02.15 - Mind Wipe What the hell? The blonde man at the security desk threw his hands in the air. Crackling explosions across the vocal channel echoed the sentiment. Janus was mouthing every obscenity he knew. Jasper shut the channel down with a yell. Quiet! Once he was sure he had their attention he told his team the facts. Listen up people. Weve been coasting on sheer dumb luck here. Every Enforcer unit is up in the streets over our heads mopping up anyone thats even taken a bribe from someone on The Council. And if we sit
The first week, the sun will rise each day and no one will take notice, a shimmering ghost and no sixth sense. Then they'll haul away the mattress, all the books sheathed into boxes. They always said life was too short and Andrew Weil's philosophy on health a masochism. They'll start feeding the dog generic food, whatever's the cheapest: Iams or Purina instead of Castor & Pollux. They'll toss out all the junk: the notebooks filled with poetry (the only poetry they read were Psalms or Hallmark's), the Magic cards, the contributor copies, the obs
Matter of Fact and Fear Was it wrong to think that my life full of bottles, diapers, and sleepless nights was exciting? Other people might think it dull, but I didnt. It had a way of keeping me on my toes. And it let me play with my baby when he wasnt spitting up or pooping. I wanted to enjoy his early years because he wouldnt remember them, but I would. When Gideon grew up, I wanted to tell him stories of when he spit up on his father, stories of our sleepless nights, and stories of the days when we just laid around and played with his toys. Gideon made my life exciting. S
Wanting What I Never Had I always wondered what my life would be like if I had a brother or sister. Living life as an only child was strange, and I spent my days all alone, hoping for a brother or sister to play with. A little girl could only have a tea party with her stuffed animals for so long before she desired some actual intelligent conversation. The bears and dolls could only agree with what I said until I wanted a different response. When I was five, I asked my mother and father for a little brother or sister, and they just looked at me, with sad smiles on their faces. They pulled me up onto the c
Silent Screaming Having children has a way of calming your moods. You suddenly have this focus, and everything around you starts moving to fit with your new schedule. Its not boring, by any means, but it settles your life into a routine. Well, thats what Ive heard. Rory had a set schedule when she was a baby, but its different with Gideon. He sleeps when he wants to, eats when he wants to, cries when were trying to sleep, but its hard not to love him. The lack of sleep did cause me to drag my feet around the house, but holding Gideon and watching him experience the wor