Stories tagged “trick”
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Trickmaster
The haze clears. He remembers why he’s chained to this throne of cobwebs and starlight, why he’s grounded here, at the edge of midnight. Hunger rips at him from the inside, a frenzied monster gone too long without sustenance. Thirst strangl...
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The 2 Items (Idea from xkcd.com. Check Them Out!)
I hide a grin as I stand in line. I love this game! The pillow underneath my dress is uncomfortable, but necessary for my ruse. I look down into my purse and grab an onion, the pieces of which I rub on my eyelids. My eyes are full of tears as I walk up...
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Entrapment (Deception Challenge)
The big, luxurious touring motorcycle was sitting unattended at the gas station. The engine was running, as if the driver had just stepped away for a minute. It was every cycle thief’s wet dream. Jason grinned as he settled onto the bike. This wa...
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His Nefarious Scheme
“You’ll never get away with this!” the bike complained as they pulled off the interstate into a warehouse district. “They’ll look for me when I don’t report in.” “Actually…no, they won’t.” J...
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Parting Ways
“Bullshit! You sound like you know enough to think you know how we operate, but you have no clue.” she grumbled. “Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure I don’t know how you operate, some of my people have worked with you before.”...
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I'm a Highway Star
“That’s ‘cuz you’re a flake, Bran,” the motorcycle said waspishly. “Oh ha ha, I’ve never heard that one before,” Bran retorted. Then he stared. “You’re a cyclemech! He actually did it!” ...
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Heart to Heart
“I sort of got that feeling myself. But you’ve only given me half an answer there. You’re as much a part of this as he is, you know…” she replied in a deadpan. “I’m replaceable. If it wasn’t me it would h...
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Attitude Adjustment
“That’s kind of personal,” Star replied. “What are you doing?” “I’m hacking into you, what do you think?” “You can’t just ‘hack into’ me. I’m years ahead of any computer tech...
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Red Giant
“You’re lightyears ahead of anything I can get ahold of, Star, so I’m afraid I can’t give you as much processing power as you have in your real body, even using the whole in-house network as a Beowulf,” Bran’s voice ...
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Catch a Fallen Star
“You followed the procedures to the letter?” Jason asked as he came back downstairs. Bran nodded. “It went just as you said. No deviations.” “Good.” Jason grinned. “So how’s my pretty lady feeling?”...
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Now What?
“So you pulled off this trick to get ahold of me? Why didn’t you just tell me who you were at the gas station, you big dork! If that jammer hadn’t worked, or had stopped working, I could have…” she trailed off. “I...
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Another Ulterior Motive
Jason smirked. “You ain’t seen nothing yet. Megan—Star—whatever you want me to call you, can you come upstairs with me? I have something I want to show you.” “All right…” Highway Star, nee Megan, unfolded into her hu...
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Identity
“You always were trying to save the world, one person at a time.” she said with a soft chuckle. “I’ll say I’m curious how you managed to get ahold of data cubes, it’s not like Aegis is just tossing them out.” &...
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Out of Bodies Experience
“Bah, that’s the same load of crap that the Elizabots dump on every new convert. I didn’t buy it then, and I sure don’t buy it now.” Star snorted, or made as good an imitation as a vocoder could produce. “All right, ...
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Distraction
“Well, when you put it that way, it’s downright simple, just hijack a multi-billion-dollar nanofab factory for a few days and program it to build off some of the most closely-guarded and highly classified blueprints in the U.N.‘s data...
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Disclaimers
“But…anyway…” Jason glanced at his sister. Star sighed. “You understand, if I copy her—assuming whatever’s keeping her from waking up doesn’t mess it up—and you put her in a ‘mech body, she may not thank you ...
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It's Been Awhile
“How’d it go?” Jason asked, looking hopeful. “It’s hard to say. We don’t know if what’s keeping her from communicating in her real body is something that’ll interfere with her being able to communicate in...
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fsck
Jason sighed. “Well, on the one hand, there may not be much point until we have a ‘mech for her to go into. But on the other…if we get the ’mech and she’s still not ready, then we’d just have to do it all anyway.” ...
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Facing Facts
“Anything?” Jason asked, his eyes pleading. Star could only sigh , as she knew the only response she could give would satisfy neither of them. “We may be able to simulate the human mind now, but we still don’t really understand ...
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Grandiose Plans
“But…what am I supposed to do to him?” Star asked. “He seems fairly healthy at this point, and I’m morally opposed to…processing…people who don’t need it.” “Robovegan, huh?” Jason chuckled. “J...
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Memory Dump
Rae came down to the garage again that evening. “Are you doing okay? I’m sorry…Mom and Dad won’t let me keep you in my room.” “I’m fine now. Especially since you took off the interlocks. Hey, what’s this thin...
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Best Laid Plans
“Maybe a little bit, but not as much as you would think. Don’t worry, I have plans,” Jason said with a smirk as he headed downstairs once more. “Yeah, well so did the Soviets, and look how they ended up,” Star grumbled as ...
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The Opponent
Air in. Air out. All to silence. Jerald calmed his mind, one by one shutting out the distractions cloying at the edges of his thoughts. His agent, scheming and conniving, would wait for another day. The crowd, slack-jawed ingrates all, could just as we...
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Waffle's In Trouble
Percolate had been around for 49 long dog years. He preferred to lay around on the cool porch, only retreating under it for extreme shade. He never asked for a pesky, youthful kitten to befriend him. But his human thought it was cute. Waffle pounced un...
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Percolate and Waffle, Kitten-Nabbers
The Humans moved fast, grabbing Waffle by the scruff of the neck. She hissed at them, claws spread wide, though helpless in her dangling. The Humans made human noises at her and held her high in the air. Percolate had no choice now, his blood was boili...