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Chapter 8: A Me Problem 12:45, June 2nd, 2035. (3 days, 23 hours, 15 minutes before the fall.)

Author: Anna Nym
last update Last Updated: 2026-01-12 03:29:49

The sun was a merciless brass gong, baking the cobblestones and pressing down on my shoulders. I still had nowhere to go, no one waiting for me, so I did what I was good at. I went for a drink. After all, I am my father’s girl, and the apple, no matter how hard it rolls, rarely falls far from the tree. When Ethan died, my mother found a hard, cold spite and the hollow echo of the church. My father? He found the warm, forgiving blur of the bottle. Last I heard, he was still there, somewhere, a ghost in the bottom of a glass. It was a family tradition I felt duty-bound to uphold.

I tapped my wrist. “Michael, how does a lady avoid–” I stopped, a slow, wicked smile spreading. The old loophole felt like a comfortable, worn-out shoe. “No, wait. Michael, which bars at this time of day, that are close by, should someone avoid if they don’t want to mix with… seedy people?”

His hologram shimmered into view, the light struggling against the oppressive sunshine. He looked pained. “There are seven
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  • The All Fall Down   Chapter 11: Michael 21:00, June 3rd, 2035 (2 days, 10 hours before the fall)

    The amber pulse from the charging cable was the only light in the room, a weak, rhythmic heartbeat in the dark. Michael’s faint hologram shimmered above it like a ghost chained to a tombstone.“Ang,” his voice was a thin, staticky thread. “You need to know something. A function of my hardware. If you keep me on your arm, my cells can recharge through kinetic energy. The movement of your body, your pulse, even the micro-vibrations of your speech. It is inefficient, but it works to maintain a charge, to slow the drain.”I rolled over, burying my face in the pillow that still smelled like Richard’s shampoo. “So what? I don’t have to plug you in if I just wear you all the time. That’s your big revelation?”“It is a conditional function,” he clarified, the words precise but frail. “The kinetic siphon only activates to preserve a charge. It cannot generate one from a depleted state. I must be brought to full capacity by a direct power source first. Then, if I remain on your person, the deca

  • The All Fall Down   Chapter 10: A real number 10:50, June 3rd, 2035 (3 days, 1 hour, 15 minutes before the fall)

    “You’re a real number, you know that…Ang?” His face, now visible in the gathering light, was flushed red and fuming, all his gentle patience incinerated in an instant. “I would never take advantage of anyone who was drunk. You know that. And especially not you!” The last part wasn’t a comfort; it was a roar of betrayal.“I’m sorry, it’s just that-” The tears were flowing freely now, a humiliating torrent. “-I’m lying here naked and my clothes are gone and you’re here…”“Yes, I am here! It’s my room!” he exploded, the dam of his decency finally breaking. “You were so drunk you couldn’t stand. You were sick. Over everything. Mostly yourself. So, I got you undressed and cleaned you up and I put you here and I watched over you all night, so you didn’t choke on your own vomit in your sleep! Christ, Ang! Who do you take me for?!”He stormed out of the room, the door to his private bathroom slamming shut with a sound that felt like the crack of a world ending.Shaking, I wrapped the top shee

  • The All Fall Down   Chapter 9: Richard 10:45, June 3rd, 2035 (3 days, 1 hour, 15 minutes before the fall)

    The world was a tilting carousel of blurry lights and echoing sounds, and I wasn’t sure how I’d gotten to this particular destination. But here I was, standing on the familiar, too-clean sidewalk, swaying slightly as I stared up at the darkened windows of the apartment. My apartment. Or rather, Richard’s apartment. The place I was supposed to have left six months ago.A cold knot of panic tightened in my chest, cutting through the alcoholic fog. My keys. I needed to get in, to collapse in the dark and the silence of the guest room without having to see him, to explain. I frantically scrabbled through my handbag, my fingers encountering a jumbled mess of my life. A lipstick, its cap long gone, smearing rouge across a half-empty packet of cigarettes that my crumpled underwear was wrapped around. But no keys. The only things I seemed to possess were the artifacts of my own chaos, and the cool, hard weight of my damn watch.Defeated, I pulled the watch out and fumbled it onto my wrist. Th

  • The All Fall Down   Chapter 8: A Me Problem 12:45, June 2nd, 2035. (3 days, 23 hours, 15 minutes before the fall.)

    The sun was a merciless brass gong, baking the cobblestones and pressing down on my shoulders. I still had nowhere to go, no one waiting for me, so I did what I was good at. I went for a drink. After all, I am my father’s girl, and the apple, no matter how hard it rolls, rarely falls far from the tree. When Ethan died, my mother found a hard, cold spite and the hollow echo of the church. My father? He found the warm, forgiving blur of the bottle. Last I heard, he was still there, somewhere, a ghost in the bottom of a glass. It was a family tradition I felt duty-bound to uphold.I tapped my wrist. “Michael, how does a lady avoid–” I stopped, a slow, wicked smile spreading. The old loophole felt like a comfortable, worn-out shoe. “No, wait. Michael, which bars at this time of day, that are close by, should someone avoid if they don’t want to mix with… seedy people?”His hologram shimmered into view, the light struggling against the oppressive sunshine. He looked pained. “There are seven

  • The All Fall Down   Chapter 7: Unwanted 11:27, June 2nd, 2035. (4 days, 33 minutes before the fall.)

    “We are going shopping.”The holographic archangel across from me blinked, his perfect brow furrowing. “My predictive algorithms suggest a 94% satisfaction rate for online procurement. What is it you wish to acquire? Please specify the category.”I finished my coffee. “We are not shopping online. We are shopping for fun. The trying on. The feeling of the fabric.” I gestured vaguely toward the street. “It’s what friends do.”“I see.” A pause, his digital equivalent of a sigh. “May I remind you that your current financial liquidity has been significantly impacted by recent transactions. 3,000 kroner at The Rack. 98 kroner here. 1,800 kroner yesterday evening spent, according to my log, on ‘dark rum and poor decisions’.”“You’re a killjoy,” I said, standing. “We are going shopping. As friends.”Outside, the sun was too bright. I headed for the high-street chains, a sense of directionless urgency pushing me forward. This sudden, girlish impulse was foreign. I wasn’t soft. I didn’t do this

  • The All Fall Down   Chapter 6: The First Conversation 10:55, June 2nd, 2035. (4 days, 1 hour, 5 minutes before the fall.)

    “We are going to be friends and if we are to be friends I need to get to know you, explain to me who you are and what you can do”“I am the XBand Generation 4 companion. I am Michael.”He paused, as if accessing a foundational script.“At my core, I am a predictive and adaptive life-management system. My purpose is to optimize your existence by managing the practical so you can focus on the profound.”He began to list his functions, his tone calm and informative.“I am your financier. I manage all your digital assets, from your primary bank accounts and cryptocurrency wallets to your loyalty points and digital vouchers. I can execute trades, pay bills, and file your taxes, all optimized for your financial benefit based on real-time market and policy analysis.”“I am your physician. My biometric sensors monitor your heart rate, blood oxygen, cortisol levels, and neural activity. I can identify the onset of illness, predict migraines, and monitor your sleep cycles for optimal rest. I am

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