager, no apology, strutting past with his crew.
"I'll have to call you back," Simon said to the Professor. "I have to go check myself for bugs."
"Now that's something I can help you with, Agent Light. You're clean."
Simon gave the street another scan, this time taking his look upward, to the tops of the buildings, and to the sky above. He had gotten used to thinking of the Professor as being in a satellite, although he knew that wasn't quite the case. Or sometimes he imagined it like the Operators in the Matrix, but that wasn't quite it either. And a lot of the time, Simon had the dread suspicion that the Professor was only a voice in his head.
"Let me know what you decide about their offer. It may be significant, it may not be."
"It'll be a big deal to me either way," Simon said with a slight edge.
"Yes, of course Agent Light. I'm sorry."
Simon tugged his knee-length charcoal coat tight around him; the wind was chill today. He pressed the cell to his ear; there was lots of noisy traffic on the busy downtown street.
"They want to offer me the position," he said. "Should I take it?"
Simon reflexively scanned the faces of the crowd, glancing in car windows at the drivers, through shop windows at the clerks, always looking for someone he recognized. Trying to find the others. Except his memories of them were so staticky, he couldn't hold their faces or names, too much like a dream. And the man on the line was rarely any help.
"I can't tell you that," the Professor said. "You know it doesn't work that way. At least for now."
Simon sighed with frustration. "I'm just not sure if it's the right thing to do. Now, with everything being so different." He stopped briefly, thought he saw a woman across the street, red hair, something about her familiar... And was bumped into from behind, a careless teenager, no apology, strutting past with his crew.
"I'll have to call you back," Simon said to the Professor. "I have to go check myself for bugs."
"Now that's something I can help you with, Agent Light. You're clean."
Simon gave the street another scan, this time taking his look upward, to the tops of the buildings, and to the sky above. He had gotten used to thinking of the Professor as being in a satellite, although he knew that wasn't quite the case. Or sometimes he imagined it like the Operators in the Matrix, but that wasn't quite it either. And a lot of the time, Simon had the dread suspicion that the Professor was only a voice in his head.
"Let me know what you decide about their offer. It may be significant, it may not be."
"It'll be a big deal to me either way," Simon said with a slight edge.
"Yes, of course Agent Light. I'm sorry."
The Light at the Waters Edge
Version
Angel Cake
Suki awoke on the floor. Her mind a dizzying fog of images and memories gelling together like tape in a dispenser.
It was cold and grey and all she could smell was diesel fuel; this wasn't a good sign to begin with.
"She coming to," a metallic voice said.
She could make out the click click of another sound. She lifted her head, but it felt heavy and it was pounding.
Bad shift.
"Are you okay, Miss?" the metallic voice asked.
There was that clicking sound again.
"I think she can understand me," the other said.
Click. Click.
"Of course she might be thirsty," said the metallic voice. "Go get her a bottle of water."
Suki awoke on the floor. Her mind a dizzying fog of images and memories gelling together like tape in a dispenser.
It was cold and grey and all she could smell was diesel fuel; this wasn't a good sign to begin with.
"She coming to," a metallic voice said.
She could make out the click click of another sound. She lifted her head, but it felt heavy and it was pounding.
Bad shift.
"Are you okay, Miss?" the metallic voice asked.
There was that clicking sound again.
"I think she can understand me," the other said.
Click. Click.
"Of course she might be thirsty," said the metallic voice. "Go get her a bottle of water."
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