Press M for mess

01 - Congratulations, you're still alive

Note: originally written for a cyberpunk crime site's plot

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Despair.

It crawls in the shady back alleys filled with thugs doing their business and dreaming of higher places. It flickers in the eyes of the older women rummaging through the bins. Metal, wires, outdated prosthesis, they look for any piece of junk they could sell. It drips from the university professors who crave for power and want to throw themselves into politics.

Wolves in cheap clothes are ready to do everything to survive. Selling their native languages or their skills to the point of feeling disconnected from themselves, dirtying their hands or closing their eyes to live a little longer. Sometimes honesty will bring you down. You and the people dear to you. No one is irreplaceable, and this new android seems to be better than you. After all, it just needs hardware checkup. You know those at the top have sacrificed so many things... They can add another sin to their list if it means to secure their spot. To make their life easier.

While making your way under the neon street lights, remember two things: If your emotions cloud your judgment, you're dead. Don't bark if you can't bite.