Read Online The Unincorporated Future by Dani Kollin, Eytan Kollin - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Dani Kollin, Eytan Kollin
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many visits to the classroom was in the process of being devoured. He was enveloped by a data wraith that was gurgling in pure contentment. Twelve children stood frozen in absolute terror against the back wall of the classroom.
When the professor was gone, the wraith’s gurgles of joy transformed first to a confused exclamation and then to the wretched moan of a hungry child. The wail of the wraith was made even more jarring by the sudden chorus of screams emanating from the back of the room. The creature then shot toward the children.
Instinctively, Sandra blocked its path, coming to the realization too late that against that monster she was as defenseless as the children. The wraith quickly enveloped her, but instead of the sounds of satiation, the beast swirled in agitation as it struggled to devour the undevourable. Sandra felt a momentary loss of balance and a sharp pain in her temples akin to that of an ice cream headache. She struggled to maintain her focus as the surroundings, robbed of the code the wraith had swallowed, seemed to short out. In the end, the data wraith had taken from Sandra of a few tense seconds of direct visual input but not much else. Sandra, through no effort of her own, seemed to have gotten the better end of the encounter as the wraith’s giggle turned into howls of agony. Sandra knew from her studies that data wraiths screamed in hunger and sometimes frustration, but she’d never heard of one screaming in agony. She didn’t care, though, because the more it screamed, the fewer of her inputs it tried to eat, which meant the Neuro quickly regenerated itself to the point that there were no shorts at all. Just the surreal vision of a confused and possibly wounded data wraith unsure of what to do next.
Sandra now went on the offensive, moving, tepidly at first, toward the creature. For every one step she took, it would float backwards and away from her. Still, it stayed close. Perhaps, thought Sandra, it could somehow smell the “real” avatars now crouched and trembling behind her.
“Guess the appetizer was a little unappetizing,” taunted Sandra.
The creature screamed and tried to move around her. But she shadowed its every move, and in this way they spent the next few minutes in an odd dance around old-fashioned children’s school desks, a few mammalian skeletal models, and an assortment of chairs. Never once did Sandra look to the ground. If she bumped into a chair, she simply flung it aside with her hand or pushed it out of the way with her staff. Exacerbated, the data wraith flew up into the steepled roof and massed, looking very much like it was going for one final lunge. Though just as it began to swoop down, it stopped as if paralyzed. The wraith spread out wider, charged again, and again was unable to move downward. It then began shrinking in on itself, crying out in anger at first but then turning to a whimper until finally the creature, along with its once menacing howl, dissolved into thin air.
Sandra stared up at the ceiling in disbelief and after a few seconds exhaled deeply. Convinced the wraith was gone, she turned around, walked over to the children, and got down on one knee. She carefully placed the staff in front of her and then immediately began examining the children. “Are you all right?” she asked, her eyes probing worriedly. “Are any of you hurt?” They all shook their heads, with a few wiping tears. Sandra continued to study them intently. They let her inspect them for any signs of harm without protest and were so unusually compliant that she was afraid they might have entered into a state of catatonia. She changed her mind, though, when as one, all their eyes suddenly went wide with fright. She spun around, expecting to see another data wraith but instead she saw an overweight avatar in an old-fashioned, gray pin-striped suit, round collared shirt, and wide, solid blue tie. He was balding and had a scar on his face. She was trying to remember where
When the professor was gone, the wraith’s gurgles of joy transformed first to a confused exclamation and then to the wretched moan of a hungry child. The wail of the wraith was made even more jarring by the sudden chorus of screams emanating from the back of the room. The creature then shot toward the children.
Instinctively, Sandra blocked its path, coming to the realization too late that against that monster she was as defenseless as the children. The wraith quickly enveloped her, but instead of the sounds of satiation, the beast swirled in agitation as it struggled to devour the undevourable. Sandra felt a momentary loss of balance and a sharp pain in her temples akin to that of an ice cream headache. She struggled to maintain her focus as the surroundings, robbed of the code the wraith had swallowed, seemed to short out. In the end, the data wraith had taken from Sandra of a few tense seconds of direct visual input but not much else. Sandra, through no effort of her own, seemed to have gotten the better end of the encounter as the wraith’s giggle turned into howls of agony. Sandra knew from her studies that data wraiths screamed in hunger and sometimes frustration, but she’d never heard of one screaming in agony. She didn’t care, though, because the more it screamed, the fewer of her inputs it tried to eat, which meant the Neuro quickly regenerated itself to the point that there were no shorts at all. Just the surreal vision of a confused and possibly wounded data wraith unsure of what to do next.
Sandra now went on the offensive, moving, tepidly at first, toward the creature. For every one step she took, it would float backwards and away from her. Still, it stayed close. Perhaps, thought Sandra, it could somehow smell the “real” avatars now crouched and trembling behind her.
“Guess the appetizer was a little unappetizing,” taunted Sandra.
The creature screamed and tried to move around her. But she shadowed its every move, and in this way they spent the next few minutes in an odd dance around old-fashioned children’s school desks, a few mammalian skeletal models, and an assortment of chairs. Never once did Sandra look to the ground. If she bumped into a chair, she simply flung it aside with her hand or pushed it out of the way with her staff. Exacerbated, the data wraith flew up into the steepled roof and massed, looking very much like it was going for one final lunge. Though just as it began to swoop down, it stopped as if paralyzed. The wraith spread out wider, charged again, and again was unable to move downward. It then began shrinking in on itself, crying out in anger at first but then turning to a whimper until finally the creature, along with its once menacing howl, dissolved into thin air.
Sandra stared up at the ceiling in disbelief and after a few seconds exhaled deeply. Convinced the wraith was gone, she turned around, walked over to the children, and got down on one knee. She carefully placed the staff in front of her and then immediately began examining the children. “Are you all right?” she asked, her eyes probing worriedly. “Are any of you hurt?” They all shook their heads, with a few wiping tears. Sandra continued to study them intently. They let her inspect them for any signs of harm without protest and were so unusually compliant that she was afraid they might have entered into a state of catatonia. She changed her mind, though, when as one, all their eyes suddenly went wide with fright. She spun around, expecting to see another data wraith but instead she saw an overweight avatar in an old-fashioned, gray pin-striped suit, round collared shirt, and wide, solid blue tie. He was balding and had a scar on his face. She was trying to remember where
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