It's late afternoon according to the sunlight pouring into the room. KC rolled over. No use, she thought, windows on both sides of the room.
  With much effort she sat up, wiping sweat off her forehead, pushing her chair back. Must not have ever made it back to bed, she mutters to herself.
  Another lonely breakfast at the dark smoke filled dinner down the street is the perfect start for my day, she cant help but mutter to herself again. Pushing thick plastic glasses onto her oversized nose, she stumbles over to her dresser and pulls out some cloths a baggy over shirt and loose jeans.

  Breakfast and the newspaper comfort her. New products and politics and promises wrapped up in virtually identical packages for the masses to buy, she thinks. KC smiles wide as she walks home from the diner that afternoon, thinking about an article she read.

  She laughs again, then stops, self conscious about the sound it makes. Opens the lock on her door, letting herself into the small apartment.

  The boy from down the hall passes her in the apartment building's main hall, down by the mailboxes. He's so cute, with that synthtech hair and beautiful crystal eyes. KC trips over her shoelaces, and shakes her head vigorously.

  Back up at her room she can't help but wonder why she always is so stupid around him, around beautiful people. Her mind drifts off to thoughts of actresses, adventurers on the screen who are always so dashing and heroic. The mirror offers KC her reflection, allowing her to watch herself sink into her chair and try to sink out of this body.

  Her eyes dart over to the deck on the table. "A little trip might make me feel better".

  Her bony fingers slide through the greasy black pageboy haircut until they hit the interface. KC's other hand reaches out and grabs the quarter plug and stud's in.
  Booting up the deck, she takes a deep breathe in and closes her eyes, waiting for the system to load.

inside a whirlpool of colors cant breath breath now air open up eyes inside and see the alerts no time to read now ahead surge inside the wire like a ghost through walls out past the civgrid with neon advertising lights stretching on past infinity zoom past outside now the Badlands now floating in the corpgrid there lies the fortresses like shimmer spheres in the desert no pretty skins out here only raw data find one who owns that who cares anymore have some fun invisible I will overhear their conference inside that sphere scans miss sideways shadow front door knock knock hard quicksilver parts 'like a run keep moving 411 3rd eye flaring understand oh ironic fate leads me here inside the mainframe one more wall pass remove box borrow your bandwidth jumping board to the next level redrover i'm coming right over next level inside clean white perfect look around got 'cha reach into my bag of trix felix there we go mealworm should do the trick log out back out back door no time trace's started feel it like a noose getting tighter cant cut the wire bounce off the remote another 2 seconds gained back out with a broom behind nothing to follow to the desert outside now safe exit
:
: /shutdown

  KC leans back, breathing hard. Reaching back she pulls the stud out of her neck as the deck powers down.

  Pleased with herself she decides to go out to dinner. Walking back to the diner, she takes her usual booth. A cook has the radio on in the back, and she orders, overhearing the news as it blares on the little box.

  "This just in, a hacker has tampered with the Seattle times central computer. Corrupting the data which is sent to the printers, this computer criminal has made big news. Tune in for more up to the detail coverage of this..." the chef turns it off and KC giggles, pushing her thick black glasses back up her nose. A copy of today's front page stares up at her from the tabletop. "C-Crime Ends In Seattle"

  KC laughs again and enjoys her meal.