by

Yanick Champoux (38%)

Lee Watts (18%)

Josip Nað (17%)

Michel Lacombe (16%)

Dorian (4%)

goldkngt55 (3%)

Andrew Avila (2%)

Marten (1%)

Oliver (1%)

Part 18

Yanick Champoux (3/12/2001)

Demuel's mind was removed from the physical world, so he didn't feel the ship rock as the missiles exploded against its shields. What he felt, however, was the havoc it spread on the ship's electronic systems. His reality flickered, twisted, went off for the briefest moment and returned to normal as the auxilliary matrix kicked in. The feeling was akin of being smashed like a rotten pumpin and then glued back together. If he had been in his body, he would have barfed his insides out. But as he was only a mind in a virtual world, he merely wished he was dead and whimpered a lot.

He was still craddling his shattered psyche when the air shimmed beside him. The virtual venus appeared. "Outside caller wants to open audio-visual interface with you, shall I put it through."

Demuel nodded without thinking too much. A screen materialized a few meters before him, and Magdalena's visage appeared. Her face was bruised and there was smoke and fire in the room behind her, but whatever she was going to say, she forget as soon as she got a glimpse of Demuel's virtual space.

"You..." she began, "You are.." she sighed, "okay, I'll bite. What are you doing with a naked gal, a big black flacid... thing at your feet and a, uh, glowing ball in your hand?"

"It's not what you think," blurbed Demuel out of habit. Only, in this case it probably really wasn't. He raised the hand that was holding the glowing ball. "I got the prize..."

Magdalena blinked. "The prize? What's that?"

"I dunno," he lied, "but it was there, all shiny and neat-liking. You know, sometimes, you see something and just need to get it..."

Magdalena nodded slowly. "Uh... Okay. I hope it makes you happy. Because, ah, well, you know we are under attack?" She waited for Demuel to nod. "Well, you see, the wall kind of exploded. The one with the terminal with you plugged into. And, uh, I don't know how to break the news to you, but you are a little bit dead..."

Demuel wasn't exactly expecting that. "WHAT?!"