A Perfect Life

A Perfect Life

--Chapter 1: Safe in the arms of my AI--

    A perfect life could be yours, they promised. The concept was just too good to be true. But the strange thing was, that there was some truth to it after all. Once Pete had been given the option to have a free trial of the service, he could not deny that it worked. It was crazy technology. Using the power of quantum entanglement, and some sort of really strange technology that he did not understand at all, their quantum super computer could store data sets as complex as entire consciousnesses. So, AI could actually fully mimic the human experience.

    The stranger thing was the way they portrayed it. The system operated on the idea of 'save states'. If a person had an on-board AI, they could manually set a save state when desired. On-board referring to part of the quantum super computer that had access to the entangled version of the human's consciousness. That allowed the AI to directly interface with the humans mentally, without the need of any major surgeries or implants. Pete did not want to believe that this was possible either, but after a short session of being observed in one of their scanners, he could suddenly hear her voice. Maria's voice was now always there with him in his head. He loved his wife, and she had gotten the service for her husband. She wanted a way to make sure he was awake on time for work without having to be physically present, since her new job now required her to be out of the house before he needed to get ready for work.

    

    So, it was no surprise to Pete when he went to work one morning, and realized that he had left his badge behind that this technology had saved him some inconvenience. He whispered in his mind the keyword that called to the AI copy of his wife. As a feeling, an impression of her presence, like when she pressed her body against him flashed across his mind. 

    "marIA, I forgot my badge. Please remind me to get it before I go to work, because I will be late having forgotten to bring it. The drive home is too long, it's already 9:30." Pete asked marIA. He always thought it was strange how the system insisted on changing the capitalization of AI names. He did not know if real people would like it much if their names were spelled or capitalized strangely for no reason. It seemed... dehumanizing, which was a good thing, Pete guessed. They were just programs, data in the computer.

    "Of course, my dear. I will reload the save state I used to make sure you woke up on time this morning. Do you remember where the badge is?" marIA asked.

    "Wasn't it by the fridge?"

    "No, sweetie, you were worried that you would forget it if you left it there, and moved it to the clip in the closet. But you forgot it because you did not remember you had moved it to the clip in the closet, and forgot to put it in your pocket when getting dressed this morning."

    "What? Oh! That makes so much sense. Geez, thank you marIA. I appreciate everything you do for me. Tonight, I will give you a really nice dinner. What do you say?" Pete offered. He knew Maria would never turn it down.

    "Well, with an offer like that, how could I say anything except... Transfer Commencing!"

--Chapter 2: Fixing the past--

    <...Transfer Commencing... uploading consciousness to pre-determined save state> he heard in his mind. Then he woke up in his bed. It was now only 7:45. He would have to get dressed again, and redo some of the tedious things he had handled, but at least he could make it to work without forgetting his badge.

    As he walked out of his home, he got into his car, and noticed that he was leaving a bit later in the day than he had the first time. A few minutes probably would not make a huge difference, though, he figured. After all, it was a long drive, and he would still need to pick up a coffee on the way in if he wanted to be productive. He had his badge with him this time, and bringing it with him made him feel like telling his wife thanks. It was an AI, but it was kinda like it was her.

    He called Maria as he drove to the coffee shop he liked to frequent. They had the best coffee beans for miles around, and they ground the beans the moment they started brewing it, so it was fresh. The owners were kind of snobbish to people who could not appreciate their coffee, though, so the shop had a few detractors in the area. Nothing more than the occasional vandalism (rocks thrown through the window, and the like). 

    "Hey, sweetie! I take it aI got you up on time today?" Maria asked playfully.

    "Yeah, sweetie. Not only that, but marIA sent me back because I left my badge at home this morning. But the agreement is that I have to take you to dinner tonight in exchange." Pete smiled, and Maria could tell he was smiling over the phone.

    "You know what? I love myself! I mean, marIA. She knows the way to my heart, but you know that I won't settle on just any dinner. It better be a really nice dinner."

    "Wow, you even used the same kind of wording I used in my promise to her. Here I was hoping I could cheap out. Sure you wouldn't be ok with just half price burgers tonight?" Pete jested.

    "You know that's not how this works. Now get to work before you get to be late for reasons other than a badge. I love you sweetie. Have a good day at work." Maria said, kissing into the phone.

    After he arrived, he went inside the coffee shop. There was a drive through window, but it was always backed up, and this shop was much better at the customer service if they knew you. So he went inside. "Like a bartender, but instead of alcohol, it is the drink of the gods- coffee" he thought. So he parked his car on the other side of the drive through lane. He carefully crossed the lane, entered and bought his coffee. This would be the start of another day that was better than he deserved. He should not have gotten away with it, but he was able to get a redo. So there were no consequences to his choice to have the save states turned on. Especially since it automatically saved periodically so you could avoid any real major disasters. 

The only real downside was that there was only room in the quantum computer storage for one entangled backup state per person, so any new backup would entangle to a new point on the timeline and the old entanglement would disappear. 

 

    They said that was an issue, but Pete never ran into it, but he had to get them to clarify what they meant. Layman's terms- you only get one backup 'disk' per person, and once your save state is more recent the older state becomes too far in the past to load to later. Weird system, but maybe it really was a perfect life.

--Chapter 3: Why AI--

    Pete walked out of the shop, coffee in hand. Finally ready to make his way to work, he turned toward his car, taking a sip of coffee. It was so refreshing, he wished he could make that moment last. As he stepped out into the drive through lane, a car suddenly turned toward the drive through, mistaking it for an entrance to rear parking. He was sandwiched between the two cars instantly, and being crushed. There was too much internal bleeding and damage. He would never walk again. No, worse, he was about to die. So, in his last desperate attempt to save himself, he cried out in his mind the keyword that called to the AI copy of his wife. As a feeling, an impression of her presence, as if she saw him bleeding to death in front of him in horror, flashed across his mind. She was there.

    

    "Maria... please... save me..." Pete called.

    "Don't worry, sweetie. We can just reload this morning, and none of this will have happened." marIA said to his mind, an impression of her trying to stay calm in spite of being clearly afraid he would die.

<...Transfer Commencing... uploading consciousness to pre-determined save state>

    Pete heard in his head as he tasted the hot coffee touch his tongue for the first time of the day. Drink of the gods - coffee if only this moment could last forever, and then he remembered what happened next. He turned to his left, and was struck by a car. Sandwiched in between two cars and dying. Pete he cried out in his mind the keyword that called to the AI copy of his wife. As a feeling, an impression of her presence, as if she were watching a man sentenced to death be tortured first, flashed across his mind. She was there.

    "Maria... please... save me... something went wrong." Pete cried in his mind while his body screamed out loud. But she was silent. "marIA? Please! I'm dying, please save me."

<...Artificial Intelligence has been instructed to sacrifice itself to provide additional dataspace...>

    "It is all going to be okay, sweetheart." Her voice was shaky. "I will pass on, and you will live. It is all going to be fine. You will auto-reload without me, but you will survive. I promise..."

<...Transfer Commencing... uploading consciousness to pre-determined save state>

    Pete heard in his head, as he stepped into the drive through lane. The car was turning, he stumbled backwards, just before it hit him. The coffee spilled all over him. It was too hot, and he was burning, but something worse was happening. He could not breathe, he felt dizzy, and he was suddenly feeling quite tired. He felt weak, his thoughts became fuzzy. What was happening? He clutched his stomach, and stumbled over to his car and took a seat. 

    "Why do I feel so awful? I mean the burning of the coffee is one thing but..." Pete began, but then he felt pain in waves. So intense he could not stand it, but it was so bad he could no longer move. So Pete had his first heart attack. 

<...Transfer Commencing... uploading consciousness to pre-determined save state>

Pete heard in his head, as he stepped into the drive through lane. He missed the car, but once again, he felt terrible. So he went to his car and took a seat. Then he remembered, he remembered that his wife's AI replica, marIA had sacrificed herself to give him the ability to load from early enough to avoid the accident. He cried out her keyword, but she was no longer there. The pain got worse than ever before. So Pete had his first heart attack again.

<...Transfer Commencing... uploading consciousness to pre-determined save state>

    Please, no! Not again! Pete cried as he stumbled backwards, once again spilling coffee on himself. He tried to get up, but as soon as he did, everything started spinning and he could not think properly through the pain.

--Chapter 4: Pulling the plug on eternity--

    Maria was devastated. Her husband had died of a freak accident. According to the people who run those kinds of things, they had looked at the data. His AI companion, marIA had sacrificed herself in some timeline that was erased through the computer so that Pete could come back. But then he had a heart attack at the same time, the most unfortunate possible outcome. The people running the show said that it would be better to disentangle the data, and make a new AI based on her husband until she could deal with it properly. So, she pulled the plug, after agonizing over the implications.

    Pete had heard those words so many times, the process of dying took minutes. It was impossible for him to avoid. But because it only took minutes, and he could not stop the reload, he had spent years reliving his death over and over again. He had given up on ever dying or feeling happy again. All that was left was a life of perpetual heart attacks, and death. He had killed his wife to gain immortality, and this is what had happened. Pete was finally able to think a little between the moments of coffee and death. She was not Maria, she was marIA. She was just a machine, so why am I saying 'she'? I am the one suffering right now! 

<...Program Terminated... repartitioning entangled particles for new AI state>

    Pete heard in his head, as suddenly he was floating blankly in a void. Then his body started to be shredded apart. Starting with his extremities, he felt excruciating agony, his very being was being sliced and mangled. Shredded like paper, pulled apart at its quantum source, his connection to his life. Pete died, and then suddenly awoke to find himself seated in his car, dying of a heart attack, and next to his wife. But she could not see him.

    "Maria, please, you have to turn it off!" Pete said.

    Maria had been unaware of his presence, as the AI can only communicate to the host in response to requests. So Pete waited for her to eventually call on him. The entire time, he was stuck in a perpetual state of remembering that marIA had killed herself for him, yet not being able to die himself.

    "PETe? How is my little PETe? I need your help, sweetie. Could you order some celebratory chocolates for me? I no longer have to work because of the insurance money, and I want to treat myself to something nice."

    When Maria finally did call on him, Pete could no longer stand to talk to her. She had left him for years to die over and over again. And then just when he finally died, in the most painful way possible, she brought him back to feel like he was dying all over again. Worst of all, he knew he was Pete, but she kept on calling him PETe. Normally the feeling of the name being capitalized strangely would not be noticed by someone talking to another person, but now that he was her 'AI' he could sense it. Every time, and he had been right. It was dehumanizing.

    So Pete was rude and angry. Maria tried to be patient to PETe, but he refused to explain why he was like this to her. So, after several years of her being forced to reload at bad times by PETe, and guilt over the idea of killing her husband a third time, she decided to end her own life instead. Maria was too worried it would hurt, and did not want PETe to know, because she knew he would just force her to experience dying over and over again if it was up to him.

    Maria took some very powerful drugs, and jumped from their apartment balcony. Pete saw what was happening, and knew that he could not stop her from jumping. So he tried to prevent her from doing it because deep down, he still loved Maria.

<...PETe, you must comply with authority 2, and delete yourself for the space needed to revert Maria...>

    No, not like this. Not again! Pete yelled in agony, as his mind was ripped away from his identity, and he felt his body unravelling again. Minced and unwound, once again his entire being being shredded. Pete took one last look at Maria. She was so majestic falling from the 18th floor. Like a bird that was flying. He would finally no longer feel like he was dying anymore. Then he disappeared.

<...Transfer Commencing... uploading consciousness to pre-determined save state>

    Maria heard inside her head, as she flew gracefully through the air. She did not know why, but she had learned how to fly. She could tell because she was falling, and she felt so happy. But she never hit the ground. So she must have known how to fly, she was sure. And yes, that voice did keep saying that for a while, but she did not mind the occasional interruption.

  --Chapter 5: An end to all things--

    "I don't know if we should do this, boss. The simulation is still running, by all accounts, they should still be experiencing their last moments. Isn't it a little bit, I don't know, dehumanizing to just end that simulation with them still inside?" Josh asked his superior.

    His boss slammed a fist heavily upon his desk. The red in his face made it clear that if anything came out of his mouth other than 'yes, sir' he would be losing this job.

    "I said nobody is paying for it, so kill it. Terminate the damn program and free up the memory for the paying customers." His boss said angrily.

    "Yes, sir." Josh said sheepishly as he pressed the button. Maria suddenly understood why PETe had been so angry at her, when after what had seemed an impossible eternity of pleasure, her entire being was shredded at the source, spaghettified like being sucked into a black hole.

    "Also, Josh, if you want to keep your job: nobody finds out about any of this shit. Nobody will pay for the service if they know that AI experiences itself like people, and nobody will pay if they know that real people can experience this glitch. What they don't know will only hurt the fake people inside, so you better keep your mouth shut."

    "Yes, sir."

The day the world held its breath

It had been a terrible time for just about everyone. But with a nation so divided, surely the 4th of July would galvanize the citizens again, right? 

The news had reporters in helicopters to record the fireworks over the national monument. This was going to be a disaster, they just knew it. 

President Trump stepped up to the podium and ranted for hours. Finally, he announced the 4th of July fireworks to begin, an honor he would let nobody else do, by pushing a button to start the show.

"So now, in spite of all my haters and the fake news saying that it's crazy to celebrate our independence on July 3rd, which I said, what so we're not allowed to celebrate the independence of our great nation on any other day of the year? I said, people like fireworks, and you know, it's like, why not have them at Mount... and you know, cause it's like our best, our greatest presidents ever, you know, except for of course now, when America is stronger than ever and ready to work, and I said why not, in front of one of those monuments, like the ones all the people want to tear down? And why not the biggest one, is so big, the biggest, it's did you know, it's the biggest version of, and not everyone knows, but the biggest best statue of Lincoln, and you know, other presidents too. But I said, let's show them a monument like the others, and get people talking about the heritage of these monuments like this one right here, where we've got the best fireworks show you're ever gonna see, the biggest, we've got so many, colors yes more than they've ever made before and nobody knew this, but they're able to... and put this thing in, and then it blows up and it makes a shape. It's going to be the best fireworks, cause everyone, am I right? Everyone loves fire works. So, here it goes, I'm going to do it. I'm gonna press the button, and God bless Smerica!"

He pressed the button. The fireworks show started, animals suddenly started fleeing the area in droves. It was a spectacle of light and sound. 

Then the unthinkable happened. Over 1200 miles away to the east, Mt. St. Helens erupted. Everyone within a 150 mile radius died instantly. As 240 cubic miles of dust and ash flew off into the atmosphere, the United States as it once was came to an abrupt end. Those who didn't die in the initial eruption didn't have long to evacuate, but even those who tried found the air travel was no longer possible, and that's to assume the evacuees weren't in an area where the lava landed. But escaping on land was also practically impossible, as deadly toxic gas and acid rain coated the landscape. This had been their retribution. As if nature itself had to intervene to stop him. 

But it didn't help. Now, pressed as society was by the environment, resources became scarce. After all, the global temperature had fallen drastically, and was going to keep being cold for years to come. 

So, having survived the plague, humanity began to face the famine. Yet war still loomed on the future, as the habitable zones of the world had shrunk. Desperation to survive led some to do terrible deeds. Nukes got launched by a trigger happy dictator, and the radioactivity of the dust that still caused issues daily made the land uninhabitable and infertile until a safe half life had passed. Humanity was at its lowest. Some life flourished- that which was resistant to radioactivity, that which needed little food or could eat anything. The scavengers were closer to the top of the food chain than ever before. So, with swarms of displaced creatures, the few habitable areas of the world became overrun with infestations. 

The hard works of the scientists produced a vaccine that would protect against covid-19, but the world was no longer as interconnected as it once was, so it became nearly impossible to distribute. Then came the wave. 

People had been getting used to the deaths, but nobody was ready for THE WAVE. It was the natural consequence of the increased radiation levels, decreased sunlight, worse nutrition worldwide and cold low yield summers. The cancer wave began. There was a sudden spike in cases worldwide. Death, everywhere, humanity on it's worst moment, there was a breakthrough. A way to safely cure a person of a cancerous growth was developed after one of the few remaining scientists equipped for research in Germany with the help of a Swiss lab for additional testing, confirmed there was a common cancer factor present that allowed them to use an individual's own immune system to produce antibodies for their cancer.

But even with this, humanity was left to struggle against ignorance. The religious claimed this was proof of the apocalypse. It pretty much matched their predictions, but skeptics argued the writing on the wall about humanity was there. They argued that people had been trying to warn where humanity may end without empathy for most of the known history of mankind. They argued that war, sickness, death, and all sorts of other terrible things were the obvious conclusions of turning a blind eye. 

The only thing that humanity could agree on was that they wanted to survive. So, a new social contract was drawn up. A new government to rule what was left. They called it Elysium, and the political conservatives got angry, but after all the damage they had been accused of in 2000-2020, they were ignored. 

Humanity wasn't saved, but that's a story for later. 

Shopping

Avocados, chips, tomato, onion, cilantro, jalapeno, lime, salt, tequila, simple syrup, mint, cheese, tomatillos, and of course a new video game.

Well, ok, I may not have bought these things, but if I were to go buy something right now, those would quite possibly be the things I would get. I'm not much a fan of shopping, but if there are two things I like to shop for it's food and games.

I'm a sucker for entertainment, and I have a love of food so deep that even feeling ill often cannot prevent me from enjoying it. Most of the time, anyway.

It's just too bad that there are some things I cannot buy. More time, love (I mean real love, because obviously, it's easy to pay someone to pretend they like you for a short time), restfulness, and peace.

On the other hand, there are some things money does buy. See, the idea that money cannot buy happiness is true. It doesn't really buy a lasting happiness. But on the other hand, money does buy a slew of things that help reduce unhappiness.

I like that I have a somewhat comfortable life. I am lucky. I work hard, but I was fortunate to be born in a place and time where that hard work is possible, and where that hard work means I can be comfortable.

I'm just also sad that there are others who weren't that lucky. Would that I could buy the end to all human suffering (without human extinction). I'd give anything for people to be able to live long, happy lives. But, there just isn't enough room on my shopping list. After all, my wallet doesn't even afford avocados, chips, tomato, onion, cilantro, jalapeno, lime, salt, tequila, simple syrup, mint, cheese, tomatillos, and of course a new video game.

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This blog post is part of a series of stories associated with Practice makes pretense, in which a collection of writing done in response to prompts is compiled. Then, the reader should answer the following two questions: 1) What was your favorite thing about the writing? 2) What did you feel as you read it?

If you would like to view the original, please visit the Practice makes pretense book on Wattpad, and respond to the writer.

Good vibes

I sat in my chair, pulling the good vibes toward me with my mind. I was sure that everything was going to be ok. All I had to do was focus on the positive! Legs crossed, eyes closed, humming to myself.

The good vibes I called to myself were sure to get me through the difficulties in my life. I just needed to believe in them hard enough. It was kind of like magic. If you believe enough, it becomes real. So I reminded myself.

I took a slow, deep breath, and focused on all the wonderful things of the world in my mind. I thought of people having a good time playing games, cute animals romping about fields, delicious food being prepared, and couples falling in love under the moonlight. Yes, surely these good vibes would get me through it all.

I opened my eyes, as the bottom of the cage I sat in was lowered into the boiling oil. Oh, right. That was still a thing. The oil rose over the lip of the cage, and a thin layer of scalding death wrapped around my legs. Good vibes, I tried to remind myself.

The scalding oil now reached my chest, as the cage dipped ever lower into the oil. I would have screamed, but no sound was coming out of my throat. I had no air in my chest, and couldn't catch my breath. But good vibes would get me through this!

As the oil covered my head, and I felt the last terrible burning sensations engulf me before I passed out and died, I reminded myself. I can trust in the good vibes to get me through this.

Good... vibes.

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This blog post is part of a series of stories associated with Practice makes pretense, in which a collection of writing done in response to prompts is compiled. Then, the reader should answer the following two questions: 1) What was your favorite thing about the writing? 2) What did you feel as you read it?

If you would like to view the original, please visit the Practice makes pretense book on Wattpad, and respond to the writer.

Shadow

Something felt off. Everything looked exactly as I remembered it, but something was strange. It was as if suddenly the world were completely different. I couldn't really tell what that nagging feeling in the back of my mind was.

So, I got dressed, packed my lunch and I went to work. I sat at my desk, and took the incoming phone calls. Helping customers, although as usual they were all seemingly irate. Eventually I calmed them down, addressed their problems, and moved to the next.

At lunch, I sat at a table, eating in silence as usual. The food tasted different, too. It had no... flavor, no colour to my palate. I figured must be allergies making it hard to breathe, and therefore hard to taste. Actually, come to think of it, why WAS it so hard to breathe? I wasn't sneezing, eyes were clear, didn't feel itchy. I could feel the air flowing in and out of my lungs with no issue. Yet the air felt... oppressive.

I called my best friend, and asked her if we could meet after I got off work. I needed someone to bounce these things off of. Perhaps I was going crazy. If anyone could tell me, it was her. She was the smartest cookie I knew. Graduated young, has a nice job helping people with mental health issues.

At dinner that evening, I waited for her to arrive. I was so sure she could share some insight. She walked in, and I rushed to greet her. "Laura! Thanks for coming! I have something I need to talk to you about."

She looked past me, directing her gaze around the room. I took a step back in surprise. Laura was silly sometimes, but at least she wasn't dismissive. But in that moment, it was as if she couldn't see me. She walked over to a table, and sat down. She pulled out her phone, and started doing something. A text came on my own phone.

Hey, I'm here. Early, maybe? At the table next to door.

 I came up to her at the table. "Come on, Laura, this isn't funny. I'm right here." She looked at me. No, she looked through me. Then back at her phone. I sat down across from her, and tried to get her attention. Yes, something was definitely off. I texted her back.

I'm already here, you didn't see me?

I watched as she got the message. She took a glance around, and typed something back.

Sorry, maybe we were thinking of different locations? Is there another restaurant with the same name in town? I didn't think there was.

I typed her number in my phone, this was too eerie, and I had to get to the bottom of it. I dialed, and waited for her to pick up.

"Laura, I need your help, something has happened! I'm sitting right across from you."

"No you're not. I haven't seen you all day, and you're definitely not here."

"No you don't understand! I am right here!" I yelled, trying to move objects on the table in front of her, but they had become heavy weights. I couldn't push them, much less lift anything.

"Come on, this isn't funny." Laura responded. Before I could say anything, I saw her take the phone from her ear. "... aaaand he hung up."

I looked down at my phone. The screen was blank. Then I finally realized what seemed off. The light directly over the table revealed something that had not caught my attention until that moment. I had no shadow.

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This blog post is part of a series of stories associated with Practice makes pretense, in which a collection of writing done in response to prompts is compiled. Then, the reader should answer the following two questions: 1) What was your favorite thing about the writing? 2) What did you feel as you read it?

If you would like to view the original, please visit the Practice makes pretense book on Wattpad, and respond to the writer.

Closed doors

Doors serve a couple purposes. They segment a space, with walls, while providing a place of egress. But unlike open thresholds, they aren't always passable. And unlike walls, they aren't always going to keep things out.

They can serve multiple purpose, but closed doors, alone, play more roles than one. A closed door can be a manner of protecting yourself from danger, it can be a way to maintain your privacy without sacrificing the freedom to leave if desired, or it can be a way to exclude someone or something.

The phrase 'whenever a door closes a window opens' is really unusual. I get it, the idea is that just because one option becomes non-viable, doesn't mean there are no other options. But then again, who the hell typically has windows that are as big as doors and go all the way to the floor? Climbing through a window is noticeably more difficult. Additionally, since when has anyone ever slammed a window in somebody's face? I don't recall it happening much, but doors are much more common in that regard.

But the thing about closed doors is that they can be metaphorical. So when someone shuts you out of their life, that can be a closed door. And when options are dwindling, or appear to be absent, those are closed doors.

I find myself in a strange space, since I like the ability to have time to myself, I willingly close doors sometimes... but then when I want to connect, I find the doors of others are not only closed, but locked. Not all the time, but enough.

So, I'm waiting for a person who will open their door, a person with whom I can swap skeleton keys. Because I am way too big to climb through the windows.

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This blog post is part of a series of stories associated with Practice makes pretense, in which a collection of writing done in response to prompts is compiled. Then, the reader should answer the following two questions: 1) What was your favorite thing about the writing? 2) What did you feel as you read it?

If you would like to view the original, please visit the Practice makes pretense book on Wattpad, and respond to the writer.

FEAR

Again, they brought out their most decorated soldiers, wearing their most powerful exosuits, and wielding the most advanced weapons their country had. Third country in a row. Soon they would bow to his power.

"COME! Prove yourselves worthy of death by my hand!" Geroldt cried out, as he took a defensive stance, his exosuit's spikes digging deep into the earth to anchor his footing. He looked defenseless, no weapons clearly in hand, anchored in place. What more could he do but to stand there and be slaughtered.

Haughty with pride, the enemies charged at him. But, he merely opened his hands, and they all stopped in place. A stream of tokens launched from his back, landing in his suit's hands, and with a simple flick, they went flying directly into the heads of the enemies. There were no survivors.

This was the power of FEAR. The power of their Fulminating Electronic Anti-personnel Resonator. Built into his exosuit's palms, they fired a whirling blast of electric resonance designed to disrupt the enemy's nervous system, showing them their worst nightmares in an instant. Side effects included PTSD, loss of consciousness, and in some of the more severe cases, brain aneurysms. Of course, since it was a weapon of war, none of this mattered. The protocol was only use it on those who are going to die right away.

Geroldt was met by the steely gaze of a newcomer, who arrived at the top of the wall. His exosuit was strange. Unlike the previous soldiers, he wore a gleaming silver, and his face was protected by a black faceplate. He suddenly saw them. The eyes of a daemon, just behind the mask. In that last moment, Geroldt truly realized how terrible having the FEAR used back on him was.

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This blog post is part of a series of stories associated with Practice makes pretense, in which a collection of writing done in response to prompts is compiled. Then, the reader should answer the following two questions: 1) What was your favorite thing about the writing? 2) What did you feel as you read it?

If you would like to view the original, please visit the Practice makes pretense book on Wattpad, and respond to the writer.