The bright flash of a distant explosion briefly illuminated the massive pipe-like course that Max and Pace sped forward on. It was impossible for them to distinguish up from down, as a strong gravitational force held their bike to the track at any given position. The space quickly fell dark again, with the pulse of…
1.2.0
“Dear Lord,” the minister’s voice rang out against a backdrop of imperfect organ music, “please accept Diane’s spirit into your loving arms, comforting us with the reminder that someday we will meet her again in our true home, a kingdom where you reign for all eternity. Amen.” “Amen,” responded the congregation in unison. The sun…
1.1.4
Three strange entities sat quietly in the narrow space facing Xun, as if they had been anticipating his arrival. On the left was a slim, bald man – unremarkable in many ways, except for the game of Space Invaders playing out on his bare chest like a living tattoo. On the right, upon an old…
1.1.3
For the first time in ages, Xun found himself walking through unfamiliar space, a location he imagined would have looked like Hong Kong two or three decades in the past. The darkness around him was illuminated with the glow of countless neon lights, blinking, shifting, morphing into messages in a variety of languages and codes.…
1.1.2
“We have exactly 9 days until the AGPX Invitationals. That’s 9 days to make it into the top 1000!” Max slammed her fist on the table in front of her to emphasize her point. This wasn’t news to her teammates – they’d all been tracking the leaderboards for a good month now, but she liked…
1.1.1
Darlah was a thin, middle-aged woman with a timid demeanor, but strong hands. She wore a pale blue blouse with a pair of glasses that were impeccably polished, like the stack of spotless plates she lifted into her kitchen cupboard. She glanced back at her daughter, seated at their aging dining room table. “How are…
1.1.0
“Jiang? Jiang Xun? …that’s strange, I’m not seeing any connectivity issues-” “-I’m here,” Xun replied, though somewhat reluctantly. He turned away from the four code-filled screens of his virtual work space. “What is it?” “We never received your confirmation regarding tomorrow’s meeting,” his supervisor stated. “If I recall you were not in attendance at the…
1.0.4
The bar was thinning out and Vince, on his fourth or fifth drink, took advantage of both the mental and physical space he was so rarely afforded. No meetings to prepare for, no flights to catch, just an investment deal to turn over in his head and a Manhattan with the promise of no hangover…
1.0.3
“Hahaha! You told them what?” howled Stefano. “Vincent my friend,” he said raising his glass, “you have nerves… you have… balls of steel!” He finished what was left of his drink and inelegantly placed it on the table. “Now look,” responded Vince as he lifted his own glass, “I don’t go around pretending to be…
1.0.2
“…the latest in a series of major data breaches taking place earlier this morning around 5 am UTC. The target: Innovocor, the well known tech conglomerate who acquired SrVo last April. Cybersecurity firms have yet to release any official statements about the source of the attack, but online communities are attributing the breach to self-proclaimed…