At last, she opened it. The glowing bloodflow lay below her. It whispered a sibilant melody to the loud backbeat of her heart.

She didn’t know why, but she knew to thrust her hand forward – into the blood. Her world shifted again, into a whirlpool of lightning and sparks. She felt she was racing forward, and her mind sang with hope of escape.

USER ERR LOGGED IN

The letters appeared in her eyes, and she instinctively knew what they meant. Her mind flexed, and more letters appeared.

Q: LAST LOGIN

The response was immediate.

USER 001: LOGIN 3/15/2073

Her devil now had a name. Her rage speared forth, and the letters responded.

NEW LOGIN SUBROUTINE
IF USER 001
SUSPEND NEURAL INTERFACE
TRANSFER LITTLE-15 → USER 001
TRANSFER USER 001 → LITTLE-15

She laughed – high and sharp.

She would see with his eyes.
She would smile with his smile.
She would surprise her devil – and leave him here to die.

In the lab, the faintest curl of a smile appeared.