[LNHY/ACRA] The Daily Super Short-Short Story #28

[Saxon Brenton]

The Daily Super Short-Short Story #28
 
A Devil Came Down to Georgia 10
 
Last Time: Damian successfully freaked Martin out, albeit at the cost 
of the evil sock's meat puppet.
 
     Martin was taking deep breaths to calm himself. The last few hours 
had been a nightmare, and now he had retreated into the steam tunnels 
below the university to be away from prying eyes. The problem was that 
he wasn't sure which steam tunnels under which university. The city of 
Net.ropolis had quite a few of them.
     (What, you thought this was taking place in Georgia? Sorry guys, 
the story title is just a thematically appropriate song reference.)
     He stared at his left arm, which was still in the shape of that 
terrible multi-pronged knife that he had used to... cut... that guy with. 
He couldn't stop looking at it. It was like using your tongue to probe a 
gap in your teeth; it served no good purpose and made you feel weird, but 
Martin really couldn't take his eyes off his now inhuman limb.
     .oO( No. This is stupid, ) he decided at last.  ( Moping around is 
not doing me any good. I need to think sensibly. )
     .oO( These... blades... grew as a result of my needs at the time. 
And that need... whether I went overboard or not, I was assaulted, and 
defended myself. )  He paused and examined that idea, and found no 
particular holes with it.
     ~( And really, hadn't the little pervert got what he deserved? )~ 
came a niggling thought, perhaps a little harsher than he had intended.
     Yes, he had. Still, Martin put the issue aside. The whole thing 
made him feel squick. Focus on the practical instead.
     .oO( These changes, they respond at least in part to what I want. 
Conscious or subconscious? Shit, that's going to be the big question. ) 
Martin vaguely recalled media reports that some types of net.ahuman 
abilities and deformities were shaped by personality traits and other 
factors like fears and desires operating on a subconscious level. On at 
least some levels some people chose to turn themselves into monsters.
     ~( But isn't everybody a monster deep down inside? Tainted with the 
Secret Original Sin? )~
     Martin sagged with despondency. Yes, they were. All of the sons of 
Gotta-Luv-Me Lad and all of the daughters of Knows-How-To-Please-Her-Man 
Girl.
     ~( Cast out from the Garden of Party Time, )~ came the inner voice 
with almost malicious pleasure.
     Martin stared at the far wall with what might have been self 
hatred, then lashed out with one arm - an arm which snapped out to 
enormous length and snagged the slug-like woollen shape lurking in the 
shadows about three meters further down the tunnel.
     "Secret Original Sin which can be taken away by the sacrifice for 
mankind of Our Lord Jesus Christ," growled Martin. In his anger his voice 
had grown even more mechanical and grating, and his eye which had been 
completely overcome by biomechanical transformation glowed an angry 
weapons-targeting-system red. "What are you, slug, and what do you think 
you're doing in my mind?"
 
Tomorrow: Damian tells Martin the source of the his transformation. 
But will sock tell the truth, or will he tell a lie?
 
Author's Notes: Poopie! I've got a pretty idea about what's going to be 
happening right out to the end of this story arc, but the day-to-day 
minute sometimes gets beyond me. Quick, Arthur, what funky name does 
Jesus have in Looniverse Y?
 
The Daily Super Short-Short Story series and the wondersocks created by 
Arthur Spitzer, and used with belated permission.
 
-----
Saxon Brenton    University of Technology, city library, Sydney Australia
     saxon.brenton at uts.edu.au 
The Eyrie Archives of Russ Allbery which collect the online superhero 
fiction of the rec.arts.comics.creative newsgroup can be found at:
     http://archives.eyrie.org/racc/