The Writings of Aiyu

  The Thing     "I'm just driving. And thinking... There's a thought for you. There's a thing out there, a thing you have, a thing that helps you think. Only some people have them. It goes on and on. The symmetry, the flashing lights, out here on the road. That's when you see them. It's dusky. The cars drive by, one by one, and you see them go by. But there's something wrong. There's not a thought, not a feeling, just a strange buzzing. And things go on. But you notice. And you surely do. I don't know how they got that way. The ones that don't have them, these things. It's like something has shut their mind down, created them as zombies, with no thought or sentiment left. They just go by, plain as a breeze. And you don't rile them up, or a shitstorm happens. Just don't. Just let them go by. I've seen them. The little houses, with glowing lights. They just sit there, idling in its glow, not letting a thought go...

  The Museum of Life   " A curator walks into a room full of people and gives them a strange speech. 'Welcome. To the Museum of Life. Everything you see here is real, and everything is set in stone-cold fact. Every exhibit has its cure, every case has its life in it. Then, you will realize it. That all reality is this museum, and all reality works this same way. Come with me, as we explore deeper into what awaits us here in the Museum of Life. You see them. The cavemen, the narwhals, standing stolidly around us as if they had their own space and time, their own ascent, too. For you see, we were like them, and they are like us. Real, and applied to space-time in a matter-of-fact way that cannot be ignored. They lived, they dreamed, they suffered, they died. Just like we do. And here they are. In the history section of this great, and very eclectic, museum. There is every exhibit you would wish to see. From the clouds of Rome to the clouds of the cosmos, all infin...

  The Combine " Sophocles held up a tablet and issued a stern warning to his people. The times were harsh and of chaos, and something needed to be done. He spoke loudly and bravely, yelling over a crowd of his colleagues and allies. 'To concoct a giant machine, a machine of slavery, and call it the world. This was their dream. To refuse nature, and the man within it, in favor of a world of wires, and steel, and beams, and machines. A world from which no man could escape. This was their dream. And why, God knows, no one knows. They will not find principality in elitism; they will find it only through obedience. To become a part of this machine, and mind its gears, and let its cogs betray their purpose. There will be no trees, no rivers, no unclogged skies. Nothing will rest. There will be no peace. Peace will not be allowed. They will stare and tell others to. They will buy and sell and make it a law for all mankind. They will forsake all their purpose for greed ...

 The Clowns "David Mirokin put his toe up to the line. 'Forty love.' The chair umpire called out the score in monotone, the crowd growing silent as Mirokin prepared to serve. The U.S. Open second round was underway, and this was the third set in a five-set match. David came in seeded eighth in the tournament, and was favored to win the match, especially after taking the first two sets 6-2, 6-2. Standing six-foot-eight with an athlete's build, David Mirokin was no slouch to look at. His impressive German Irish features came through on the court, and his ripped abdominals led up to a powerful chest and stern, handsome features. He had many female fans, and a few were in the light crowd cheering him on. With a loud Thwok, his opponent groaned and slouched as an ace went by him. That was five games to three. The girls in the crowd cheered loudly as David batted the tennis balls to the nearest ballboy. That was a thing he couldn't quite wrap his head around. T...

  The Matrix   "And they just rearrange it like that, the controllers do. Wrinkle time and space right back together. And people never know what hit them. That's how it is in the Matrix. Things aren't always what they seem. There's a government out there, a government they're not telling you about. They control things, they know things, they have technology you can't imagine. But it happens. And it's real. I knew a super-soldier in the Matrix not long ago. Supposed to be a chosen one, or something. Fought all through space-time, wars against Nazi cyborgs, even wielded a light-saber like a Jedi. Could shoot lightning and watch it smash right through his enemies. Like I said, the world works like that. There's a lot of things you don't know. They kept him pinned up, the controllers from the machine world, the powers that be. Unknown to the world, living with some crazy woman, almost not aware of who he was. But he fought it. The whole ...

  The Gimmick   "An evil robot sits in an apartment, studying himself and his surroundings. The walls are bleak, the light is grayish and dull outside. A refrigerator hums gently in the kitchen, as the flicker of a television is the only distraction from his bare living quarters. The robot sits on the couch, paint peeling off the walls, and consents to immerse himself in the television's static glow. Snorting in discontent, he changes through the few barely visible channels on the television. To be aware, he knows, is a sin in this world. He knows only to be critical. He knows only to be vain. Then he might be on the television himself... After a few minutes of watching a television advertisement, the robot leaves the flickering screen and goes to examine himself in a mirror. The hard eyes. The swollen chest. The voice that is so gruff. They are training him to be these things. They are training him to obey. The robot glares up and down the mirror, daring it to lo...