Fortuna Sees All
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The fortune teller clucked and coughed and muttered over the cards, stirring them where they fell rather than laying them in rows, as though she wished for them to follow some path of her own devising rather than read what they might have to say.
“Oh, no,” she said, and Neila’s eyes popped.
“No, no, no,” she went on, and Neila thought she might scream.
But then she dismissed it all—“No, no,”—as if in reply to Neila’s growing alarm, without ever looking at Neila, no, never taking her gaze from the cards nor ceasing her constant shuffle and stir.
Neila calmed herself—of course the Great Fortuna would never deliver bad news so offhandedly. Of course she read her querent’s every mood—mild or wracked—as clearly as the incense curling round the velvet table, or the carnival's buzz wafting through the beaded curtain standing sentinel to her betasseled tent.
At last Fortuna ceased her pattern-building, inhaled deeply and sighed, guttering, almost extinguishing the spirit candles burning in the sultry gloom. Smoke scattered and cleared between them.
Neila felt lighter, reassured, as Fontana smiled reassuringly and reached for the inlaid ivory box at hand, the antidote perhaps to the misadventure perceived, but no, merely a cigarette, hand-rolled, which she lit from a sputtering candle, but no, not tobacco, some other herb she picked now daintily from her tongue, and leaning forward with both elbows on the table, her eyes glittered at Neila.
“So... You’re in love. I’m so sorry.”
We Don’t Care If the Sun Don’t Shine
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“We could have done more.”
“More what? What were we, really? Playboys and killers. They were the ones with the scientists—”
“And the blood.”
“Don’t say that word! Ugh. What I wouldn’t do for a nice warm glass of—”
“All I’m saying is we could have tried. Something. Anything. We stood by while they all got sick. If anything, we picked off the remaining healthy ones who might have found a cure.”
“For the last time, there was nothing we could have done. You? Give me a break— you grew up before penicillin, before anesthesia for fuck sake. And I’ve got the equivalent of a second grade education by modern standards.”
“You speak Ancient Greek, and studied with Socrates!”
“Yeah, and I don’t know one end of a microscope from the other. Face it: we had a good run, we drank of kings and queens. Game over.”
“Should we go outside? Get some sun?”
“Haha. Not today. There’s a bank over on 16th that’s still got some frozen plasma. I’ve been topping off the backup generator every couple nights. I was going to surprise you.”
“Plasma?! Gross. It’s not even red. Talk about a weak tea.”
“Fine. More for me.”
“No, no. Alright, should we head over tonight?”
“Sure thing. Hey, do I have something in my teeth? I’d look in the mirror but—”
Eye Fidelity
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"Now, I'm going to turn on your third eye, hon, it will feel a little strange but we turn on that one first—or third, as the case may be, haha!—because it's the same view as the first two, being right in between them, ya know, and you’re already used to how those two work together, being integrated biologically from birth, of course—Mother Nature really is sharp, ain't she?
Hey, hand me that sprocket there, doll, wouldya?
It's gonna take a little while to integrate, it's different for everyone, but you’re going to love the new look! And your depth perception? Wow!
Once you get the hang of it, we can start turning on more—once those brain pathways start activating, each one gets easier, and at some point your capacity enhancements kick in—that's a whole 'nother deal, one step at a time!—and of course, much later, you'll have your remote viewers, your swarms, you know—those drones you see buzzing in cute little clouds around people’s heads?—and you can send them across the street to look at a shop window, or send one with your daughter when she goes on her first date—keep an eye out, that’s our motto—you can have remote eyes at home when you’re at work, or vice versa or whatever you want, but that all comes much later, I don't want you to worry about any of that right now, sweetie.
Oh, I see you got the rose-tinted upgrade, good for you.
You got any questions, hon?"
Brilliant! It's amazing how you can develop so much in a few short paragraphs. Each story was amazing with my fav being the last one. The upgrade of the rose-colored glasses was right up my alley and so well done!
“I’d look in the mirror, but—“ 😆
Haha! These were all terrific. You’re talented in so many directions, my friend!