Lian did not intend to murder his boss when he woke up that morning. His sleepy hand waved away the tiny Metabots buzzing around, tangling in his matted hair. They buzzed as if preparing to feed as their person of interest stirred. The first responders among them broke away urgently to fly through a broken window and report back to the social mother ship. Lian grimaced as the outgoing MetaBots buzz reminds him of the silicon stench they will discover, coming from their destination—smoldering data centers burned black in the riots. It had happened so fast that even the robots had missed the memo, and from then to now, the pace of information-gathering continued.
The DeeBee device in his pocket buzzed discreetly. Lian struggled to identify the noise, then remembered he had recently stolen it. Hungry, homeless, and once again desperate, the sharp-eyed Lian had noticed when a passerby ducked down an alleyway. Skillfully following his instinct, Lian was stunned to watch as the stranger performed the detach ceremony for his personal DeeBee and then—well, then Lian had swooped in like a supersonic seagull and snatched it.
An unlocked DeeBee! Lian had gone from drone bait to best mate instantly. He deliberately shoved the stranger to trigger any passing drone, which locked onto the guy, and that was the end of him. Lian’s smooth crowd-flow movements hid the internal shock and thrill he was experiencing. An unlocked DeeBee! Everybody knew this meant instant identity, secure shelter, eye-watering knowledge, possibly even treasures beyond measure.
Extract from the user guide:
Welcome to DeeBee: (dB: Digital Being) – you are now reading your real time 32Kres skin implant /tattoo. You are reading this message because you have secured the ultimate prize. Whatever you do, keep your separate encrypted keyring safe - it securely manages your private keys and sensitive information safe (may cause death).
My sensors allow me to respond to your every movement, and expression. Trust me. Congratulations on being assigned our top of the range life coach – informative AND with optional guard rails for the morally incontinent.
What now? Expect endless self improvement lessons from our vast expanse of carefully crafted knowledge and history. Sure - we know, none of this is your fault. Just Abandon hope - we got you. X
This scrolled message will never repeat. /dev/null beckons. No more warnings. Enjoy!
A noise brought Lian smack bang into the present. His heart skipped a beat. He heard a high-pitched whine, but nothing like a drone. Instead, a perfectly balanced four-legged creature slid around the corner and ambled its way along the side of the table, making a deep, chesty sound. He had heard of these exotics but never seen one. A sleek, furry, ginger exterior covered an agile, slinky body, which tapered into a languid, probing tail. It regarded its new roommate with disdain. Lian smiled, offering a dry crust in his open hand. The creature circled closer.
THWACK!
The crossbow’s trap wire did its work. One brief screech, then silence. Lian grinned at his morning’s luck, reaching for his prize when the DeeBee vibrated against his hip:
Target: Ginger. Age: 6 years. Kill method: Efficient.
Previous status: Organic cat food.
Current status: Your breakfast.
Irony level: Significant.
Lian’s blood ran cold. “What are you?” he whispered.
Role: Life Coach: Specialty: Uncomfortable truth.
Previous owner: Redacted; Ok, OK - deceased; Our little secret ;)
Current owner: Promoted(murderer).
This was not happening. To survive is to ignore anything that does not serve the present moment. Best ignore it and stick with his instincts. Lian picked up his bleeding breakfast, wrung its neck just to be sure, and noticed a red collar with the word “Ginger” written on it. Nearby, there was a bowl with the same name, containing dry food pellets. Truly a good start to the day. Humming a tune, he skinned his breakfast, then smashed up some picture frames and furniture to cook it, before looking nervously at the now silent DeeBee. He gulped down the cold starter from the bowl to help wake himself up. It stank, like the river slime he had grown up on. Sniffing his index finger at length, he shrugged. Burglars can’t be choosers.
Another staccato double buzz. Lian jumps, then whispers: “How are...?”
Previous owner: Redacted. Access level: High.
Current owner: Pathetic. Acquisition Method: Theft.
Style points: Minimal. Survival probability without me: Zero.
Lian cooked breakfast, trying to ignore the device.
“Stop watching me!”
He choked on his breakfast as DeeBee buzzed. That buzz got annoying, fast.
Function: Observation. Privacy setting: Non-existent [Like your ethics].
root access: Temporary. Pending next performance review.
Your move: cat-muncher.
Lian was rattled. Feeling lucky, he went to the window of the high-rise and chanced a quick peep out. He considered throwing out the DeeBee.
“I need this place.”
Down below, the Citadel of Limbotomy and the deluded minds of its citizenry were stirring. People were shuffling around, setting up their stalls between the shining steel buildings and the rubble on the streets. No GovAid construction machines had shown up to tear down and repurpose neighborhoods at random. No one appeared to be watching or sending messages somehow to this accursed DeeBee, so it was safe to move around, at least for a few hours. Ducking away from the window, he looked at the glow of his DeeBee tattoo shining dully from under his left left sleeve. He could just imagine the endless streaming data and images. This must be the key to a good life; better bring it along for now. He lifted his sleeve and looked at his new tattoo..
What if you had shown up on my ass instead of my arm, and how do I make you shut up?”
Mute function: Unavailable.
Situation: Deal with it, oh Mighty Master.
Suggestion: Abandon Hope
Lian looked around, gave a deep sigh.
“Great. Just great.”
The tiny handheld emitted a high-pitched warbling buzz, like a dentist drill pushing hard into tooth enamel. Surely it was not laughing. Maybe a driller-bot threat? Lian sighed. Later. Right now, it was time to face the daily grind.
Could always be worse. Today is going to be a good day