I’m sitting in Susan’s office like I do every Wednesday. Everything is the same as it is when I visit—the fabulous fashion magazines, Harper’s, some issues of the New England Medical Journal, photos of her boyfriend in trendy frames, watery iced latté from Starbucks clutter her desk along with the keyboard and gigantic monitor. She likes her Vogues, lattés, and boyfriend, but I think reading the New England Medical Journal is a chore for her, that she’s in the wrong job. I overheard her say to another medical student that she came from a family of doctors and she was doing what was expected of her. I don’t think she’d tell Dr. Souza this. I know Susan is jealous of the Gold Lady, even if she wouldn’t admit it.
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Dear Edmund,
I’m leaving the hospital for good. You’ll probably say, “Yeah, it’s not the first time you’ve talked about leaving.” That’s just it. I’ve always talked about it, hoping the Gold Lady would drive down from Santa Monica and take me away. But she keeps telling me this is something I would have to do myself, that I would have to come to her. So I did what you normally do, pretend to take my pills and flush them down the toilet when I had to go to the bathroom. I’m feeling a little sick right now, but I think I’ll be OK.
Nearly a Year (approximately one Earth millenium) before Kumo’s string of psychic computer hacks, there was a series of similar similar crimes. And then there’s the list.
Date: 19.4.150.8
In the early Winter of Year 19, the mainframes of Shusa, Atosa, Hitonen, and Hladdat were attacked. The gigantic warehouse-sized buildings filled with analytical engines, or ordinators, were the pride of the cities, especially of the governments, research institutions, and corporations. Information; processed with an infinite amount of rods, cogs, and wheels along with an army of coders and spools upon spools of data; was not cheap.
(Left) The Gold Lady doesn’t have a halo when she is in her human form, but I think the halo makes her look very complete. (Lower right corner) The Gold Lady’s lethal, ass-kicking shoes. Silk crepe scarf to go with the dress on the (lower) left.
“Strangers When We Meet” is how I have felt about some people I’ve known in the past.
The jobs were one lesson in impermanence since they were all short-term. Unlike the grocery store, where I stayed on for one reason or another even though I hated it, I didn’t have to stick around if I didn’t want to. I could always move on to something else, provided I found something. At the same time, I found my relationships with people weren’t always permanent, whether I had control or not.
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It has been a while since I’ve posted an entry from Resplendence, but I’m wrapping it up, bringing it to its conclusion. It’s a finished work and I’d like to get this out in book format. You saw it here first. Not really, as my fellow MFA’ers and professors from the program were the first to see it. And it’s bound in a book, but only 5 copies exist and one of them is in my alma mater’s library. I’m skipping a few leaves, but you’ve seen enough here and I’ve got to keep something extra for a book edition. Can’t give it all away.
This is the hack as it occurs in Kumo’s mind. She is, after all, a telepathic hacker and she draws her inspiration from the Temple of the Muse. Also, remember, she’s on Hlau’s list and she is one of the Seven.
Kumo often focused on something related to the network. Sometimes she would use a wireless signal in a library or café, other times she would touch a computer or hold a network cable. The physical object itself was not enough for her mind to log onto the network and acess information from a computer. She visualized the connection, the safe with the combination, and the listening tools she would use to ascertain the password. Sometimes the password prompt would appear as a sentry and she would somehow read the person’s expression and figure out the password. Othertimes, she would see a lock and create a key from thin air to fit the keyhole. Kumo was very good at mentally matching lock with key.
Chris, my blogger friend out in Austin, TX, has been doing a photo a day project, or Khowaga’s 365 Project. This is his 50th photo, a milestone in a yearlong project. It’s a great portfolio so far and it’s not too hard to get through at 50.* No doubt more fantastic photos will be shot and posted. Bookmark and stay posted.
*51 as of this posting
David Bowie singing his signature anthem of impermanence, “Changes.”
If there’s anything to learn from this recession is that nothing is permanent. Way before our economy tanked to where it is now, corporations adopted the layoff as a quick road to profits during the Clinton years. Downsizing, reducing redundancies, etc – it became the popular way for companies to slim down their expensive American workforce and seek cheaper labor abroad. Even when times appeared to be prosperous, such as the late Clinton years or the middle Bush years, the stable job was not as easily obtainable as it once was.
