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It started one night. I awoke suddenly from a feeling of someone intruding into my family's home. I quickly slipped from bed and into my closet. There I slipped into my bathrobe. (I can't remember why I kept it there.) I then returned to my nightstand and picked up my Beretta 101T light pistol and peeked into the hall, staying close to the ground. No one was in the hall, so I quickly moved from my room into the bathroom. I concentrated for a moment and felt my parents sleeping soundly in their bedroom, my little brother sleeping in the room next to mine, and someone I didn't recognize moving toward our bedrooms. I listened and heard him whisper a profanity immediately after a muffled bump, he must have run into something. I quietly waited for him to pass the bathroom doorway and then peeked through to see his back. He looked human, though I'm wasn't sure. He was too short, I guess he might have been a dwarf, but I never figured it out. I crept down the hall in the opposite direction he had headed. I slipped into the kitchen and triggered the silent alarm after about half a minute, I triggered the noisy alarm. I glanced out of the kitchen to see the security bars closing on all the windows and locking all the doors. I saw down the hall but didn't see him. He must have entered one of the bedrooms I thought idly. A second later I realized the impact of the possibilities of that thought when I heard my mother scream. I heard struggling (probably my father and the intruder) and a gunshot. It didn't sound like my father's Roomsweeper. I heard the sirens of the approaching Panic Button Security cops and attempted to release the security door lock from the kitchen to the hall.
I heard the unlock key of the PBS cops and yelled, "The intruder is in the master bed," while I pointed through the bars of the door toward the bedrooms.
"Which room?" One of the cops asked as they headed down the hall.
"Second on the right." I responded without a moment's hesitation.
Another Cop came up to the door I was standing at and unlocked it. I quickly rushed through toward my parents’ room, where there hadn't been another scream from my mother sense the gunshot. There also hadn't been another shot fired either though. I reached the doorway just as the cop opened it to enter. The sight made me instantly sick and I threw up right there on the carpeting in the doorway. The cops looked at me and turned away except for one who walked toward me and turned me toward the bathroom. What I saw made me realize what I heard wasn't a gunshot it was the trigger of a slow-action airborne flesh eating virus that had a total life of maybe five minutes in our atmosphere. I learned the part about the virus later. All I saw were spatted bodies where the virus had destroyed most of the flesh and muscles holding the bodies together. The assassin was on a suicide mission. The PBS scientists found that the virus had drifted in to the other two bedrooms, my brothers, and mine and probably would have killed my brother if it didn't have such a short life span. It did however attack him leaving major wounds and the cops rushed him to the local hospital. The cops asked me a large series of questions that they always ask after a break-in. I was also asked the series of questions they always ask after a murder. I ended up repeating myself many a time, as the cops sent me to other groups. My responses went something like this: I did; I woke to the intruder's entrance; yes, I have extremely good hearing; no, I don't know why someone would want to kill my father; he works for Orian Construction Corp; He was a manager; no, I can't think of anyone; yes, I'd like a cup, thanks; No, we don't have any relatives close. We have one in Oklahoma City, but he is forbidden by court order to be within one hundred yards of me; no, he is allowed to visit with my brother; Yes, I'm very tired; thanks.
That was in the conversation the same night as the murder. Well actually, it was five the next morning, but I'd been to the hospital to check on my brother and hadn't had any sleep sense the murder, which was about midnight. Additional questions and the same questions were asked of me and, when he was well enough, my brother for the next two days. I couldn't understand what was special about my parent's deaths. I'd studied police procedures and knew the average daily murder rate. About four years later when I was twenty I discovered that dad worked undercover for a major corporation as a spy, one of the corps that supported PBS. I had wondered why we had two security systems. When my brother was released from the hospital he was offered to stay with me or go to our Uncle's in Oklahoma. I told him that he should probably go to our Uncle's. My brother and I packed our belongings for travel. My brother was put on a plane while I was placed in a local house for homeless. They (the PBS cops) sold our home and sent half the money to me and the other half to my brother. With the money, I received my father's computer equipment and one of my mother's favorite quilts, according to my parent's wills, a note that came with the stuff. I got permission from my home head to have a Matrix linkup installed in my new room. I quickly set up the mainframe computer and the two personal desktop computers that networked to it. I connected an automatic dump out of the matrix when my door was opened. I then locked my room door and sat down at the computer. I hooked up the cyberdeck to the computer and then plugged it into my datajack. I flipped the main power switch on the deck when the mainframe flashed its online codes.
Suddenly I found myself in my mainframe instead of the drab crowded room I now had to call home. I relished in the familiar surroundings for a moment before getting to work figuring out what was on the deck and its limits. When I jacked out, the time recorder told me I had been in for about an hour. I heard the Dinner Bell ring and deactivated the deck unplugging it and slipping it the locker built into the mainframe's shell. I had unconsciously left the wire that connected my to the deck in my datajack, revealing it to anyone who looked at me, (I usually had it hidden under my hair so people wouldn't realize I was cybernetically enhanced). I received odd looks from the other teens as I sat down at the table.
The young man to my right, (even after a month I didn't know most of these teen's names), asked me, "Do you always wear a dataline to dinner?"
He had asked me in an amazingly polite manner, he even seemed sincere that he was curious as to whether I did or not.
"No," I mumbled before quickly retreating up the stairs toward my room. On my way I unplugged the wire and threw it onto my bed after I opened my door. Upon returning to the dining room, I saw dinner had just been brought into the room and quickly scanned the table for an open seat. The young man who had asked me that question noticed me enter the room and waved at me. He had been kind enough to save my seat at the main table for me. I had been afraid I would have to eat at the secondary table again.
I quickly headed toward the young man and asked, "Why did you save my seat, it isn't like you owe it to me or anything."
"I felt I owed it to you after asking that question you probably took as a snide remark. I didn't think you would until you responded and rushed off out of the room. That’s when I realized my question might be taken as an insult. I'm sorry, it wasn't suppost to be an insult." he responded as the waitress set a steaming bowl of a chicken and ham soup in front of me. (We all took turns being the waitress/waiter for a week)
After the waitress served him I replied, "It's ok, I have a tendency to over react to things, Oh, by the way, I'm called BOOF, what's your name?"
"I know you're Boof, I'm Richard, Why are you called Boof, its that your name?" He picked up his spoon a dipped it in his soup.
"Hu? Oh, it’s a acronym, it means Biological Odiun Of Fire." I eat another bite of soup.
"You're a Odiun!" Richard turns suddenly spilling the spoonful of soup he was about to put in his mouth.
"Yea, so?" I ask continuing to eat.
"What type of magic do you study?" Richard quickly grabs his napkin and attempts to clean his shirt.
"I don't study any type of magic. I'm a Decker and mathematics wiz. They're hobbies. I could care less about magic.
"Mathematics are used in Hermatic Magic. I could show you how if you like sometime." Richard finishes cleaning what he can of his shirt with his napkin as all the teens within hearing range of their conversation staring at him.
I heard the girl across from me whisper to the girl beside her, "He must like her, he wouldn't show anyone how he worked his magic even when we asked."
I realized this must be true, few people are kind to loners like herself. And how he had been acting could only signify a crush. I had never had a crush on anyone nor anyone pursuing a crush on me if anyone actually ever had one. I recognized it after the girls whispered comment to the other girl, because I had seen it in other guys and girls toward each other. I also noticed that Richard hadn't heard the comment. It took me a second to remember that I was probably the only one at the table with cybernetic implants, and could hear better than anyone else. Richard looked at me as I pondered the question. I noticed and agreed without taking any of the information I had into conscience consideration. We all finished our soup and as we all stood to go our own ways, one of the other guys came up to me and asked if I had a jackpoint to the Matrix or if I was just messing with my deck. My only response was yes after he finished his question and I turned and headed up the stairs. I heard him following me and farther down the staircase I felt Richard heading downstairs, probably to his room. I stopped at my doorway and waited for the guy who was following me to catch back up.
"You have a slow stride," I comment when he reaches me.
"No, you just have a extraordinarily large one," He glances toward the door I'm standing at, "This your room?"
"Yes, but its none of your business," I curtly reply and open my door.
"What would you do if I decided to make it my business?" He puts up an arm to stop me from entering my room.
I quickly look him over seeing I estimated about two hundred fifty pounds, no fat, five foot eleven inches, and answer, "I'd beat you to the ground."
He laughs for a second and looks me straight in the eye, "I don't think you know how strong I am. I challenge you to a fight in the gym."
"Alright. When?"
"How about now? I'm free."
"Sure, just a sec and let me lock my room," I enter my room as he drops his hand and activate the security system.
As I exit the room, hear the reassuring beep of the security grid coming on line. I follow this guy down to the gym. By the time we enter there are around twenty or thirty other teens following us to watch. This guy must challenge a lot of people, probably always wins too.
"Any ground rules?" I ask as he steps onto the mat.
"Yea, if you purposely leave the matted area you forfeit."
"Anything else?" I step onto the mat.
"Yea, When the bell rings the match starts when it sounds again the match ends, understood?"
"Yes, is that it?"
"Yea, Someone ring the bell!" my challenger yells when he reaches the other side of the mat.
A loud gong vibrates the air in the gym as yet more teens enter the room to watch. He rushes toward me and I side step him at the last second causing him to rush right off the mat. He screeches for a halt and quickly walks up to me. When he enters fist range he releases a plummet of quick rights. Having watched him open doors and push buttons, I knew he was actually left-handed. I easily blocked all his shots and he would up for another series of right when suddenly he let his left fly. My enhanced reaction allowed me to easily block it and let a flurry of my rights plummet his stomach. He was so surprised I blocked his left he didn't have time to even attempt to block my quick series of rights. I gave him a quick left uppercut and watched him slump to the ground. Our audience was breathless. No one moved, I deduced that no one had ever beaten this guy.
"I told you I'd whip you." I told him as he lay there.
I then headed toward the showers on my level. I noticed five or six people following me up the stairs. When I entered the showers only two of them followed me in. The two who followed me in were both girls. Even though the guys could have followed me in also, this place not having separate showers or bathrooms for guys and girls, they remained outside the showering area as I striped and entered the nearest shower stall. The two girls who followed me in also striped but immediately wrapped a towel around themselves not allowing anyone to see their bodies. I turned on the water and adjusted the temperature to my usual conservative temperature. The two girls entered the stall immediately beside mine and the one beside that. They each turned on the water and adjusted it to their preference. I think they were just showering as an excuse to talk with me.
As steam began to rise from the girl next to my stall she flipped her towel onto the door to her stall and turned toward me saying, "I can't believe how fast you are. I also can't believe you beat him. You're the only person who has ever beaten him."
"He was too slow, no challenge at all." I reply while looking for some soap, "Why is there never any soap in here?"
"I don't know," The girl beside me starts lathering her soap into her washcloth, "Bad luck? By the way, I'm Casra."
I look around my stall for another second and decide that there isn't any soap here. I then turn off my water, but leave the occupied sign up as I walk, to the cabinet, open it, find some soap, and start heading back to my stall. I notice some of the guys that were already in the showering area staring at me.
"I have nothing worth looking at guys." I tell them as I walk past with my soap.
"I don't know how you can say that, but then again, you probably don't care do you?" One of the guys replies.
"My body is just the physical shell that my mind resides in temporarily." I turn and walk back to the guy.
"Spoken like a mage. What’s your area?"
"None, I don't study magic. I'm a technocrat. Nothing more." I stand directly in from of him with just my soap in my hand.
"Shouldn't you put a robe on or something?" The young man was starting to look uncomfortable.
"Why? I don't find any protection necessary in this overtly well heated room." I turn and head back toward my shower stall, "I have a shower to take, please excuse me."
I finish my shower and dry off in the main area of the shower room. I noticed the guys were still watching me as I finished drying off and started getting dressed. After I finished dressing, I head to my room and deactivate the security system long enough to get in.
The next morning, I scan my mail and dress for the day. I slip out waiting outside my door for the beep of the security system and then head down to the dinning hall for breakfast. Seeing no one around I continue on into the kitchen. I see a few teens preparing breakfast.
"How long till its ready?" I ask one of the guys closest to me.
"About a hour," He replies looking at me with a slightly fearful look.
"Do you need help?" I asked unexpectedly (no one ever asks to help, especially not me).
"I, I, I, uh, I guess if you want," He replied sputteringly. "Head!" he calls a second later turning from me.
"Yes?" The Head cook approaches after another second of so, "What’s the problem?"
"No, problem, Boof wants to help fix breakfast today," He replies startling the Cook.
"You must be Boof," Cook turns to me, "You're the one who’s usually late aren't you?"
"Yes, sir," I reply curtly.
"You can call me Cook or Head," He smiles, "How would you like to help?"
"I can to most any type of basic meal preparations that are required, sir." I reply immediately.
Cook rolls his eyes, "You sound like you're from the military, was you father a general or something?"
"No, he was a construction manager, offsite, sir," again with the sir.
"Hmm, well, can you make bacon?" Cook changes the subject.
"Yes, Sir!" I reply without hesitation
"See the guy in the Blue turtle? Go tell him I told you to help him." Cook points out the guy and disappears back in to the kitchen.
I head toward the guy and as I get closer I recognize him as the guy I found last evening. I approach him and tap him lightly on the shoulder. He turns and his face pales at my sight. I give him Cook's message and he nods and some of the color returns to his face. He shows me where the raw bacon was and gave me a spatula. The two of us worked for about thirty minutes and I realized that the bacon is what was taking all the time to prepare because it was understaffed. I helped the Kitchen Workers prepare the food on trays for the waitress/waiters to serve. I then hurried in to the dinning hall to where the rest of the home was already gathering. I again saw Richard watching the main entrance where I always came through, usually late. It looked like he was saving me a seat again.
Before anyone could come challenge him I silently move up beside him and tapped him on the shoulder. "Is this seat taken?" I ask as he turns.
"Yes, its reserved for ... You!" He jumps slightly at my proximity to him and his recognition of me. "Boof, you startled me. You on Kitchen duty?"
"No, I just helped today because I had no messages to deal with. I think most people don't realize Glitch is online again." I sit in the seat he'd been saving.
"Glitch? What’s that?" Richard asks as we wait for breakfast.
"Glitch is my mainframe construct. Its connected to the Matrix," I reply wondering if anyone else had even been in the Matrix.
"You maintain one of those things! Wow, I couldn't even begin to think of the amount of time it would take to maintain it." Richard appears genuinely impressed.
"I wake up at four, spend a hour getting ready for the day and usually work until breakfast maintaining Glitch. About three hours a day, usually." I see the food trays coming through the door.
"You jack in directly, don't you?" Richard asks after we had been served.
"No, I jack through a Cyberdeck. Why?" I start on the bacon.
"Well, we only have console connections in the library. I was wondering if you could show me around your system." Richard asks between bites of egg.
"I guess, but you don't have a datajack, could you barrow one of the simsense headsets from the library's tortoises?" I ask moving to the eggs.
"Probably, where should I meet you?"
"How about I go with you to the library, then we'll go right to my room." I offer as I finish my eggs.
"Sure, ok."
When we both finished eating, We headed over to the on campus library and convinced the librarian to loan us one of the simsense helmets. As we headed toward my room, the one guy I had beaten was bulling another guy around.
"Rich, my room is 256, but don't try to open the door, I'll be along in a sec." I tell Rich as I turn toward the bully.
"What are you doing?" Richard whispers to me harshly, "That’s the campus bully."
"I know what I'm doing," I whisper back, "Now go to my room, I'll meet you there in a second."
I reach the bully and tap him on the shoulder as the frightened guy the bully was beating on inches away as the bully turns. I notice Richard standing at the junction in the hall, looking pale as the bully turns. I notice Richard’s surprise when the bully turns chalk white at my sight and mumbles something about the other guy owing him money, and hurries off in the opposite direction the injured young man continues inching away.
"You alright?" I ask the other guy as I help him to his feet.
"Fine," He mumbles and limps off toward the nurse's office.
"You didn't go to my room," I reprimand Richard as I walk past.
"Why did the bully pale at your sight?" Richard breaks from his surprise.
"I beat him in a few seconds when he challenged me to a fight." I explain as we reach my door.
I open the door enough to get my fingers in and type a code on the keypad inside the room. I hear the click of the system disengaging and open it to admit Richard and myself. I take the Simsense helmet from Richard and plug it into my Cyberdeck, in the hitcher's jack. I then plug myself into the deck. I motion rich to sit beside me on the bed and warn him that he won't be able to do anything, just watch, but he can still see the speed I travel through the matrix. I flip the switch.