Off, I commanded. My glove returned to blue-screen blue. Hey, partner ... it's me.
New York Times, April 4, 2026. Text only file follows.
"FLAME" DISRUPTS GREY'S VISIT TO WIRE TREATMENT CENTER
The presidential candidate Rabbi-Senator Chaim Grey's visit with patients at the Lou Dameshorey Wire-Addiction Treatment Center today was interrupted by public outcry during his on-line address. The "flame war" was so massive that it caused node static for nearly two hours. The situation was remedied when the candidate narrowed his speech broadcast band to members of the press.
The controversial sound bite follows. [The New York Times requests all responses be directed to editorial.link, and not the main frequency.]
"These are the forgotten ones; the ones to whom the current administration turns its back. Wire-addiction is the epidemic of modern times. Never, since the AIDS crisis have so many people been so neglected by a United States government."
Immediately following the above statement, a flame war began. Grey's campaign managers were unable to reply fast enough to the LINKed responses and the node overloaded. Grey's campaign spokesperson, Augustino Sanchez, explains, "People were cranked that the Rabbi-Senator paralleled the current administration with the outlawed secular government."
Many of the flames have been lost, but Grey's campaign managers say they are carefully sifting through the undamaged responses in order to understand what touched the public's nerve.
"There's more than the secular analogy going on – it's the queer thing," an anonymous representative from the illegal organization ACT UP told this reporter. "First of all, no one likes to be reminded of the 'gay plague.' And then, for Grey to say that queers weren't deserving of their fate is like admitting he likes the sin and not the sinners, if you get my meaning."
The ACT UP spokesperson's comment may have some merit, as a large percentage of people polled since the flame war agree that it was the reference to AIDS made them the most angry. [To see survey methodologies and results – hot-link here.]
"Wire-addiction is nothing like AIDS," said Gail Beckmen from Brooklyn. "I know some good people who have had trouble with the wire."
Reverend-Senator Etienne Letourneau was notably silent during this controversial event. His office has made no response, except to say that the Reverend-Senator's "heart goes out to all those who suffer."
Chapter 14
Hey, partner ... it's me. I jumped at the sound. I turned to look around the room, even though my brain instantly registered the voice as subvocal.
An image wavered into existence, like a ghost given form. His face, as always, looked as if it had run into too many fists over the course of his forty years. Wild black hair had been tamed by a prison buzz cut. His features were thinner, hungrier, but his dark eyes still flashed with mischief. The smile he bore was the roguish grin of a wolf.
With a cluck of my tongue, I admired his craft. He had taken the time to construct an image, as well as preempt the LINK'S usual command routine. No incoming message warning, just Daniel, standing there like he'd never left. Although, not quite. The facial image was recent, as the buzz-cut attested, but it was evident he cobbled the body together. Crackling with energy, the picture refused to stay still beneath the perfectly replicated face. I imagined he hacked the image from the prison camera, maybe even during the breakout to cover his tracks.
Lagging behind, came the LINK'S response: MESSAGE, recorded 4:59 pm EST, source unknown.
"Some help you are," I groused to the LINK. Smiling, in spite of myself, I added, "Anyway, I know who it is. Hi, Danny."
The image of Daniel was frozen in space, waiting for a go-ahead command. I shook my head. Only a social miscreant like Daniel would program a message to appear without the usual warnings and then bother to have the politeness to wait for a response.
Go ahead, I sent, then added out loud, "You old fox. You've only gotten trickier with age."
Sorry for the crudeness of this message, but I needed to get your attention, he said, his eyes apologetic. Friends of mine tell me you're back on the LINK. I'd like to know how you've managed that, Dee. Maybe you could hustle me a reconnect after things settle down? I'm jouncing bad.
I looked at the image of Daniel with renewed interest – he was hardwiring this? Not possible, I told myself, he wouldn't have the time, and, besides, he could hardly run with a board and key-in at the same time. This was someone else's LINK connection, then.
Anyway, the image continued, I hope the rumor is true; otherwise, I have no idea when you'll get this message ... It's being transmitted through a friend's access, and I don't know how long he can keep it bouncing around. The image shrugged, sending the image of the body into a sizzling chaos. If you haven't already heard – I'm out. We need to meet, to put our heads together, like the old days. I've got some crazy ideas about Letourneau I need to bounce off your superior brain, old friend. Danny threw me a wink. Contact me any way you can. My friend will be listening for you.
The three-dimensional image became flat. The pixels separated, raining down to disappear into the floor.
"With a performance like that, you should've been a wire-wizard, Danny," I told the empty room. Daniel must have had the message bouncing around the LINK waiting for me to surface again. When I plugged into the uniform's LINK connection, I broadcast my location, giving the message an in.
Shutting the holographic armor down, I pulled the LINK filament from my head. The uniform still hummed with power, and all of its other defenses would remain functional as long as I wore it. Putting the helmet under an arm, I stepped out into the hallway. Rebeckah leaned against the wall waiting for me, her arms crossed in front of her chest. When she saw me, she smiled. "I started to think you'd given up on the idea of chasing after Daniel, and all this foolishness!"
"Yeah. Well, no luck. I got a message from Daniel." I tapped the helmet. "I just hope I wasn't LINKed long enough for anyone else to get the drop on our location."
Rebeckah's smile broadened, as she used a booted foot to push off from the wall. "I'm going to make a Malach Nikamah out of you yet. I appreciate your concern, Dee, but we're covered. All the uniforms' LINK connection have been modified to bounce through random LINK nodes. If the cops are watching for your frequency right now they think you've hopped a plane to Tokyo or Paris or God knows where."
I let out the breath I was holding. "Of course," I muttered, embarrassed I hadn't thought of that. "Otherwise you could never use the LINK without the cops finding your hideout. I should've figured."
"Forget about it." Rebeckah indicated the direction we should walk with a jerk of her head. "What did Daniel have to say?"
"You were right. He wants to meet."
"I still say it's crazy." Her lips tightened to a thin smile, then she let out a breath in a snort. "But, there's no stopping you, is there?"
"He says he has information about Letourneau."
"I'm already in for a pound, Dee, you don't have to entice me." Rebeckah turned a corner down another dimly lit corridor.
"What do you mean?"
Rebeckah said nothing, staring grimly ahead.
"No, Rebeckah," I protested, "you've done enough for me. Like you said, it's a fool's errand. I can't ask you to come along..."