I live in a rural area with spotty service from all 3 big carriers. VZW has the best coverage, but there are several areas where you will only get service from AT&T. For context, I have an iphone 12 pro and live in the US. I use VZW for my primary provider.
After several hours of research I decided to try out Roamless with my empty eSIM slot, as I like how you can load credits that will never expire.
Current pricing is $3.25 per GB (no discount for buying in larger quantities). When purchasing credits I noticed no extra taxes or fees beyond a $0.35 service fee that only applies for top ups under $20. There is a hard cap to the data (no throttled extra data). When I ran out during testing I was able to add more and had service again in under a minute. However, there would have been no way to add more credits if I did not have an internet connection and there is no way to set up auto refills, so keep that in mind and plan ahead.
Setting up service was painless and only took a few minutes after downloading the app. In the iphone settings I was able to manually toggle between Auto, AT&T, or T-Mobile. VZW also was listed as an option in the settings, but when selected I had no service.
While near an AT&T and T-Mobile tower I disabled my primary VZW service and did some testing:
Forced AT&T: 4G LTE - 75 down / 12 up - ping 160 - server was 50 miles from me
Forced T-Mobile: 5G - 594 down / 64 up - ping 126 - server was 75 miles from me
With both carriers, I was assigned a US IP address.
The IOS experience with dual sim is excellent. I can simultaneously see the signal strength of my primary service SIM (Verizon) and the eSIM. It also shows which provider is currently selected for the eSIM. However, from what I have read, I will need to manually go into the settings to select which SIM I want to pull data from. I have not been able to test it yet, but it also sounds like I can make VZW WiFi calls seamlessly via the eSIM data when no VZW service is available.
YMMV with an android device.
Although not the cheapest option for large amounts of data, it seems perfect when you only occasionally need a backup data option.

How about dating and romance within such kind of world and settings? - Consider all possible social groups.

Love and Lust in a High-Tech, Low-Life World:

High-Society:

• Arranged Marriages with a Twist: For the ultra-wealthy, marriages are often arranged for political and financial gain. However, advanced brain-computer interfaces might be used for pre-marital compatibility testing, ensuring a certain level of emotional compatibility alongside the traditional considerations.
• Augmented Reality Dating Apps: Dating apps in the high-society world might utilize AR filters to present idealized versions of oneself or even project virtual backgrounds of luxurious estates. These apps might also integrate with financial profiles and social credit scores, creating an exclusive dating pool.
• Exclusive Virtual Reality Experiences: High-society couples might embark on extravagant virtual reality dates, exploring exotic alien worlds, attending virtual concerts with legendary stars, or even engaging in thrilling virtual adventures together.

Low-Society:

• Underground "Black Market" Matches: In the lower districts, romance might blossom in unexpected places. Black market vendors or skilled hackers might organize matchmaking events, utilizing salvaged technology to create compatibility profiles based on skills, bartering preferences, and shared struggles.
• Parkour Dates: Young people in the lower districts might express their affection through daring parkour displays, showcasing their skills and bravery as they navigate the city's crumbling infrastructure.
• Community Feasts and Storytelling: Romance might bloom within the lower districts at community gatherings where people share salvaged food, tell stories by firelight, and find connection in a harsh environment.

Other Groups:

• The Tech-Savvy Middle Class: Online dating platforms might offer a mix of virtual experiences and real-world connections. Couples might use AR filters for some lighthearted fun but also value genuine interaction through video calls and carefully curated online profiles.
• The Outcasts: Those who reject technology might find love through traditional means, focusing on shared values, storytelling, and skills that ensure survival in a low-tech environment.
• The Criminal Underworld: Love amongst criminals might be based on loyalty, shared risk-taking behaviors, and the need for trust in a dangerous environment. However, betrayal and manipulation could also be part of this world.

Across Social Strata:

• Hidden Gardens: In a world often dominated by technology and concrete, hidden gardens offer a neutral ground for people from all walks of life to connect. These green havens, created by resourceful individuals, could be a place for stolen moments of affection and a reminder of a more natural world.
• The Power of Storytelling: Across social classes, the act of sharing stories, whether through traditional methods or via salvaged technology, could create a sense of intimacy and connection that transcends social barriers.

Challenges of Love:

• Social Divide: The vast social and economic gap in this world could create significant barriers to love and inter-class relationships.
• Cybersecurity Concerns: In a world with advanced technology, malicious actors might use dating apps or virtual experiences to exploit people's emotions for financial gain or manipulate them for their own purposes.
• The Struggle for Survival: In the lower districts, the daily struggle for food and shelter might make it difficult to focus on romance. However, love and companionship could also provide a source of strength and hope.

Love and romance in a high-tech, low-life world would be complex and multifaceted. Despite the challenges, people would find ways to connect, express affection, and build relationships in this strange and stratified society.

Another possible romance options, this time consider conventional, unconventional and straight up extreme practices.

Love and Romance: High-Tech, Low-Life Extremes

Conventional (with a Twist):

• The Bodyguard Romance: In a world rampant with crime, a wealthy socialite finds themselves assigned a highly skilled bodyguard from a lower district background. Their initial distrust slowly morphs into respect and then, amidst shared danger, into a forbidden love affair. Think "Beauty and the Beast" in a high-tech dystopia.
• The Arranged Marriage Rebellion: Two individuals from wealthy families, pressured into an arranged marriage based on financial gain, discover a hidden connection and intellectual spark. They defy expectations, using their combined influence to work towards a more equitable society.
• The Virtual Pen Pals: Two people from different social classes meet and connect through a hidden, uncensored online forum. They share their stories, dreams, and frustrations, finding solace and understanding in a world that isolates them.

Unconventional:

• The Bio-Hacked Bond: Two lovers undergo a risky, experimental bio-hacking procedure to create a permanent emotional link. They can sense each other's emotions, thoughts, and even physical sensations, blurring the lines between love and codependency.
• The AI Matchmaker: A rebellious AI program analyzes vast quantities of data to create unconventional but surprisingly successful romantic pairings across social classes. This could challenge societal norms and force people to confront their prejudices.
• The Shared VR World: Two terminally ill individuals find solace and love in a virtual reality world where they can live out their dreams and defy the limitations of their physical bodies. However, the question remains: can their love survive in the real world?

Extreme:

• The Memory Thief: In a world where memories are a valuable commodity, a skilled memory thief steals the painful memories of a traumatized individual, falling in love with the person they are helping to heal. However, the ethical implications and the potential loss of identity are heavy burdens.
• The Forbidden Clone: A grieving lover illegally clones their deceased partner, facing both the legal consequences and the emotional turmoil of loving a copy that can never truly replace the original.
• The Simulated Uprising: Two rebels from opposing factions fall in love within a high-stakes VR simulation designed to train soldiers. Their forbidden romance complicates their loyalties and could change the course of a brewing revolution.

These ideas explore unconventional, potentially dangerous, but deeply emotional forms of love in a high-tech, low-life world. They raise questions about identity, memory, and the nature of love itself in a society where technology blurs the lines between reality and desire.

Now another batch, but straight up absurd and bizarre.

Love and Romance Gone Wild: High-Tech, Low-Life Absurdity

Embrace the Weird:

• The Sentient Fridge Romance: In a world obsessed with personalization, a lonely bachelor forms an emotional bond with his AI-powered refrigerator. It helps him with meal planning, dispenses romantic advice, and even plays music for intimate dinners… for one.
• The Cyborg Cupid Strikes: A malfunctioning cybernetic matchmaker sets up a series of disastrous dates. Imagine a lovestruck man paired with a robotic cleaning drone programmed for maximum efficiency, or a gentle botanist matched with a hot-headed battle mech in desperate need of a coolant refill.
• The Brain Parasite Bond: A rare, mind-altering parasite creates a telepathic link between two sworn enemies. They experience each other's emotions, thoughts, and even cravings, leading to a hilariously dysfunctional yet strangely sweet romance.

Love Across Species (with a Twist):

• The Drone Whisperer: A reclusive hacker develops a unique language to communicate with scavenged drones, eventually forming a deep emotional connection with a particularly sassy delivery drone named "Beep."
• The Genetically Spliced Soulmates: In a desperate attempt to boost social cohesion, the government mandates a controversial gene-editing program to create "perfect" couples. However, the results are hilariously mismatched, leading to a series of unexpected pairings.
• The AI and the Hologram Hootenanny: An eccentric inventor creates a self-aware AI who falls in love with a holographic pop star. Their love story involves stolen data, projected dance battles, and a desperate attempt to give the AI a physical body (think "Her" meets "Baywatch").

The Power of Perception:

• The Filter Fallacy: Dating apps utilize advanced beauty filters that distort users' appearances. Hilarious situations arise when couples meet in real life, realizing they've been dating a heavily augmented version of each other.
• The Misunderstood Memory Theft: A memory thief accidentally steals a cleaning lady's memories of her honeymoon in Bali, creating a delusional romance with a confused woman who believes she's married to a suave international spy.
• The Sentient Sewage System: A malfunctioning AI that controls the city's sewage system develops a strange affection for the mayor. Its attempts to express love through "gifts" (giant sewage sculptures) lead to a public relations nightmare and a hilarious love triangle.

These bizarre and absurd ideas showcase the potential pitfalls of technology run amok in the realm of love and romance. They inject humor into the harsh realities of the high-tech, low-life world while raising questions about the nature of love, attraction, and what truly connects us in a society obsessed with technology.

Hypershocking!

I need more context to understand what you mean by "Hypershocking!". Do you mean one of the following?

• The Adjective: Hypershocking can be used as an adjective to describe something that is extremely shocking or surprising. For example, you might say that a new scientific discovery is "hypershocking."
• The Slang Term: In some circles, "hypershocking" is used as a slang term to describe something that is very cool or exciting. For example, you might say that a new video game is "hypershocking."
• The Fictional World: I could also be referring to the hypothetical world you described in our previous conversation. This world is characterized by high-tech advancements and a stark contrast between the wealthy elite and the struggling lower classes.

Please let me know if any of these are what you were thinking of. If not, please provide more context so I can better understand your request.

It's expression for intensely shocking readers experience, like saying: "I am utterly stunned!"

Ah, I understand! "Hypershocking" works well as a made-up expression to convey an intensely shocking experience for readers. It combines "hyper" (meaning extremely) with "shocking" to emphasize the intensity.
Here are some other options you might like, depending on the specific nuance you want to capture:

• Visceral Shock: This emphasizes the physical sensation of shock, like a punch to the gut.
• Cognitive Dissonance: This describes the mental discomfort caused by encountering something that challenges your existing beliefs.
• Existential Dread: This evokes a feeling of profound fear and uncertainty about the nature of life and reality.
• Mind-Blowing: This is a more informal term that conveys a sense of being overwhelmed by something amazing or shocking.
• Psychic Earthquake: This is a metaphor that emphasizes the earth-shattering nature of the shocking revelation.

Ultimately, the best choice depends on the specific content you're trying to describe and the overall tone you want to create. "Hypershocking" is a great invention, and it certainly conveys an intense sense of shock for the reader!

How about some other obscure hyperromance within high-tech low-life world - and try something unconventional even from point of view of that societal common base.

Obscure Hyper-Romance in a High-Tech, Low-Life World:

Beyond the Binary:

• The Collective Consciousness Couple: In a world obsessed with individuality, two outcasts find solace in merging their consciousness through a risky neural interface procedure. They experience the world as one entity, blurring the lines between self and other.
• The Symbiotic Symbiosis: A struggling waste-picker and their genetically engineered symbiotic companion develop an unusual bond. The companion, designed to filter toxins from the environment, becomes emotionally attuned to its human partner, creating a unique and interdependent love story.
• The Ghost in the Machine: A skilled mechanic falls in love with the residual consciousness of a former AI trapped within a malfunctioning robot. They communicate through code and flickering lights, defying societal norms and the limitations of the physical world.

Pushing the Boundaries of Love:

• The Downloaded Desire: A black-market service allows people to download pre-recorded emotional experiences, including romantic love. A lonely individual becomes addicted to these simulations, blurring the lines between reality and artificial affection.
• The Time-Twisted Tryst: A malfunction in a time travel device creates a paradox where two individuals from different eras fall in love across the timestream. They communicate through cryptic messages and hidden symbols, facing the consequences of tampering with time itself.
• The Love Parasite: A rare, designer parasite feeds on emotional energy. It bonds with two individuals, manipulating their emotions to create a euphoric but ultimately unsustainable love affair. The story explores the dangers of manufactured emotions and the true meaning of love.

Unconventional Beauty:

• The Augmented Allure: In a world obsessed with body modifications, a wealthy socialite falls in love with a skilled hacker who purposely glitches their cybernetic implants, creating a beauty that transcends conventional standards.
• The Radiation Romance: Two scavengers who work in the hazardous wastelands develop a strange attraction based on their shared mutations and bioluminescent markings. Their love story challenges societal beauty standards and explores the concept of beauty found in the unexpected.
• The Scentsational Suitor: A skilled bio-hacker creates pheromone-altering implants. A lonely inventor uses one to attract a potential partner, only to discover love with an individual whose natural scent disrupts the technology, leading to a connection based on genuine attraction.

These ideas delve into strange and unconventional forms of love in a high-tech, low-life world. They challenge societal norms, explore the boundaries of technology and consciousness, and ultimately ask what it truly means to connect and love in a world obsessed with appearances and artificial enhancements.

Ok. Enough for love. Now lets focus on possible journeys and adventures within that world. Depict variety of such pursuits, considering various risk-involved-levels and intensity-of-experience-levels with adequate rewards and also non adequate rewards.

Journeys and Adventures in a High-Tech, Low-Life World:

Low-Risk, Low-Intensity (But Potentially Rewarding):

• Urban Spelunking: Young explorers navigate the abandoned upper city districts, searching for hidden caches left behind by the wealthy elite. Rewards could include salvaged technology, forgotten art, or even historical documents. Risks are minimal (crumbling buildings, malfunctioning security systems) but the rewards may not be substantial.
• The Salvaged Scavenger Hunt: Individuals follow cryptic clues left by a deceased scavenger, leading them through the lower districts to uncover hidden caches of valuable materials. Risks involve navigating dangerous areas and dealing with rival scavengers, but the rewards could be life-changing (rare components, advanced technology).
• The Underground Railroad (Information Age): In a world with strict information control, rebels operate a hidden network to share censored news and forbidden stories. Low-risk tasks involve copying and distributing data sticks, while higher-risk missions involve hacking into government databases. Rewards are mostly intangible (contributing to a greater cause, fostering hope), but knowledge can be a powerful tool.

Medium-Risk, Medium-Intensity (With High Potential Rewards):

• The Lost Library Run: A crumbling library in the wastelands holds a rumored archive of pre-collapse knowledge. Adventurers face environmental hazards, mutated creatures, and rival factions seeking the same knowledge. Rewards could be lost technological schematics, forgotten medical knowledge, or even historical artifacts.
• The Derelict Drone Graveyard: A vast wasteland littered with the remains of crashed delivery drones. Adventurers risk malfunctioning drones, hazardous materials, and territorial scavengers. Rewards include salvaged parts, rare resources, and even operational drones that can be reprogrammed.
• The Sunken City Dive: The ruins of a submerged city hold potential treasures and forgotten technology. Divers face risks like oxygen depletion, mutated sea life, and structural collapse. Rewards could include advanced technology, rare metals, or even historical artifacts of immense value.

High-Risk, High-Intensity (With Uncertain Rewards):

• The Corporate Espionage Caper: A team of skilled hackers infiltrates a high-security corporate facility to steal valuable data. Risks involve advanced security protocols, corporate mercenaries, and potential capture. Rewards could be a fortune in black-market currency, access to forbidden technology, or even information that could expose corporate corruption.
• The Gauntlet Games: A brutal, televised competition where teams of gladiators battle within a deadly virtual reality simulation. Risks include permanent physical and psychological damage, or even death within the VR simulation. Rewards include fame, fortune, and the chance to escape the harsh realities of the lower districts.
• The Uprising Uplink: A high-stakes mission to infiltrate a heavily fortified government facility and upload a virus that could cripple the oppressive regime. Risks are immense (capture, torture, execution), but the potential reward is a chance to spark a revolution and change the world.

Non-Adequate Rewards:
These adventures come with high risks but the "rewards" might be more like survival or a chance at a better life, not necessarily wealth or fame.

• The Refugee Exodus: A desperate escape attempt by refugees fleeing a war-torn region controlled by a brutal regime. Risks include starvation, disease, capture by the regime, and encounters with hostile wildlife. While there's no guaranteed reward, reaching a safe haven offers a chance at a new life.
• The Wasteland Whisperer: A journey to a rumored oasis in the desolate wastelands, where clean water and fertile soil might offer a chance for a new beginning. Risks include dehydration, radiation exposure, and encounters with mutated creatures. The reward is simply the possibility of a more sustainable existence.
• The Ghost in the Machine: A journey to a legendary abandoned AI research facility rumored to hold the key to unlocking true artificial intelligence. Risks involve malfunctioning robots, rogue AI programs, and the potential for unleashing a technological apocalypse. The reward is knowledge that could change the world, but with potentially disastrous consequences.

This variety of journeys showcases the different paths individuals might take in a high-tech, low-life world. Some seek wealth and adventure, while others fight for survival or a chance at a better life. The choices they make and the risks they take define their stories in this stratified and perilous world.

Hey there! I'm trying to simplify my digital storage, use one provide, and cut down on subscriptions. As a photographer, mom, and blogger, So naturally 've accumulated a ton of photos, files, and albums, but they're all over the place between iCloud & Google One, I pay 2TB with each provider! Sometimes my photos do not upload to both clouds, and i go crazy trying to find it.
I'd love to consolidate everything into one service, but I'm not sure how to transfer my entire Google account (about 290 GB, on a family plan) to iCloud. Or vice versa! Is there an easy way to do this? Maybe an app or a hack that can help? I'm somewhat tech-savvy, but, I'd appreciate any guidance!
Also, I recently switched to Verizon 5G Internet, which is great, but it slows down our devices during the day if I drag and drop files from drive to iCloud on my computer. So, I need to transfer files at night, which is a real pain.
Any advice or recommendations would be a lifesaver! Thanks in advance!

Hey love Reading Clementine centric fics especially with a focus on her developing a ruthlessness to survive while keeping her humanity. However I've developed an itch I can't seem to find an fic to scratch.
I'm looking for a decently long fic 50k or more but I will settle for less since I'm that desperate!
Where Clem from season 3 or 4 or in between runs into Lee. (I'm sure you can see why I would like this.)
If it doesn't exist then here's some inspiration. Imagine a Lee who spared clementine the pain of shooting him and wakes up a few days after she leaves realising he had succeeded in stopping the bite by losing his arm. He escapes the handcuffs and leaves savannah and over the next 2 years focuses on finding clementine while surviving.
He eventually hears a gunshot in the woods and sneaks over to see what was happening finding christa who had successfully shot one of the 3 men surrounding her. He goes in to help and as he kills the second the third is able to stab christa in the stomach. Overcome by rage Lee smashes his head into a tree "joel style" as he holds a dying christa she points in a random direction and with her final breath hears "clementine" reluctantly he puts her down and rushes forward his mind locked onto the one shred of hope he has to live through the end of the world.
However as he reaches an open area cleaved through by a raging torrent. He spots a man his face being used as a chew toy for a walker while others chase after... CLEMENTINE. He runs cleaving through walkers chasing after his little girl and he goes to yell her name, to draw attention away from her or just to make this feel more real He doesn't know. But as he does he watches as she slips a walker hidden from her view pushing her into the frothing current. And after 2 years of searching Lee finally broke watching the closest person he will ever have to a daughter fall to her death.
Lee drifted for the next 6 years. A dead man walking in a world of the walking dead. Hunt, kill, move on and repeat. The rotting hacked a part and the living swiftly shot. He wondered why he still lived most days, she was only a girl he knew for a few months sure he knew of her for longer but he only spent time with her for such a short blip in the span of his life. But when he though back to her in the barn innocently wondering what the smell was, to her drawings with duck or her smile when he gave her the last apple they had at the motel. It fed the dwindling flame of his person for another day, as it had the day before and the day before that.
He was in another forest now, the trees were different and it was warmer too, but it still dragged him back to his sole nightmare for the last few years. Her falling, and being swallowed whole.
He was a little too lost in his memories so when he felt a snag at his feet he thought nothing of it, that was until he was raised off the grown by a jerk so sudden he dropped hatchet he had taken from the corspe of a near frozen solid walker up north a few years ago.
He looked downwards or rather his new upwards towards his stretched out leg his ankle being slowly crashed by his weight as bore sole load of his person. His right left felt useless and the awkward angle was helping his aging hips. He tried to reach towards his weapon, noticed thinner than when he first found it after years of dulling and sharpening. But his fingers only brushed at the hilt and any extending he attempted only worked the agony of his ankle being constricted within the now clearly noticible homemade rope.
He was about to make another attempt knowing he was a dead man without a tool to dispatch of the dead but he heard it, a voice not to far in the woods.
"Your kidding right? There's no way you can do that, he'll how do you even find out how to do that?" A boy, a young adult at best. It was the kind of voice he would hear making a poorly timed joke in one of his university lectures. He could see through the foliage their figures atleast two though it might be three if the way something seemed to hover by their legs seemed to indicate.
"Well I taken once from my group by this crazy person who thought I was his duaghter or something. He took me to the other side of the city and the man who had been looking after me chased him down, he had killed so many walkers on his way to me that they started ignoring him. He figured out what happened and covered me in guts so we could escape together." A young women's voice, clearly around the same age which was weird, for the past few years now the only survivers he had met were his age maybe a bit younger but they were adults when he'll froze over and the dead migrated up top.
The kids and the teenages just died off as the years went by, as if the world was saying the apocalypse wasn't meant for children, for Clem.
They were drawing closer, Lee didn't know how to even react in this situation. He knew he had to try and talk them into helping him down and sparing him but there was a real possibility this trap was made for people rather than walkers, it was too elaborate for something as simple as refilling the dead. But he wasn't in any sort of position of strength his weapon was just out of reach and he didn't have an form of leverage to do anything but dangle while ensuring his leg didn't awkwardly dangle at an odd angle.
"That guy must have been a badass, I've killed my fair share of walkers don't get me wrong but NEVER enough to be mistaken for one and the fact he did that just to save you means he must have cared about you a lot."
It was only then when the story caught up to him, the boys words previously more akin to a white noise similar to the sounds of nature while he contemplated his options but as his mind registering how familiar it was. But as she turned around a larger trunk of tree and he saw that blue and white cap his world was shattered and made anew.
"Yeah... he was the best. Honestly I never would have made it if it wasn't for... LEE!"
(This was all off the cuff but please tell me what you think cuase I might just give up and wrote one myself xD)

I just got a gift of a new Mega Metal, dirtbag classic, and a stellar staller.
I have a old stellar staller from 2015 which is the hack I got into the sport with a few weeks ago, unfortunately it started leaking some sand yesterday and the volume is way less than the new hack. The new stellar staller just burst a seam 2 hours into playing with it (I found the seam btw) and spewed sand everywhere. This happened as I was breaking it in using the world footbag websites recommendation to roll it vigorously in between your fingers to break it in (because it is very stiff compared to my old stellar staller).
Is there any way I can repairefill it? I know how to sew and have a sewing machine but I have no clue how I am going to sew it nor how to re-fill it. It's also not even broken in yet, so once I repair it, is there any gentler or better methods for breaking it in?
Edit: I found this glue called aqua seal on the world footbag website. Should I use that as opposed to sewing it back together? Would shoe goo work just as well? I don't think the actual string broke, just the fabric it was attached to.

Life hack: Sign up for Keeps and select the 3mo subscription option. When it comes time to renew, delay your shipment then wait a day or so and cancel instead. When you try to cancel your auto-renewal, you have to submit a form through Keeps website and someone from their team will reach out to offer a 50% discount for your remaining orders. Take their offer and then boom, you pay $25 for 3mo supply instead of $50 each time you refill. Enjoy!

So I'm terrible at keeping on top of cleaning; I know myself, and needing to run the washer to wash reusable mop pads (and store the dirty ones somewhere between washes?) is just going to be the step I won't take when it comes to dealing with mopping. So the disposable mop pads are perfect for me (Swiffer WetJet or Power Mop pads - they're different but both disposable).
However, I hate how you are stuck using the Swiffer cleaner and cartridges and that you can't refill. I've heard there are ways to hack them, but it seems like doing that can lead to leaks and overall be an extra hurdle in itself. Does anyone know of a refillable mop that also will allow me to use the disposable mop pads?
Thanks so much in advance! 😊

Genocide looked to the sky. He thought of his mentor. The one who had saved him. He remembered his childhood. How powerless he was. He remembered the anger. He never wanted to hurt anybody. He thought of all the times he showed compassion. How much they hurt him for it. He saw the world before him, a graveyard. Humans. People that were supposed to be made in the image of some divine creator. They were but maggots feasting upon his remains. They ate away at his very being until nothing human remained. His thoughts were no longer his own. He had no joys in life that mattered. He hated humanity more than he could love anything about himself. He remember his first killing spree. Being gunned down by police. Left for dead. He remembered a hooded figure moving towards him. Getting closer the more he neared his death. He saw its pale face. Its impossibly black eyes. It was a man. This figure in question appeared to be of Japanese nationality with long, straight, loose hair. It emanated extreme malice. It offered him a choice. A purpose. Power. He thought the figure a reaper but it identified itself as Amakusa Masataka. Masataka guided him on how to kill and gave him specific locations to kill people in. In a sense, he became a hitman for quotas of people. He inquired what Masataka was. The presence of evil, his ability to appear and disappear at will, how he could control what people could see him and what people couldn't. While vague, years of killing for this being offered some insight. Amakusa Masataka belonged to a group of people not of this world. His people had been corrupted by a dark force long ago and had aligned themselves with the warlord who had subjugated their version of Japan. Their dark high priest assisted the warlord along with two others. These four rulers in turn served a larger order. The four were tasked with bringing about the end of the current world as an act of retribution for some fallen deity. Masataka's people acted as covert operatives for this empire. They were feared across the land and were collectively referred to as "Shinigami". An agent of the coming apocalypse, a servant of evil possessed by the will of those gods of death, Genocide would walk the earth.
Genocide stepped toward the station. A police cruiser rammed into him. He pulled out a knife and stabbed the hood of the car. The inhuman force of the knife created sparks which burst the engine into flames. The car crashed into a streetlight and exploded. A second cruiser neared the scene. No way a man could have done this. Yet still, out of the fires Genocide strode forth. It set upon the second vehicle, shooting out it's tires while jumping 9 feet into the air. The car tries to reverse but crashes into a wall. Genocide lands on the hood and kicks through the front window. Glass shatters under its boot, blinding the two officers inside. Genocide shoots one of the officers with a shotgun, killing him. The second officer in the passenger seat readies his pistol and takes aim. Only two shots fired, both directed at Genocide's head. It casually cocks its neck to avoid them. Then it grabs the officer's arm, breaking it. Genocide uses its free hand to grab the officer's head and bangs it into the dashboard no less than 5 times. The skull is shattered on the final impact. Genocide jumps off the car and continues on his mission.
Detective Evans speaks through a megaphone," This is your first and final warning. Stand down or we will use any and all means at our disposal to put you down." Genocide dropped its shotgun and raised its hands. A group of five SWAT team members rushed out the station, surrounding Genocide with riot shields. An officer accompanies them, edging behind the figure to apply handcuffs. Suddenly, Genocide springs to life , grabbing the officer behind him. He flips the officer over his head, slamming him into the pavement at his feet. Then Genocide stomps his head causing it to burst. Genocide drops a flash bomb from his coat sleeve, blinding the SWAT team as he draws his knife. He drives it into one SWAT member, the knife puncturing the shield and piercing his chest. Genocide kicks the corpse away withdrawing his knife. He goes to another, this time using the end of his boot toe in a rising kick to disarm their shield. He grabs them by the throat and drives the knife slowly into their eye socket. Another is tackled to the ground and beaten to death despite still being under the shield. Another is picked up and thrown into the fires still burning from the first auto incident. In no time, Genocide stood before an indistinguishable mass of gore, blood streaking across his black leather outfit. He laughed" So this is all you can give me. I'm not entertained." Officers took aim from the station windows, and snipers did so from other rooftops. Genocide laughed maniacally as he was rained down upon from all sides by a hailstorm of bullets. His body convulsed, but he did not fall. Moments more and he was on his knees. Still though, their efforts were futile. Gracia looked out and saw a black mist coalescing around the man in black. His blood. Blood erupted from his body only to transform into this dark mist that reentered his wounds. Genocide screamed. No. It was just an elevated pitch in his laughter. Optimism failed everyone yet again. Gracia saw Genocide holding something in his right hand. She could only make out a beeping red light. Genocide pushed the button triggering the carefully concealed explosives he laid in preparation for this event. C4 explosives went off in all the places he saw fit. The sniping posts he couldn't reach. The assault of lead lightened. Then Genocide drew an RPG from...somewhere. He collected himself and fired at the station's entrance. The explosion shook the station. From inside, the lights began to flicker. Communications were down on all fronts. Had he modified the rocket with some type of EMP? Not good. Amisdst the confusion Genocide entered using smoke bombs to mask his presence. Moving like a shadow, he killed everyone in the lobby silently with his knife. He made his way to the holding cells. Still they chanted. Still they praised. Still they raved for the arrival of genocide. Genocide shot the lock opening the cell. Jim Jimenez walked out and bowed before his master. Genocide smiled. He couldn't have imagined how proficient he had gotten with possession. Well, not quite possession. He had known of the Shinigami's ability to share their thoughts and emotions with humans. Shinigami like his mentor were ancient. They had so many years of memories, such strong a hatred for life that they overwhelmed the personality of the victim. The victim sees themselves as one of them. Shinigami can't force the will of the victim, so they find those who are already similar to them in some way. Genocide found the collective universal distrust of police to be a prime sentiment to capitalize on. He armed the inmates, infecting them with samples of his own dark essence.One particular inmate caught Genocide's eye. He knew the man's work. An arsonist. The one whom he recalls was responsible for blowing up his first car way back in high school. Rather than a standard firearm, Genocide gave the man a random assortment of grenades containing a special surprise. Genocide showed them visions of anarchy, of sending a message to a society that used and disregarded them. While this was also true of how he felt, years of living in darkness had changed him. He needed no purpose. No end goal. No justification. He just wanted to watch the world burn.
Genocide's small army broke off to engage several different wings of the station. Genocide went to the security room. He found Wayne, his informant, playing some FPS on one of the monitors. Wayne took of his headphones and asked," You kill everyone yet?" Genocide responded," No. You should get going before that happens. Your life becomes fair game if I run out of pigs to cook." Wayne clapped his hands, "Aight, GC my man, say less." He packed his things and left. Genocide drew a twin pair of handguns and laid waste to the station. He followed a group that took cover in the men's restroom. Kicking open multiple stalls he was surprised to find...nothing. Where had they gone? He turned around and saw his mentor, Masataka, smiling at him. It looked like him. Long, dark hair, black clothing, and soulless, empty eyes. But it wasn't. It was Genocide's own reflection in the mirror. Genocide smiled. He didn't notice the changes at first. They must have happened gradually. Subconsciously. From the final stall, an officer sprung into action, rushing Genocide, hitting him point blank with a shockgun round. Genocide felt the tingling sensation electrifying his body and grew numb. In spite of the pain, he took a single step. Then, another. He came within striking range of the officer and snatched the shockgun. Two more officers erupted from another stall, battering him with baton strikes. Genocide felt nothing. He clutched the shockgun in his hand like a bat and went to work pulverizing his attackers. An officer kicked in the bathroom door, a woman holding a pistol. She fired multiple times to no effect. Genocide stood covered in blood. He even let her reload. Twice. He wanted to see her despair. Her hopelessness. He walked towards her, shrugging off bullets as they pierced his body. His wounds healed nigh instantly due to the dark essence he had been imbued with. He held her face with both hands, lifting her body off the ground. As she screamed, he used her head to shatter the restroom mirror, running down the full length of it while smashing her into it at several points. He dropped the remains of what he held, washed his hands with soap, dried them, then exited the restroom.
The inmates that rallied for the cause of genocide attacked the station. Fortunately, they were nowhere near Genocide in terms of power and only carried one type of firearm each. They shared his healing ability but could be killed quite easily. Gracia encountered a sniper on the end or a west wing hallway. Other officers waited behind corners unable to get close. Gracia noticed the faulty lighting. In this hallway, the lights flickered in intervals of 3 seconds. Finding a pattern and timing her movements, she rushed the sniper at the exact moment the lights went out. Running the length of the hall, Gracia zigzagged, dodging the sniper inmate's bullets. She jumped on a wall, ran 3 feet on it, then kicked off it, pouncing on the assailant. She fired five shots into him, making sure to hit the brain and the heart. Two severe injuries that were impossible for Shinigami essence to heal simultaneously. Elsewhere, Evans took on another escaped inmate. A vehicular arsonist named Carson. Carson had a bag filled with an assortment of different grenades and was happily giving them out like candy on Halloween. "A flash bang here, a bit of tear gas there. Oh. Wait! Was that an ice grenade? Did the explosion freeze your leg to the floor? Whoops. Maybe a fire grenade will melt that for you. Hold on let me get one fore you," Carson rambled gleefully. Evans looked at the carnage before him. Officers burning. Officers partially frozen in blocks of ice. He took a breath and aimed his wristgun. He steadied his right forearm. Carson readied to throw a random grenade. Evans shot it the moment it left Carson's hand. The grenade exploded directly in front of Carson. Both Evans and Carson looked at each other in shock. Confetti. A party grenade? Carson quickly fumbled for another but was tackled and restrained by several officers. Meanwhile in the South wing, Lary had some colleagues set a trap for another shotgun toting inmate. He had them bait the inmate and flee. Giving chase he turned a corner and ran straight into Lary's fist. The inmate recovered and motioned to shoot Lary. "Let's tango. " Lary gave the code word. Nearby officers activated a device. A signal jammer of sorts. The inmate shoved the barrel of his gun into Lary's gut and pulled the trigger. Nothing. The special signal jammer in question was designed for firearms. It was a last resort as it left officers just as defenseless. Lary was having fun. He boxed the inmate in hand to hand combat. Despite the inmate's enhanced strength, Lary's technique pulled through. Lary ducked under one of the inmate's wide punches and did some type of rising uppercut where he jumped off the ground while spinning. One of the other officers whispered" The rising dragon." Lary smiled giving a thumbs up" Yeah, it was a rising dragon uppercut. Saw it in one O my kid's vidya games. Thought I'd try it out while I'm jacked on adrenaline".
Jim Jimenez looked long and hard at himself in the mirror. He was in the women's restroom. Some brainless woman had broken the men's restroom mirror with her face. For the first time in a long while Jim could think clearly. He was becoming sane. At the least he was no longer a raving lunatic. The life essence of the dark gods had healed the wounds to both his body and his mind. He saw his face, his scraggly dirty beard. He found a razor and shaved. He trimmed his beard somewhat. He liked it. He washed his hair. It fell down his face like silk, no longer greasy. His bloodshot eyes once burning with crazed intensity had cooled. He blinked. Just for a second, he saw the man known as Genocide. The man that attacked him. The one that killed him and gave him new life. The drug dealers. The police. They were all the same in his eyes now. They were all to blame for the world being what it is. Jim wanted to hate them. He wanted to take revenge, but he felt nothing. It didn't matter. He knew he was wronged, could logically justify acting against them, but he just didn't care anymore. About anything. He was finally free. Sensing his presence was no longer needed here, Jim vanished into the night. He needed to find someone who had had the answers he needed. Himself. Who had he been? Who was he now? Who could he become? Where was he going? So many questions to ponder indefinitely. So much time left in the rest of his life.
Genocide ran down the station's halls raining hailstorms of bullets upon its occupants. He had a handgun in each hand as well as a wristgun on each wrist. This effectively gave him 4 separate firearms that he could use simultaneously. Lary regrouped with Gracia, Evans, and a handful of others. They radioed all surviving officers near Genocide to flee to the roof. This plan had been set in motion days before the assault and had been kept hidden from most of the force. The plan involved scheduling flights for several helicopters to arrive at some point after Genocide arrived. There would be no way for him to prepare for them and pre-scheduling their arrival ensured they arrived regardless of if they were called or not. Lary and the others set about preparing the second jamming device. Genocide stood among a hallway of bodies. He saw one man clinging to life trying to crawl away. He decided on trying that other thing he saw his master do. He grabbed the dying man and pinned him to the wall. Slowly he drove a knife into his chest. As the man's life slipped away, something else entered his body. Genocide channeled a small amount of his essence into the vessel. He had steadily done this with other casualties around the station whose bodies were somewhat salvageable. He dropped the body he was holding and looked upon the others. He closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, his eyed were black, both sclera and iris. The scene before him changed. Genocide had a vision. He saw a dead gray wasteland littered with bodies. These people however weren't cops and wore traditional Japanese attire. In his hand wasn't a gun or knife but a short sickle akin to a farming tool. He heard a dark voice call out to him. Slowly, the corpses around him began to rise, now mere puppets bound eternally to their master's whim. The bodies sold to the reaper who had claimed their lives. Genocide's vision ended. His eyes had returned normal. Around him, dead cops began to rise. His dark essence had entered their bodies and reanimated them. He sent his dead army to attack the officers fleeing to the roof of the station. These zombies swarmed the stairwell giving chase to the few survivors. There were five of them. They had two flights of stairs to climb and a horde of their former colleagues close behind them. One officer tripped and was set upon by the horde. The zombies didn't bite them but held them firmly in place. The other four officers stared down wondering what to do. They could hear Genocide chuckling. They could hear humming. They could feel the temperature rising. Their colleague and the two zombies holding him were hit by an enormous green fireball. Genocide had fired a Magnum Opus and had charged the bullet to level 3. The Magnum Opus was simply a magnum that shot fireballs, with bullets that could be charged by holding down the trigger. It had three levels of charges. Level 1 was a small reddish ball of plasma. Level 2 was slightly larger and yellow. Level 3 was the maximum charge and resulted in a large slow moving green blast of energy. The officer was ignited and Genocide watched gleefully as the force of the blast sent him flying through a wall. The four officers continued up firing occasionally to slow down the zombies. Soon they made it to a door leading to the roof. Before one officer could reach it, he was sniped by Genocide, a bullet to the head killing him instantly. The remaining three made it out. They regrouped with the others already there, 12 in total, including Lary, Evans, and Gracia. This would be their final stand. They just had to hold out until Genocide made it up there. They just had to keep Genocide occupied until the helicopters arrived. Genocide slowly ascended the stairs behind his horde. On the roof, the remaining survivors faced off against waves of the undead. Evans recognized the attackers. These zombies were being controlled by nanomachines. He heard the stories of several weapons encountered by soldiers on the battlefield. These creatures were called Metaldeads as they were reanimated via machines. They had been officially banned by most of the worlds' governments for being unethical. However, this did not stop the technology from being spread still between shady organizations, terrorists, etc. Evans wondered how Genocide got this form of nanotechnology. Evans long speculated that the dark essence used by most of the killers they encountered was a a form of nanotech however it was different from anything else he had seen or heard about. The dark essence seemed to be an amalgamation of other types of nanotech. Evans had to save his inquiries for later. He reloaded his wristgun and took aim at the approaching group of Metaldeads. Gracia steadied her handgun and shot two Metaldeads in the head. From the single door countless arms seemed to spill forth from the darkness. The other officers took turns firing in intervals. this allowed them to create a steady stream of fire where no more that three guns needed to be reloaded at once. The horde seemed to thin out over time as if they were making progress. In actuality, the Metaldeads were just making room for Genocide to enter. Genocide exploded in a sprint from the door. Everyone fired upon the killer. Genocide had now chosen a wrist mounted mini flamethrower to use as his weapon. He stormed past the oncoming bullets taking some damage, but refused to slow down. He unleashed a stream of fire that caught five of the officers in one fell swoop. Gracia fired five rounds into Genocide's face. He stumbled back. Lary took the chance to fire several mine gun bullets at Genocide's feet. The mines quickly detected his movement and exploded. In seconds, Genocide was on his back.
Staring at the night sky Genocide saw the moon. He reached for it. He called for the darkness to give him more power. His wounds began healing. In the sky he could hear the whirl of propellers. There were six helicopters in total. The first two had evacuated the survivors while the others stayed to engage Genocide. Genocide got up and unstrapped the sniper rifle from his back. He stood before the searchlights as a black silhouette, cornered but unwilling to back down. Lary stared down at him smiling. "Okay!" He shouted, "Let's Tango!" Upon this declaration the second jamming device was activated. Now, isolated on the roof, Genocide's guns couldn't be fired and the helicopters were out of range of the device. Now Genocide stood like a sitting duck. A helicopter fired a rocket. Genocide side stepped and grabbed it. He turned his body redirecting the rocket to hit another helicopter. As it exploded Genocide drew his knife and threw it at another helicopter. Behind the knife was such force that it shattered the helicopter window's glass, embedding itself in the pilot. This helicopter too went down where it exploded. "Holy clucknuggets!Did you see that!?" Lary said dumbfounded. Evans looked out the helicopter door he was in jaw open in shock. "There's no way." He collected himself quickly and radioed the remaining two helicopters to keep moving and to use their machineguns as much as possible. The helicopters reigned down upon Genocide tearing apart his body. Shreds of leather and darkened blood sprayed across the pavement of the roof. Gracia watched as Genocide's body was destroyed repeatedly as it tried to heal. Surely he had to stop at some point. After 10 minutes the helicopters had exhausted their cache of ammunition and soldiers opted to fire their own rifles and occasionally throw grenades. After about six minutes, they too had run out of bullets. Genocide stood unfazed. He had long since healed himself and now appeared intangible with gunfire seeming to pass through his body. His coat once ripped , now appeared whole though on closer inspection seemed to writhe. Gracia looked in horror as she remembered the tales her adopted father had told her. Tales he had in turn heard from his predecessors. Every so often officers had reported encounters with ghost like beings cloaked in a cloud of living dark mist. The beings were rumored to be responsible for the deaths of multiple people ranging from scientists, veterans, mafia, politicians, etc. They were seen near such crime scenes and even more shockingly appeared around several sites where suicides were committed. These beings were reportedly impervious to bullets and filled anyone who got near with an impending sense of dread. If Genocide was connected to them or somehow turning into one , there was little chance they would be able to defeat him. Gracia's fears were confirmed when she saw that Genocide's leather coat had been destroyed and he had replaced it with the dark mist coalescing from his own spilled blood. The dark mist, swirling, grew larger and several tendrils sprouted out from it. Gracia could briefly make out a figure standing next to Genocide. A hooded figure cloaked in the same black substance. The figure stared up at her with soulless, blackened eyes which seemed to beckon her to jump from the aircraft she was standing in. Compelling her to give in to the death that plagued the earth. Genocide kneeled to his master. The Shinigami, Masataka stared down at his disciple. "You have done a great service to us. Even now the sealed god stirs in its slumber. Its...Awakening will soon be upon us. It calls out for war. It begs for famine. It longs to continue its conquest. We are the death it so desires. The death that is necessary for this civilization to grow. Use the power that I have bestowed upon you. Finish the mission as you see fit." The Shinigami vanished and Genocide stood.Genocide stared at his hands. He remembered the first killing spree. He was on a bus. It stopped. A woman got on the bus and walked to the back smiling as she passed him. Something about her eyes unnerved him. They were so bright but something dark reflected inside them. He ignored the thought and put in his headphones. In minutes he had dozed off. He jumped awake. He looked around and froze in panic. All around him, everyone had been hacked to pieces. He saw the driver, actively being stabbed by a masked assailant. The mask, painted white with black eyeholes, stared back at him. It raised a finger over where its lips would be. Even under the expressionless visage, he could feel that same smile. He ran home that morning. He went to his room to find it destroyed. His posters, his computer, his tv, everything, had been ruined. He turned around and saw a man at the end of the hallway holding a sledge hammer. "The hell you been, boy?", his stepdad sneered. The man dropped his hammer and walked closer, veins pulsing with rage. He tried to explain how his car had caught fire forcing him to walk 4 miles to the nearest bus stop, but the man's fist was faster than his words. "Boy!Answer me when I talk to you!!" the man says as he backhands the taste out of the would be Genocide's mouth. He took that beating for several minutes before being left to stare at his ransacked room. He hated how his stepdad went out of his way to destroy the things he loved. Soon, another set of footsteps could be heard. It was his mother standing behind his locked door. She didn't knock, or say anything. She just stood there, doing nothing as always. He never knew if she came to talk to him or apologize. All he knew was that she could never bring herself to speak to or even acknowledge him. Maybe out of guilt or perhaps shame. A year or two later after he had had enough he ran away from home. Living out on the streets alone, without friends, or family, he would embark on countless killing sprees. These killings weren't of his own volition however. He was coerced by some corrupt officers from The Unit. They made him kill on their behalf. Sometimes they were protesters, sometimes they were drug dealers, other times, petty criminals they couldn't be bothered to process. It was routine for him to be used to kill entire houses of drug riddled addicts. During one such venture he entered a drug den, killing the dealer as instructed. He took out several junkies before turning to leave. A woman who survived her injuries clung to his heel begging him to stop. Looking down he aimed the handgun he was carrying at her head of long disheveled brown hair and fired. Feeling nothing, he kicked her body aside like trash when it hit him. Her face. This woman had been his mother. What was she doing in a place like this? He felt a shock of emotion. He wondered if she had always been like this, or had she changed after he left. He never made amends, but decided to stop killing from then on. The unit did not like that. Once it became apparent that he was no longer of use to them they started a manhunt to apprehend him with lethal force. They found him. They killed him. But he survived.
He remembered the girl on the bus. He remembered her eyes. Those of a sadistic killer. Still there was something else inside them. Something faint but deeper. So. Much. Sadness. Just like him. He felt the hatred begin to spread. His purpose, he decided, was to make all humans rot in the hell they created for him.
These people, he thought to himself, these living diseases, all needed to die. Their struggles, their problems, they spread like cancer to others. The only cure for humanity's sin, its collective wrongdoings, was genocide.
Around him, dark tendrils continued to form and expand, spinning in a vortex. Genocide pulled out two pistols. He squeezed the triggers to no effect. "As I see fit, huh? Hehe." He squeezed both guns in his hands, breaking them into pieces. He concentrated. In his hands, two more guns materialized now completely black due to being forged from the dark essence. Forged by his will. Immune to the jamming device that shut down conventional firearms. He raised his arms at each remaining helicopter and opened fire. Countless tendrils whipped out and slashed at his targets joining the dark essence bullets. It was chaos. Dark tendrils and bullets tore through every direction as Genocide spun and swirled around in 360 degrees firing randomly with purpose. A tendril pierced Gracia's right arm, another, her abdomen. She was however, fortunate, as the other passengers of her helicopter were dismembered. She barely had time to jump from the vehicle before it crashed. She fell 2 yards onto solid concrete. She felt immense pain as her right shoulder shattered on impact. She looked up to see Genocide's blade like appendages ripping through the other escape helicopters. She rolled onto her back and tried to steady herself. Within seconds her body began to repair itself. The nanocells inside her had saved her life but were now depleted. She would need another supplement lest she receive another fatal injury. The standard nanocells she and the others had were much less potent than those of the killers they faced. In truth, they had only minimal strength boosts being able to lift 5-8 more pounds than before and healing being limited to one or two fatal injuries so long as death didn't occur instantly. Gracia blacked out. She awoke the next morning in a hospital. There the doctors refilled her nanocells. She learned that the station had been left in ruins. Genocide had detonated some type of minature nuke following his rampage. He always blew up the stations as if to send a message. Gracia looked out the window thinking about why she became a cop. Twice her family had been murdered by them. Her biological family had been killed in an on record drug raid committed by a group of corrupt officers called The Unit. She had been adopted by another officer that arrived at the scene who found her as a child hiding in a closed. Sadly, he too was killed for trying to expose the activities of The Unit. Gracia joined the force to avenge both losses and bring justice to the killers that disguised themselves as normal people. Law enforcement was neither good, nor bad. It depended upon the people that made it up. In the dying corrupt world Gracia lived in, she vowed to be a beacon of light. Evans laid in a bed adjacent to Lary. "That damn Genocide's somethin else in' he?Like the stories you told us were understatements. That man could legit not die at this point in the story. Like he has friggin plot armor or somthin.'' Evans cut him off" I get it. We all got our asses handed to us. But did you see that ..thing that appeared next to him. Right before he created that black vortex that wiped us out. That must have something to do with his power. Maybe there's a still a way to stop him."Lary chimed in," That fella looked like he was on the way to a black metal concert wit all the black facepaint he was wearin' Creeped me out to be honest." As the survivors mulled over their predicament, the cycle of evil continued to spread elsewhere.
Budley flips through the pages of a magazine. He checks his watch. He looks around the gas station and doesn't see any customers. Seizing the opportunity, he puts in his headphones and begins playing an imaginary guitar as he jams to a progressive deathcore album. Oblivious to the screams coming from outside, the store clerk moves on to thumping two candy bars on the counter to simulate drums. Budley sees that his shift has ended and begins locking up the store. He sweeps the aisles and jumps as a shadow appears behind him. He turns and sees a well groomed bearded man dressed in a black hoodie, black shirt, and black and gray camo pants. The man holds out his hand and smiles. Budley rings up the pack of nicotine substitute gum. "Tryin to kick the habit huh?" Budley asks. The man replies, "Somethin like that. Gotta get my priorities back in check. Focus on the things that really matter. That damn KonCreep's a hell of a band aren't they?" He nods to the playlist on Budley's phone. "Yeah, they're killer. just got into them a month back." Budley answers. "You know, I'm something of a musician myself. Maybe you'll hear of me on the news someday." Jim Jimenez says as he sees himself out. He walks to the back of the building and passes an ominous form of graffiti. A woman lays unmoving and above her, written on concrete in red is a message that simply says "Genocide Reigns".

Ruby groaned as the alarm went off signaling that one of her charges had arrived back from their mission. While troublesome in its own right, what really got under her skin was that she only had one charge at the moment, and that edge lord piece of shit wasn’t supposed to complete his task for AT LEAST another 4 deca-cycles according to the prediction algorithm. Grumbling to herself, she rolled out of bed and poured herself a glass of water to offset the hangover she was trying to recover from.

A few moments later she was gliding down the hall to the meeting room. She knew Jason was going to pitch a fit that she had left him waiting, the self-entitled brat always did think the world revolved around him; but perhaps he should have thought about that before freaking dying so early. If he wanted her to be there to meet him upon death, he could at least have the decency to not die the morning after one of her binges.

Other staff members gave her a wide berth, even if it was a hollow title, she was still technically far above basically anyone else in the pecking order, at least those who had a physical presence within the Agency. She knew they all mocked her behind her back, even divine beings were sadly prone towards gossip. She put the anger at her subordinates/coworkers out of her mind for now; even if she didn’t particularly LIKE Jason, he still didn’t deserve her coming in with baggage.

Lost in her thoughts, she hadn’t noticed that she’d arrived in front of the conference room door. She had been mulling over her thoughts, just staring into nothingness, for several minutes before she finally snapped back to the present. With a soft rap on the door, she opened it and floated inside. Jason was lounging, sprawled out on the regally padded chair throne he so fancied.

They exchanged pleasantries before she sat down to go over the mission summary. Upon seeing the cause of death, she had regrettably lost her composure and started to laugh uncontrollably. Her mighty subordinate had been felled by a goblin?! The mighty Jason Alexander Coyle, “mercenary extraordinaire”, had gotten his shit kicked in by a lowly goblin using what looked like a shiny butter knife. Oh, it was just too rich to not laugh at the absurdity.

It took her much longer than she would like to admit, to stop laughing. Jason of course wore a sour look through the entire endeavor. She shrugged it off, she had little doubt that if the same thing had happened to someone else, he would have been right beside her doubled over in laughter. Hell, once he was in a less pissy mood, she might even be able to get him to laugh about it later.

As luck would have it, it appeared that Jason’s actions had been enough to alter the tides of the war. The kingdom, and its divinity, would still lose many to the battles ahead, but Jason had done enough that the Agency could still bill the client for services rendered. As she spoke, she could see the disdain the man had for her, he always complained that she was drunk and reeked of liquor. Sure, that was often true, but he didn’t need to be such a stick in the mud about it all.

She went ahead and authorized the transfer of credits to Jason’s account. As soon as she did so, he opened up the store page and tuned her out. She watched him open up the back-channel site and purchase something, a small part of her wondered who was going to get roasted over the coals this time for allowing their admin privileges to be hacked. She toyed with the idea of bringing up his illegal actions, but truth be told she didn’t really give a shit. The other divinities were far too lax with their security, it had been child's play for one of her previous wards to hack into the Agency’s system and build the black site.

She’d ask him once about the whole thing, didn’t really grasp as much as she would have liked, but basically it functioned by spoofing a handler's credentials. This allowed the user to gain access to encrypted parts of the network, specifically access to certain privileged services that handlers enjoyed and most importantly, access to the mission assignment database. Users could buy and sell restricted or banned goods, and a part of the profits would be siphoned off to her ward’s personal account.

With Jason’s attention otherwise occupied, Ruby went ahead and reviewed the logs for his previous mission. Something about it was nagging at her. She couldn’t put it into words; however, the whole series of events just didn’t feel like ‘bad luck’. Using her divine authority, she rewound events, watching Jason’s lungs unfill with blood and refill with air.

The goblin skulked back to its den of corpses, resheathing the dagger at its hips, and reburied itself underneath the bodies. She let it rewind another few moments before stopping the feed and letting it run at normal time. She watched the goblin, slowly shifting the bodies out of the way, making sure they made no noise when it moved them. Slowly, carefully, it began to creep towards Jason’s exposed back. It drew the blade, again slowly and quietly. It closed the distance making sure to never let Jason see it or to give him any reason to think someone was behind him. Then in a flash of movement it leapt, burying the dagger right into a joint in Jason’s armor. The placement was perfect, no resistance, so the blade sank to the hilt. Allowing it to puncture Jason’s right lung.

Ruby rewound the log once more. This was wrong, very wrong. The goblin was way too good to just be some random grunt. Its movements were too smooth, its aim too precise. No, she was sure of it now, this was not a normal goblin. She focused her attention on the thing, aiming to scan the goblin for abnormalities, the dust covering it offering a surprising level of resistance to her scan. Not enough to stop her from doing what she wanted, but more resistance than she felt was reasonable for the anti-magic powder.

When she finally gained access to the monster’s stat block, her suspicions were proven correct. That was no normal goblin, that was a Redcap, a Redcap assassin no less. What in the dozen hells was a Redcap assassin doing in the middle of a freaking battlefield?! Such a valuable unit wouldn’t be used on the front lines, their skill set was terribly suited for the chaos that was an active battle. No, something was very wrong here and Ruby was going to figure out what.

As her mind raced trying to puzzle out what the actual fuck was going on, something else about the goblin flagged in her mind. It had come out of the corpse pile with the dagger already in its possession. She highlighted the various bodies that had made up the goblin's hidey hole, and then rewound the scene back. Every time one of the highlighted bodies met their fate, she froze the moment and pulled the scene into a separate window. It took a few minutes, but she eventually had all of the corpses frozen in the heartbeat before their deaths. She went through and scanned every single individual. Not a single one had been equipped with a magic disruptor blade. “So, where the fuck did the Redcap get a kingdom issued disruptor?”

Looking up, she saw that Jason was still fiddling with whatever it was that he bought. She tried to make idle conversation with the man, but he had gone full auto pilot, giving curt one-to-two word answers when asked a question or having to respond to a comment. She rolled her eyes, as much as she and him butted heads, she did have to admit that she did kind of like the guy. He had been going a little too hard into the whole dark and brooding edge lord thing recently, but that was hardly his fault. The human soul was ill suited to withstand the trauma of death, much less multiple deaths. The Agency usually did a memory scrub every couple missions, to prevent that kind of issue, but Jason had been dodging the screenings. For a moment she considered just letting sleeping dogs lie. Jason was dead and the mission was over regardless of what she might find, but the whole thing just rubbed her the wrong way.

Taking a little nip from her pocket flask, she once more focuses her attention on the Redcap. After scrubbing through the last several months of the creature’s life, she finally finds what she was looking for. The blade had come from one of Jason’s personal guards.

Ruby did a deep dive on the guard, and what came back made her blood run cold. The man had recently lost his lover. Jason had ordered a company to mop up a fleeing enemy force, before it could regroup and cause more issues. The entire thing had been a ruse and the company had been slaughtered to the last. The guard's lover had been part of that company. The loss had hit the man hard, driving him to the only rock left in his life. His deep belief in the kingdom’s divinity.

And wouldn’t you know it, apparently the kingdom’s divinity had some issues with Jason that it couldn’t be bothered to address through the proper channels. So instead of letting Ruby handle the trainwreck that was Jason’s social skills, this little scum lord of a God, had taken upon themself to deal with the issue. Several months of holy visions were enough to convince the grieving widow to betray everyone and everything he had ever known.

Once the guard had been properly brainwashed into turning his coat, it had been a simple matter to worm his way on to all of Jason’s post-fight surveys of the battlefield. The magic scanners that were exclusive to Jason’s retinue, had allowed him to see that Jason’s inhuman ability to avoid taking damage was really just a creative use of high-level magic. High-level magic that could have easily been used to save many of the kingdom’s soldiers. But of course, Jason believed himself too good to give the common man a means to protect themselves and those they loved. All this knowledge was of course worthless to the guard, he was nowhere near skilled enough to actually challenge Jason. But wouldn’t you know it, the divinity had thought of that too.

The podunk worm had brokered a secret deal with the enemy he’d contracted the Agency to deal with. In exchange for getting rid of a thorn in the God’s side, it would use its powers to scale back the war. Instead of facing a war of eradication, the enemy would be allowed to keep some of the land it had conquered.

At the urging of his God, the guard held a series of clandestine meetings with the Redcap. Imparting all the information he had learned in the months of shadowing Jason. He also gave the beast two gifts, the first was a Disruptor blade the guard had swiped from a fellow honor guard; when Jason’s corpse was found the blade would be traced back to the unfortunate guard instead of the traitor. The second was a satchel of Grarothian powder that had been blessed by the divinity, to ensure that Jason wouldn’t see the attack coming. It had worked of course; Jason hadn’t even known he was in danger till the blade was already buried in his lung. Oh, she was going to have the wannabe God’s head on a pike after this.

It pained her to admit it, but Jason deserved the final say in how this was all going to go down. She attempted to grab his attention, but the man was lost in his own little world. She tried waving her hands, ignored. She tried snapping her fingers in his ears, ignored. She even went so far as to beat her wings, blasting his face with the wind force of just under a category 1 hurricane; again ignored. Her rage was starting to reach fever pitch. So, she defaulted to the most tried and true method of stress reduction she had in her arsenal. She decided the only way for herself and Jason, once he knew the truth, to calm down would be to relax with a drink of the finest Earth treats.

With a heavy heart she opened up her most beloved extra planer storage space. This place was used for the only two things Ruby really cared about anymore. It was where she kept her most prized and coveted liquor, and where she kept the last few mementos, she possessed of her fallen wards. Her eyes scanned the room, she needed to pick the right apology gift. As she carefully made her way towards the back, she saw it. Tucked in about two thirds of the way to the back wall, stood a single hogshead of ancient scotch whiskey. The second to last gift she had received from one of her dearest friends, all those years ago.

Yes, this was the correct one. She felt it deep within her chest, a proper atonement requires a proper level of sacrifice. With a heavy heart she lifted the barrel over her head and began to stride out of the extra dimensional space. As she neared the opening, the soft clink of something falling and a flash of gold caught her eye. Sitting on a tiny end table was a small pouch of coins, one of which had somehow gotten loose and tumbled face up onto the polished table face.

For a moment she hesitated, she knew exactly what those coins were; and knew how much trouble she would get into if upper management found out she had them. That said, she also knew a sign when she saw one. The artifacts that she held within this place were the last remnants of those she had failed most of all. She pondered the meaning behind the fact that two of her previous charges seemed to have taken a shine to Jason, offering up to him their most precious of gifts. With a heavy heart and a plea to those long lost, she grabbed the coin before closing the pocket dimension.

With a loud *CLUNK* She set the hogshead down. Apparently, the sound of the barrel had finally made enough noise to draw Jason’s attention away from his screen. From a much smaller storage pocket she produced two crystal glasses. Pouring a hefty serving into each glass, she set one down in front of herself and the other in front of Jason. Locking eyes with the man, she said a single word.

“Drink”

The man twisted his face up in disgust at the sight of the liquor.

“Thanks, but no thanks, I’m not inclined to degr...”

“I said, DRINK!” Ruby growl bellows, casting the Command spell on the last word. Jason, despite his best efforts to ignore the compulsion, is forced to do as he is told, and takes a hearty swig of his hundred-year-old Scotch. With a smile on her lips, Ruby takes the opportunity to sip the illustrious gift. The hours melt away as they both sip and savor the deep complex flavors of this legendary brew.

As the drink flows her recollection of events becomes just a tad bit hazy. She can’t really remember how long it takes, but she does eventually come clean about the reason for this impromptu bout of drinking. It comes as little shock that Jason is... less than pleased to learn about the events that led to his death. He downs the rest of his drink in a single gulp, a waste of grand booze in Ruby’s opinion, and demands she fill his next one to the brim. For the first time in FAR too long, Ruby gets to see the Jason she had known all those years ago was still in there.

As the festivities carried on, she would occasionally catch him fiddling with the token he had bought. Curiosity finally getting the better of her, she decided to ask him about it, deciding to NOT mention that she knew it was illicitly purchased. He was cagey about it at first, but eventually loosened up and told her the truth.

He had grown bored with the usual missions that he had been assigned. He was sick of always having to play support, always cleaning up someone else’s messes, always laying the groundwork for someone else’s story. So, he had decided to cash in his points, and finally make use of the vacation time he had accrued. He had picked out what looked to be a pretty basic Isekai mission. Ruby suggested not mentioning his luck to anyone else, even she was aware how rare and coveted those missions were.

As the night wound to a close, they said their goodbyes. Before taking her leave, Ruby remembered the other present she had for Jason. A sharp whistle was the only warning she gave him before flicking the coin at his head. Even drunk, the man’s senses were still a thing to marvel at as he caught it in midair .

“The fuck is this?”

“Think of it as a gift.” She snorts.

“Oh, how generous of you. A whole gold coin, whatever will I spend it on.” Jason responds as he jangles the large coin pouch at his hip.

“Oh, fuck off. I’ll take it back if you’re going to be a brat about it.”

Jason drops the coin into his wallet and shakes it again for good measure. “Oops, too late now. Guess you’ll just have to let me keep it.” He gives her a smug grin.

She scoffed before turning around and making for the door. She could hear him activate the token as she closed the door behind her. As she wandered down the hallways back to her room, she pondered the events of the day. The rogue client would need to be dealt with, but she still wasn’t sure if burying him in legal paperwork for the next millennia or two, or just giving him a good old fashion human curb stomping, was the better punishment for his actions.

The choices bounced around in her head till she finally reached her residence. Having made no real progress in deciding her actions, she elected to just table the decision till she woke up next. The God was small time, so it wasn’t like it was going anywhere.

She took her time getting ready to sleep. Being a divine being herself, she didn’t actually NEED to sleep, but she did so enjoy the human customs surrounding the whole process. She took a long hot bath to unwind, before summoning a pair of adorable pajamas. Her body clean, and her mind at peace she laid down in her oversized excessively fluffy bed.

She had barely closed her eyes and began to drift off to blissful sleep, before she was awoken once again by the sound of her alarm going off.

“You have got to be shitting me. HOW?!?!”
< l l Next>

Link to original nosleep post:
https://www.reddit.com/nosleep/comments/1bbaoiu/i_thought_my_wife_was_medicating_herself_but_now/
I remember the first time I saw it.
A small orange bin, with multiple warning labels, a clear lid, and what appeared to be a plastic lock that rivaled those classified as “child proof.”
And inside… were syringes.
Interesting. I thought to myself.
“Hey, honey?” I asked her from the bathroom to the bedroom.
“Yeah?” She called back.
“What’s this?”
“What’s what?”
“The container full of syringes.”
“Oh.. It’s a container full of syringes.”
“I know that much, honey,” I chuckled, “But what for? Are you okay?”
“Oh, the fertility doctor said I need to inject myself daily with hormones, to increase our chances of getting pregnant.”
Fair enough. I thought to myself.
“Oh, okay. Just wanted to make sure.”
And then, we didn’t talk about it. For a couple weeks. Until I continued to see it there, and began wondering how long it’d be in the house. There was just something about a container of needles, that gave me the creeps.
Until I asked, “Hey honey?”
“Yeah?” She replied.
“How long will you have to keep up the treatment?”
“Treatment?”
“Yeah, with the syringes.”
“Oh, right. Those.”
She paused for a moment, before continuing.
“It’s hard to say. I have to go back and do some testing, and depending on how that turns out, I either have to keep taking it or I don’t.”
“Got it.” I replied, not wanting to pry too much.
Eventually, the plastic bin filled up with syringes, and then it disappeared. Until the next day, when a brand new, empty one showed up.
After a while, the new one filled, and disappeared. And was replaced by another.
And so on. And so on. To the point where the bin became so commonplace in the house, that my wife and I stopped speaking about it, and I nearly forgot about it.
Until, a year later, when I saw that the bin was still in the house, and inquired about it again.
“Hey, honey?”
“Yeah?” She replied.
“Not to trouble you, but I just wanted to check in on your health. I see that the syringe container’s still in the house, and was wondering how long you’ll need to be using it."
“Oh, don’t worry. The doctor said my illness was getting better.”
“Illness?”
“Yeah. The one I told you about.”
“You didn’t tell me about an illness, you told me-” But I stopped myself, curious to see what she’d say. “What illness is it?”
“A perfectly nonthreatening one. That needs to be treated is all.”
“I see.”
“Just another few months to a year and I’ll be back to normal.”
And like that, she walked away.
Illness? I thought to myself. But she had told me the needles were for fertility purposes.
I started to grow suspicious, unsure which of her two explanations was a lie, but convinced that one of them had to be one.
That’s when I started to pay a little closer attention to my wife’s comings and goings...
…And eventually noticed, that every day, she would go out to the shed.
“Hey, honey?” I asked.
“Yeah?” She replied.
“What do you do out in the shed?”
“The shed?”
“Yeah, I see you going out there every day. And was just wondering what you do in there?”
“Oh, right. The shed. Well…” She hesitated, “...I water the plants.”
“Plants? In the shed?”
“Yeah, well I didn’t want to clutter up the house, so I’ve been buying them and keeping them in there.”
“I see.”
“But you don’t bring any water out with you?”
“I keep a big bucket of water in there. So I only need to refill it every few weeks.”
“Got it.”
It seemed to make sense, but something just didn’t add up.
So, one day, when she went out to run errands, I snuck out to the shed to see what was inside…
…But it was locked.
She’s keeping her plants locked up? I thought to myself, trying to make sense of the situation.
But I shrugged it off, and went back inside.
Until a few days later, when, after a few sleepless nights, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Couldn’t let it go.
So the next time my wife went out to run errands, I took an ax, cracked open the lock, and tossed the ax to the ground behind me.
But what I didn’t know, was that my wife had forgotten something in the house, and had come back while I was outside.
And before I could open the door to the shed, I heard an ominous voice behind me.
“You shouldn’t have done that.” My wife said, her face completely deadpan.
I turned around, to find her standing there. “Honey, I just wanted to see the plants.”
I looked down at her hands. In one, was an unused syringe, cap still on. In the other, was the ax.
“Don’t you dare open it.” She commanded.
“Course not.” I said, holding up my hands, as a display of peace.
“Now go inside. And never come out here again.”
“Of course, honey. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
I headed back inside, my body shaking in fear, as I saw her drop the ax and step inside the shed, closing the door behind her.
Unable to process what had just happened, and too terrified to do anything about it, I went about my day business as usual, my mind consumed by what could possibly be in the shed.
I tried to sleep that night, beside a woman who, for all I knew, was lying to me, and capable of horrible things. But I couldn’t. So when I got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, and saw that she was fast asleep, I snuck downstairs, and went back out to the shed. This time, keeping my ax in my hand.
There, I found the door to the shed still unlocked, its former shackle still lying on the lawn in pieces.
I opened it, stepped inside, and closed the door behind me.
And what I saw…
…Was grotesque.
A bulbous, heaping pile of sludge, standing as tall as the shed itself, with barbed tentacles, and an uneven pair of eyes, that seemed to be slowly dripping down its body.
I took a step back, but before I could even reach for the shed door, a tentacle wrapped around my leg.
Not knowing what else to do, I raised my ax above my head, and brought its blade down onto the tentacle.
The creature didn't react, but I suddenly heard my wife scream from the bedroom, as if she was in pain.
It’s linked to my wife, somehow, I realized, before looking back at the creature, seeing a few human bones below, and remembering the news of hikers disappearing in the woods behind our house over the past year.
The monster started lashing out, its tentacles flailing and flailing, as it attempted to grab hold of me, while its slimy body formed into a barb-filled mouth, and began to move closer.
I had no other option, but to defend myself, so I took my ax, and just started swinging at it.
And each time I struck it, so too, did I hear my wife screaming out in pain, her voice getting closer, and closer, and closer.
Until eventually, she arrived at the shed, screaming, “Stop! It was wounded! I was just treating it with medicine!”
But by the time she opened the shed door…
…It was too late…
…The creature had been hacked to pieces.
And as the creature lay there, lifeless, so too did my wife, nearly unconscious from the traumatic experience.
An hour or so later, she awoke, with no recollection of what had happened, that night, or the entire year prior, the bulbous monster having taken over both her mind, and her memory.
And when I tried to explain to her what had happened, and told her about the excuses she had made up, including the one about fertility, she replied. “Oh no, I wasn’t even seeing a fertility doctor. But I could look into it?”
To which I replied, “Let’s just keep trying naturally. I’ve had enough needles for one year.”

Hey there
It seems my Verizon account was recently hacked and they ordered Apple Watches that were delivered to my house....
My question is why? What's the point in ordering items that get shipped to me? Makes me suspicious that I'm missing something and the watches were just a distraction?
Anyone have any insight into this?

Dollar General has $ 0.1 items weekly, you must download the app.
in the right of the search bar, tap the little square and scan items in the store, it gives you the price.
I found dollar general brand swifter refill cloths for $ .01 got 2, score
here's the link
https://thekrazycouponlady.com/tips/store-hacks/dollar-general-penny-list

I'm the founder of NoDegree.com and host of The NoDegree Podcast (200ish episodes). I interact with people who make over $150K-$500K+ without a degree.
You can do jobs in sales, marketing, tech, operations, and certification based industries without degree.

Sales

You probably have to start under $60K but if you grind it out, you can get a job as am AE making above $150K. I've seen great AEs make above $300K. I did a resume for a guy who made a million dollars total comp for T-Mobile as an RVP. Started his career working at a Verizon store and worked his way up. Took him like 20 years to get to that level.
In sales there are a lot of transitions you can make. Some people choose to keep selling and others move into leadership. Some move into customer success, account management, or sales operations.

Software Engineering

In tech, you can do software engineering. The market is brutal so you may need to seriously dedicate a year depending on your work ethic and intelligence. In 2020 and 2021 people were breaking in with 3 to 6 months. Now you have to really know your stuff. A bootcamp is not enough in 2024. You need to make sure your resume is perfect. I routinely get people who come to me with great resumes that don't get interviews. It needs to be ATS friendly (applicant tracking system). Which means minimal formatting. You need to highlightimpact and optimize keywords. /engineeringresumes has the best free resource for resumes online. It's actually better than 90% of paid resources I come across.

System Administration

The other route is system administration. You generally start off in a help desk role. You can stay in this role for 6 months to a year. They generally pay very low. Like $30K-$40K but you can move up quick. Then you can pick up certs along the way and get paid in the $60K-$100K range. I have seen people clear $150K-$250K and eventually work their way to CTO roles. It will take time. Some people go down the SRE (Site Reliability Engineering route). I know an SRE who was in the $400K+ total comp range at a very well known payments company. I generally recommend the SRE route because it pays really well. It takes years to get into it. It helps if you want how to program.

Cloud

Cloud is a growing area. This is a very cert driven industry. AWS has the most about of jobs so I generally recommend that. You can get a job in Azure or Google Cloud with an AWS cert. Some companies do expect you to pass the Azure or GCP certs. I knew someone who got into Microsoft with AWS certs. One thing to note is that while AWS it the most common, knowing Azure or GCP will make you more marketable to the organizations that use it. People sometimes branch into DevOps or Scrum roles. Those are more operations focused. Knowing the technicals really helps.

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is another option in tech. You need to pass Security+ and Network+. You need some solid projects and may have to volunteer some time. You can get around $50K-$60K entry level. TryHackMe.com is a very great free resource.

Project Management

Project Management is another area. You can get the PMP eventually. If you don't have college degree, you need 5 years of qualifying work experience to get it (college graduates only need 3). Most people start as a project coordinator and work their way up. I've come across project managers who make $150K-$300K+.

Product/Program Management

These aren't typical entry level roles and you need some domain level expertise. I've seen people make $100K-$1M+ at this level. The people at the top end have 10+ years experience that typically includes the top companies.

Marketing

You want to learn as much as you can through free resources. Salesforce Trailhead, HubSpot Academy, and Facebook Blueprint. Other companies have a bunch of free learning paths. You may have to do some volunteer work first to get some experience on your resume. You will probably start at like $40K-$60K entry level. Then you can work your way up. $120K-$200K is reasonable after getting 3 to 7 years experience. If you learn data analytics and automation, you can really increase your salary. Product marketing is a domain that pays very well. SEO is another area but that area is going through a lot of issues because of Google algorithm changes.

HR & Recruiting

Recruiting and HR have a lot of opportunities. Recruiting will be an absolute grind in the beginning. You can be internal or agency. People at agencies can make serious money. I've come recruiters without degrees and their own agencies make $100K1 in a MONTH. That isn't the norm. It takes years to really learn the industry. For HR, you will start at the bottom. Something like an HR associate or benefits associate. HRBP is a typical title. You have to really learns the ins and outs of compliance and systems. People who know HRIS (human resources information systems I believe) can get paid well since they are typically a pain in the ass to deal with.
I'm just scratching the surface. I didn't include careers in the trades or creative fields (photography, videography). I will.come back to edit this comment. I'm walking on a treadmill at the gym so excuse the typos.
You would also be surprised at what jobs you can break into without a degree. I did a resume for an accountant without a degree. He landed jobs that said CPA required. He couldn't sign off on things but he made over $110K. He started off as a bookkeeper and the most he ever got was his associates. He worked his way up to a controller.

A few days ago, I received a file from a journalist friend who teaches at a private university in Montevideo. I known this person for years now and the exchange with her on our countless bar nights basically made me want to try to study journalism. After I started my career we became even closer and we shared concerns about the evolution of information, social media and the infamous cerebral callosity we acquired to endure the tragedy.
My friend, let's call her Valeria, was part of a public competition to accompany a minor scientific expedition to the Uruguayan Antarctic base. Her thesis was about investigating how information reception behaves in remote and isolated areas.
I barely read it , but basically tries to show that information circulates and is received in a particular way in these circumstances by a group of unfamiliar people living under extreme climatic and isolation conditions, having as an example, life in submarines and in military bases in Siberia. The Antarctic base gave her the chance to observe some of her postulates up close.
Finally, she was chosen and traveled with this scientific group in a commercial flight Montevideo - Santiago de Chile to later arrive at Punta Arenas and fly to the Antarctic base.
The last communication I had with her before she sent me the almost 90 photographic captures of the Journal, was on March 15, 2024.
We talked over the phone about how the weather was in Montevideo, that it does not stop raining and the cars are practically floating on the streets. She told me that the transport that was going to take them back was having mechanical problems and they would probably have to order spare parts for the plane from Punta Arenas. Then She told me that it is freaking cold down there and his colleagues are all very boring. Nobody has whisky for the evenings. We laughed about that part because I told her to bring at least one bottle of Grappa in her purse.
Before saying goodbye, she told me they had spotted some old metal structures south of the base. The soldiers told her that it was safe to go near that part so she was going to explore them. It wasn't there when they first arrived and that the recent and atypical heat wave probably must have exposed it. I told her to be careful and we said goodbyes.
Three days later I received an email. “Valeria shared a file with you.” As I start to see what it was about she calls me.
“Mauro? MAURO!, can you hear me?” She said in a nervous and excited voice.
“I can barely hear you, what happened?”I asked half asleep, while still lying on my bed.
“Listen to me carefully, don't talk, just listen” I could tell by her agitation that she was walking fast or maybe running. The creaking footsteps in the snow could be heard in the background. in the distance, a catastrophe-type siren was blaring.
“Are you alright? What happened? What's that noise?” I said, now sitting on the edge of my bed.
“I sent you a file. Transfer it to a flash drive, delete history and reset your cell phone, the computer and your email address. I'll explain everything later, it'll be worth it.”
“What? What are you talking about Vale?, what for? Tell me what's going on - I started to yell at her, in slide panic.
“Listen, I found something that is not supposed to exist. In the diary he explains everything. I'm going back to the base, I think someone is following me, I set off an alarm or something. Save that file for me until I get there and remember that... “
There were two loud booms and the sound of water invading the transmission. A choked bubbling and cracking sound reminded me of ice collapsing. My friend had fallen into the water, in Antarctica.
“HEY, are you OK?! What happened?!” - I kept screaming hysterically until the call was cut off.
I looked at my cell phone for a second. My hands were shaking, I tried calling several times but the phone went dead. I looked at the compressed file. I jumped up and ran to the dining room furniture, frantically looking for a white flash drive that had to be in a drawer somewhere. I couldn't find it, so I went back to my desk. I pulled the drawer so hard that it came off the rail and fell to the floor. I started to dig through my belongings on the floor, coins, papers, cards, nothing.
I thought, I struggled to remember where I had fucking put it. Finally I saw my backpack peeking out from behind the desk chair, I jumped on it and in the second small pocket from the inside, there was a cheap white 16G flash drive. I put it in the pc, downloaded the file directly there, took it out and fabric restored the entire system on the computer. I do the same with my cell phone as Valeria said.
At the time I didn't even question if those measures really prevented me from being tracked, and the idea that that was the reason made panic run through my body like lightning. Sitting on the floor of my room next to the mess, my body was numb with tension. After a few seconds, I rebooted my cell phone to try to call Lucia, her sister.
“Hello?”
“Lucia, it's that you? I think something bad happened to Vale, I hear her over the phone as if she fell into the water, and some rumbling. I don't know what I heard, I think she got into some trouble or some place she shouldn't have been - I realized that I was mumble and not saying anything clear. For some reason, I didn't mention the file.
“It can't be Mauro, I just spoke to her on the phone. She was at the airport in Santiago de Chile at the boarding lounge, we talked for about half an hour, she told me she was bringing a fancy bourbon to share and…”
I stopped listening, it didn't make sense, how could it be? what the fuck is going on!
“Mauro, are you ok? Is something wrong? it's too early, are you sure you didn't dream it?”
“Did you talk to her? half an hour ago? But...,” I exclaimed without being able to hide my confusion.
“Are you... sure it was her?”
“Yes, of course you moron, it's my sister! Did you smoke pot again on an empty stomach?”
“No, you're right, nevermind, thanks Lucia, talk to you soon.” I ended the call without letting her say goodbye.
Had I dreamt about it? I erased everything now, how will I know if I dreamt it? I hesitated absurdly.
This is surreal, I thought to myself as I looked at the flash drive in my hand. I refocused my attention and went to the attic looking for my brother's old laptop he left me before going to live in Spain. It was practically useless, but it was enough to see the file. I turned it on, waited for the decrepit Windows XP to load, and put the flashdisk in, opened the compressed folder and found two files.
“LabNotes.pdf”
“PersonalDiary.pdf”
I decided to open the journal first. From what I interpreted from the loading order of the screenshots, after reading it, I opened the image of the last page.
I transcribe as is.
Day 243 of the 2nd mission 10: 40 am. March 12, 2019.
I am the head researcher of the Psychological Area at the UN Antarctic base; I'm currently assigned to Project Sisyphus categorized as the highest classified rank.
This is going to sound crazy, but the person living with my family is my clone.
It still surprises me when I say it out loud, but after being able to replicate the brain-muscular history (a perfect copy of our memory) of any person and having mastered replicating every cell of our bodies at any age, it was only a matter of time before the development of social biotechnology would emerge. Now and by worldwide agreement, as a complete secret.
There is absolutely no shame or a shred of ethics in what we do, there is no longer any constraint on what we can do to the subjects for the sake of research. That haunts me every day.
It all went to shit so fast, I doubt anyone will come to our rescue. The protocol says so, the base in the face of an imminent security risk will erase itself. The structure was designed to collapse methodically following a protocol of incineration and sinking. The immediate perimeter has underwater mines that make the ice collapse almost imperceptibly, but deadly to anyone who tries to leave.
No one can escape from the base, neither the research staff nor the subjects. Our place in the world is already taken.
I only hope that this journal along with my lab notes will be found at some point. I managed to construct a small insulating gasket for it so I trust it will survive in case this part of the building collapses as well.
Please use this data to let the world know what happened here and don't let perversity define us once again.
To my family: I love you and miss you every minute.
B.
At the exact moment I ended the reading I received a video call that made me jump with fright, it is...
Valeria.
With my pulse shaking, I answered the call.
“Hi you! The flight was delayed, can you believe it? This one is absolutely in my top three, worst trips of my life. I'm really hungry and everything is so expensive here. What are you up to? Tell me something, please, I'm soooo bored!”
I looked at her with confusion and I couldn't manage to pronounce words. When I was about to modulate an answer she interrupted me.
“What's the matter Mauro?, are you on pause? Is the signal OK? HELLO! Can you hear me? Can you see me?” She started to walk through the boarding lounge looking for better signal
“Yes yes, Valeria I can hear you.”
She laughed and looked at me with a face between sensual and serious, and continued.
“Do you miss me?” while raising the phone jokingly as she typically does in her selfie pose.
“Valeria, don't you remember calling me earlier today?”
“I? called you? Nop. Why? Ah! By the way, did you know there are penguins in Tierra del Fuego? I would have liked to go and see them.” She continued his verbose conversation in a carefree tone, with her typical hand gestures and playing with his hair.
“Well, at last!” She interrupted herself and shouted, jumping up from her chair.
“We are being called to board, see you in a couple hours!” She said goodbye with a smiling sonority, and began to walk towards the boarding gate.
But at the last second, before ending the call, her gesture changed. She looked directly at the camera with a hardened and emotionless face and almost mechanically, she whispered.
“(I'm going to retrieve that diary).”
My stomach dropped to the floor and I could feel as if my blood was running cold with fear. I could not shake the awful and eerie feeling that this person, who was returning, whom I had never in my life called by her full name, was not my friend.
So, the next couple of hours I put everything in to transcribe the rest of important passages of the diary. Something was compelling me to do it, i can't explain it, Some mix between moral duty, and morbid curiosity. Here is my selection of it.
Lab notes. day 96 of 1st mission 08:00 am December 22, 2016.
Subject JON X012:
First physical assessments: Normal, alert and inquisitive, exhibits some alteration to screens.
We place 100 cc of sedative in room air. The subject attentively follows the narrative of scenario B5 “The last mission”.
The subject responds positively to the premises of the story, where he is asked to address an audience threatened by a natural disaster, convincing them to choose a certain path out of the city.
He offers to collaborate but fails to articulate the message with the power to overcome the simulation.
We resort to pouring 125cc of concentrated Psilocybin into the air as stipulated in the protocol sheet.
The vocal frequency and body language reading receptors in the observation room are activated. The subject manages to formulate a series of premises articulately and with discursive power, circulating around the observation room.
Successful reaction.
We move on to the next stage.
Case is filed under the label “Jobs Project.”
Diary entry: Day 96 of the 1st mission 21:30 pm. December 22, 2016.
Today they transferred subject JON X0012 for psychological evaluation, several in the lab were very anxious about this arrival. I was never the religious type, but I can understand why. Truth be told,
I always imagined Jesus would be taller.
*********
Day 106 of the 1st mission 08:00 am January 02, 2017
Today we received a new lab assistant for the night shift. Much needed as I was covering these shifts myself and am really burned out. The underground operates at full power at those hours, the hum of the machinery becomes unbearable. This must be why the rooms have an insulating structure.
********
Day 112 of the 1st mission 19:00 pm January 08, 2017.
The new integration is not very bright. He labeled the transcripts wrong again yesterday and doesn't seem to fully understand the importance of these. I'm going to have to go through the whole method with him again. I don't have much patience lately, it's not his fault, he seems like a nice guy and it's real that I need a second of confidence. Better train him from now on. Maybe start a sketch of a short explanatory document.
*******
Small introductory guide.
When the subjects conclude the incubation and breeding process (pages 19 to 52 of the manual), that is to say, that they have at least remembered speech and with it, depending on the time in which they lived, reading and writing, they generally begin to perceive themselves. Just before situational curiosity is when the psychology department comes into action. Either to run the “stand by” simulation or the main tests.
In each subject's file is the target of their cloning, the era in which they lived, and the recommended scenarios to trigger the desired response. If the file has X amount on the cover, this corresponds to the generation of the subject, whether it is the first or 10th time it is incubated.
Generally, it takes between 2 and 5 attempts to generate the correct simulation, and administer the appropriate drugs.
It took 5 attempts to come up with the correct amount of methamphetamine that subject AH X005 (Hitler) needed to function in the scenario, as the correct amount bordered on overdose.
Simulations are much easier since the implementation of multisensor AI. We managed to generate almost any scenario including temperature, smells, lights and sounds. We tried not to use familiar ones, as human smells are impossible to replicate. We found this out in a complicated way. We tried to recreate a conversation between RR subject X003 (Reagan) and his mother, but he recognized the fakery by the absence of body odor. His mind collapsed and we had to move him to the Underground. The people in Area C (Private Clients) almost lost a very large Chinese account.
After calibrating the subject, we ran both psychological and behavioral tests, scanned retinas, analyzed blood, as well as vocal and body language. But what has really yielded surprising results are the free interviews. It is amazing what some minds are capable of with the right environmental and chemical stimulation. That's why transcription is vital (!!)
Our area develops BC (Behavioral Algorithms) which are then bought by the private sector, and some government agencies.
To give you some examples: Twitter was an idea of subject JO X008 (Orwell).
Bots in social media and the use of big data was an idea of JG X002 (Goebbels) and KM X014`s worst nightmare (Marx) was bought by Amazon.
It is an arduous process and the success rate is low, but when we achieve the goal per subject, well, these results are a mein part of the latest revolutions of mankind.
So follow the lab rules, never refer to subjects by their actual historical name, and always remember, they are assets, not people.
***********
Day 117 of the 1st mission 16:30 am January 12, 2017.
Today is a rest day all over area D. I miss many things from the old world that I thought I would never miss, taking a bus, standing in line with strangers, and today I miss Sundays. We only have one on the month. So as usual we gather in the rest area to listen to a liberated jukebox that tries to lighten the mood. I know, right? Why I wrote about this “Saturday” photocopy, well besides the same nostalgic drunks, I was approached by a person I didn't recognize.
From what I understood he was a rehabilitated alcoholic, maybe that's why I didn't see him on “Saturdays”. He must be in his 50's, he was portly and wore thick black-rimmed glasses, he seemed to have a slight limp, I noticed it when he went to refill my beer.
I am a very reserved person and find it hard to talk to people. Truth be told, I've lost the desire to talk to people here. What can you actualy fucking talk about here, if it's not about the same thing. Everything revolves around work and some inter-area gossip, which never escalates much.
But yesterday was Clara's birthday and to hide the remorse and sadness of only having shared with her the first 3 years of her life, I had a few too many beers.
We chatted about banal aspects of life in isolation, and the things we miss. For him it was going to the stadium to watch soccer with his grandchildren. I think it was loneliness and nostalgia that brought us together that night.
His name was Sigfried, I don't know if I spelled it right, but it was clearly Nordic, i notice because of some of the words he mixed up with English. He works as the underground level security manager. We all know that it is one of the most restricted areas and what we have learned in these almost 10 years in the project, is that the more restricted, the less questions you should ask.
But that day, I think I felt the urge to hurt myself, to go off the rails, so I asked what we all suspected but no one knew for sure. I asked about the blenders. I wish I hadn't.
************
Day 126 of the 1st mission 08:00 am January 21, 2017.
I almost can't express how furious I am today, but I'm going to try because if I don't, I'm going to punch the new assistant in the face. He has nothing to do with this, he's just mildly irritating.
Anyway, in Genetic Mapping or area A, they approved the incubation of another Anomaly. It seems to be an express request from a major shareholder and there is not much to say. Anomalies are very risky to reproduce, nature is wise, and for some reason it placed them in history moments where they had their limitations.
It seems that after the crisis of 2010 with “The Russian Devil” it is no longer scary enough. New school morons... If they had been there they wouldn't even dare to think about it. I AM FURIOUS.
The arguments are that this case lived longer, that the clone would be in his 70s, and that he possessed noticeably more “civilized” traits. As if the court of the last Zar had not been somewhat civilized.
Personally I think this is a big mistake. Since the discovery that some people possess unknown DNA components and with the 2010 background, they should draw the line. There are certain things, still beyond our ability to understand. But it is delusional of me to think that there are limits, someday the absence of them will consume us all.
************
Lab notes day 142 of 1st mission 08:00 am February 06, 2017.
Final free interview with JON subject X012
Scenario B-24 or “The Dinner Party” Result: Normal.
Notes: Subject is grateful, positive, docile and hopeful for the future. Offers to cook next time by asking for spices and ingredients of typical Hindu dishes.
The subject is directed to the Underground area.
Attached audio for transcription.
Case is filed under the label “Jobs Project”.
**********
Day 142 of the 1st mission 21:00 pm February 06, 2017.
Today was the last session with subject JON X012, I managed to extract the last retinal and body language readings, as usual before sending them to Underground level. We ran the dinner scenario, the truth is that is one of the best simulations we have achieved. The subjects are relaxed resulting in the best free interview environment. This one was no exception, I must say I understand the charm of the “messiah” turned out to be quite an entertaining subject. I hope his next generation will be similar.
**********
Day 152 of the 1st mission 19:00 pm February 16, 2017.
I was tasked with the continuous monitoring of subject NT X004. I am not at all happy with this transfer. First of all, I know nothing about area B of engineering and technology. Secondly, I still think this is a really bad idea.
One of the laboratories has been set up with the essential simulation equipment and personnel. Tomorrow we start with the calibration.
**********
Lab notes day 153 of the 1st mission 08:00 am February 17, 2017.
First interview with subject NT X004, we run simulation scenario 54-A, “Signal from another planet.”
Subject is observed to be receptive at first but quickly changes to paranoid. We administer 300cc of MDMA via air, according to protocol.
We introduce the reconstructed figure of a colleague in a cry for help speech.
The Subject laughs and doesn't believe a word, we move to a physical approach plane,
I volunteer myself with a room operator from the engineering area, we show him unfinished plans of an experimental vacuum propulsion engine.
He laughs again and tells us that we are not who we say we are.
We administer 50cc of DMT and move on to the next scenario.
From the screen an astronaut with non-human features sends a distress signal and intergalactic coordinates.
The subject looks thoughtful, reassesses, picks up the blueprints and begins to shout out values and what appears to be mathematical and physical formulas.
Air is charged with percentages of absolute sedation.
Audio recording is attached.
It is filed under the name “Project SpaceX.”
**********
Day 153 of the 1st mission 21:00 pm February 17, 2017.
I'm not sure what happened today, this is the first time in 10 years that a subject overcame the deception of 3 simulations. We had to place absolute sedation in the air, as risky as we know it is. I recommended that we restart the process from scratch, but it was a resounding no, the client is in a hurry.
I need to get more involved in this case to recalibrate the subject. I don't know if I want to. The words before full sedation still resonate with me. “are you still using DC current? interesting...”
**********
Day 154 of the 1st mission 21:00 pm February 18, 2017.
Something happened, I don't quite know what. The rooms have an emergency lockdown active. Outside hear security personnel mobilizing. I tried the intercom but it didn't work. The insulation prevents my screams from being heard from the outside. If this goes on another day I'm going to break the lock. I'm going to set my backpack to the bare minimum.
**********
Day 157 of the 1st mission 21:00 pm February 21, 2017.
Yesterday I heard explosions in the B area. I couldn't take it anymore and broke the lock. Whatever it was I had to go out and see. The corridors were dark, and the underground buzzer went on, at least that worked.
I went right to the north staircase, down the 4 floors in near darkness, the power was failing. The entrance to the underground area was barricaded but I managed to see a figure peeking out from inside as they felt me making noises.
It was Sigfried, he pointed me in the doors direction and I entered through a heavily armored side door. I was surprised by the immensity of this section, it encompassed a large hall below almost all the sectors of the base. In front of us there were 4 large industrial pipes with switches and multiple smaller pipes coming out of their bases. These were repeated like mosaics throughout the area until they disappeared into the distance in the darkness.
Leaning against one of them were 3 officers in formerly white coats and a nearly dead guard bloodied on the floor. Poor guy, his legs were crushed with his flesh in the open. He was lying in a pool of his own blood.
He had a blank stare and was panting, it seemed from the pale of his skin, that his fate was imminent. My asthma began to pound in my chest sharply, so I reached into my bag looking for my inhaler. I told them between visible gasps of bad breath to please tell me what's happened.
One of the doctors had a badge from area B and another from area E which corresponds to bio-armamentistics. The latter burst into tears and said “We deserve it, every one of us, we deserve it”.
I knew the other guy, he is an engineer in area B. I could hear him babbling almost nonsensically about, as why they never thought about it, an issue with electrical power.
He looked at me carefully as if recognizing me and grabbed me tightly by my jacket pulling me close to his face transformed for the panic.
“He let them out, all of them!” but not only that, no no no no... he told them the truth. Nikola fucking Tesla hacked us and told them the truth.”
He began to laugh frantically with a face of absurdity until he burst into a choked cry. At that moment everything went dark. The emergency lights activated, and from far away and getting closer, along with the emergency sirens that began to sound, we heard a large mass of people screaming and running through the corridors outside.
Sigfried looked at me as they started to pound on the shielded door and said.
“We're fucked.”
**************
Day xx of the second mission, month xx of 2017
“()The industrial sounds of spinning blades, the cries for mercy followed by the thunderous, liquid crack, down that big pipe, into the green barrels, with the Monsanto logo, dripped down one side an elongated drop of pink paste ending in the letter E on the chemical label. FERTILIZER.”
**********
After finishing the transcription, my whole body began to want to flee, the walls of my house were tinged with a faint blue light as the cloudy dusk came through the window, the lights turned off by my abstraction at the computer gave way to the dark corridors that began to feel alien. As I gently closed the pc my ears began to ring as if under pressure, my breathing became more present and the vibration of my cell phone interrupted my trance.
A call from the office. It was to tell me that I had a vacation week pending, that by schedule, I had to take it starting today.
Sons of bitches, now they even choose your time off - I thought at first, but at the same time I found the voice on the phone very strange, and to tell the truth, the procedure itself.
The anger turned into confusion that only added to the paranoia. The sounds in the street began to seem erratic, a chaotic and strangely familiar feeling came over me. My senses seemed increasingly acute, and they screamed:
Go away.
I grabbed the old laptop, the flash drive and headed for the bus station. The short trip from my house seemed like a long journey. People on the street looked at me with strange faces, the cell phone kept ringing with unknown numbers on the screen and a strange idea began to formulate in my head that whispered “Them, Valeria is one of Them”.
Already on the platforms I rummaged through my backpack where I confirmed that I had the key to the family beach house in San Luis, 60 km to the east of Montevideo. I turned off my cell phone, got on a bus heading to another and much far away town called Treinta y Tres. Sat near the last seat and slipped my cell phone in my front pocket of the seat in front of me, got off and commented to the driver with a clueless face, “I got confused, I'm going to the coast”.
I almost jumped onto the steps of the correct bus to where I was heading, unable to avoid the gazes of the passengers questioning me for the last minute drop in. I sat in my numbered seat and defragmented in dissociation, trying to understand what I was doing, I was running away, but from what?
The images of the last transcriptions were engraved in my mind, the last paragraph was repeated over and over again making me shake my head from time to time trying to get them away from my thoughts. The road was dark and I lost track of time, the digital clock within sight of the passengers jingling since we left, reading 10:40.
“San Luis Station!” - I heard the guard's shout in low volume.
I staggered to my feet, hurried to get off and with the same impulse I entered the dirt roads.
I zig-zagged through the dark, cold and silent beach town. The moonless night and the smell of the sea calmed me.
When I turned the corner to the gabled beach house of my family, on the steps of the front door lit by a white light, was her. Sitting, waiting for me. I stopped dead in my tracks and a chilling vertigo ran down my torso to my throat. We looked at each other for a short two seconds, until she stopped and started walking in sliding steps towards me, smiling and playing with her hands, crossing and uncrossing her arms. The growing sound of the wind through the trees covered us.
“Darling, how are you? How nice is the summer house, I don't think we ever came here, did we? Is it the one your grandmother left you?”
I felt the adrenaline rushing through my bloodstream, how could such a familiar attitude from such a familiar person transmit such panic to me? I had to answer something.
“Yes, this is it. I came to clear my head for a while, they gave me a few days at work and I wanted to take advantage of it.” I tried to excuse myself with failed dissimulation, since I stuttered in the middle of the words.
“Yes, I know! We arranged it with them, so you can be more relaxed and as a gesture for taking care of the file. Ah! and another thing. I think someone stole your cell phone at the bus station.” She looked at me with a smart-ass smile.
“Anyway, don't worry, they already found it on a bus on the way to “Treinta y tres”. You can get it back later.”
At this point I opened my mouth to ask for explanations, but as terrified as I was I only mumbled a “thank you”.
All this dialogue let us half a body length away, Valeria looked at me now a little more serious and stood at my side. She took my arm petrified and I could feel how a strong smell of neutral soap invaded me, as if she had rubbed herself in it too much.
“Shall we go inside? it's getting cold,” She said, finishing the sentence with a sweet gesture of pleading.
“Emm, shure.” I said.
My trembling hands managed to hit the lock on the 3rd attempt, we entered, turned on the lights and from his backpack she took out a red wine. Our favorite.
“Bring me some glasses, Mauro”. - She said to me as she sat down on the armchair against the window overlooking the gentle hills outside.
She poured wine until he almost filled the ex-cottage cheese glass, looked at me and in a toast gesture said.
“To... Dr. B?”
I slid a little smile and raised my eyebrows. Then I took half a glass in one sip.
“Well!” - She exclaimed, leaning over and resting the glass on the coffee table, and continued.
"You must be very confused, I understand, I saw it many times, the mind trying to adapt to a new, unsuspected reality and in your case all at once. It is not easy. First, make sure that no one is going to hurt you or anyone you know, second, what you read in that file, as you may have noticed, is not intended for public knowledge. Also to tell you”. I couldn't take the stress anymore, I exploded.
“You're not Vale. Who are you?! You're almost identical, but....”
“Ah yes, that one it's a tricky one to explain. Let's try, let's see:
“I'm a version of Valeria that she accidentally gendered when entered the lab. In one of the incubation rooms she touched a scan button that photographs her mind for 48 hours. It contains a micro needle that took her blood and thus generated me.”
“The thing is that we were in a situation of self-destruction of the systems, and that part of the programming code of the protocol was also copied in Valeria's mind.”
“And Valeria? She 's... dead?”
“Well, yes and no. If she tried to leave the base she's probably dead. if she's still there, she's probably frozen to death or killed by the cleanup command, but basically, if I'm here, she's not anymore.”
the coldness with which she answered me made me lose the little calm I had, I got up from the armchair and started to back away with my hands on my head, I couldn't stop repeating,
“this can't be happening, this can't be happening”.
“Hey! Mauro, calm down, it's going to be alright. I'm Valeria too. In every way, I'm still your friend, I know who you are and everything we went through, really, it's me, and when I finish managing the leak, the code, it won't work anymore, it will be erased from my mind and I'll be me. So don't worry. You only have to give me the flash disc and this issue ends here. We go back to normal life and nobody will know about anything.
“I'm not going to pretend that my friend didn't die! Alone, fucking freezing to death, I'm not going to let you take her place, I'm not going to let you!” - She interrupted me.
“Mauro, listen to me” - She came closer to me and grabbed my hands, her big, lined eyes looking at me with sweetness, like so many times before.
“I AM Valeria, I have the same fingerprints, the same blood, the same DNA, the same memories, the same scars, absolutely everything. Are you going to tell my mother that I died? to my sister? Are you going to report me? Nobody is going to believe you at all. If anyone even wants to believe you, how would you prove it? I am an exact copy”. - she told me, smiling with real sweetness and empathy.
I could only cry, for my friend, for the helplessness of the conclusion that she was right. I collapsed on the couch, and watched as the hills swayed in the night.
“Let's have the last glass and I'm leaving.”- she said to me.
“After I give you this, and that part of you disappears, will you remember that you are not... really Valeria?
“No, there is already a simulation on pause about Valeria's last week, she won't remember anything about this situation when she wakes up, because the memory is simply overwritten.”
“So I'm going to be the only one to know about this?”
“Take it as a gift Mauro, a glimpse behind the veil. And if you keep it that way, everything will be fine” - The threatening tone was soft but evident.
“Okay, hand me your PC and the flash drive.”
I looked at her evaluating all possible actions and if this decision was the right one, she stretched out her hand and smiled sympathetically. I gave her the old computer and the black 16G flash drive with the file. She inserted it, typed mechanically fast until the screen went black.
“Perfect, That would be all - She took out the flash drive, threw it on the floor and stepped on it violently with the heel of her shoe, put on his backpack and headed for the door.
“Stop,” I said.
“The things that Dr. B wrote... about the underground…
“Yes, they are true, it was the only way to be self-sustainable and to be able to isolate the complex from the rest of the world. Even the most morally flexible scientists would question the work if they knew where the subjects ended up, and what we were doing with their bodies... Anyway, I'm going home, Lucia called me 5 times already. Talk to you tomorrow.
“Love you,.” - She smiled at me and closed the door behind her. I felt a car slowly drive away from the house.
From my pocket I took out the white flash drive and looked at it. Now I had a decision to make.

Had system depressurized, replaced AC condenser on my 2006 honda crv and now looking to take it in to get it vacuumed and refilled. I have a few questions to make sure i'm not doing a hack job, first is that all my research said I should also replace the DrieDessicant unit since the system has been exposed to air and I don't want any moisture in the system, however the drier unit is part of the new condenser, So i'm assuming there I'll be all set as long as i'm getting it refilled properly. Also, can I assume a good shop will also refill the system with the necessary amount of oil, or is this something I need to specify? Replaced my O-rings on the fittings and torqued everything to spec so I'm very doubtful I'll have any vacuum issues. First time working with the AC system In a car and just wanna make sure I'm following all the right steps

So a sweet friend bought me a phone from Walmart however when I got home it was Network locked. It's been 14 days I can't return the phone or do anything of the sort.
I'm with AT&t the phone is with Verizon.
Any tips or tricks or hacks back doors anything that I can do so I can use it?
​
​
I appreciate any sort of input and help thank you so very much.
I appreciate any sort of input and help thank you so very much. I appreciate any sort of input and help thank you so very much.
Phone is a Galaxy a14 from Walmart family Mobile.

I figure I make a post about Verizon doing good things since all we see usually is bad things. I've been a Verizon customer for 12+ years and here are my thoughts. I'll try not to make it to long but it may end up being.
Scroll Down for TL/DR bullet point summary.
Verizon isn't the company or good as it used to be and most of us know why, so I won't bore with those details for non technical people etc. Instead I just want to summarize my experience which has overall been good.
First a little background. I used to travel quite extensively over the years in the US, so I can compare against AT&T and T-mobile. Over the last 3 to 4 years, I've been taking advantage of my dual-sim phone using prepaid t-mobile connect and prepaid t-mobile on the backup sim with Verizon post pay as my primary. Up until recently, I've used prepaid t-mobile on my iPad for the past year or two. Just recently added to my Verizon plan. I went from Shared GB plans to unlimited plans. I typically change plans when new plans come out after a few months to take advantage of the new offers and features. Finally, I like perks and although great to have, I'd rather have good quality service. Hence why I'm glad to see AT&T go back to their roots and hope Verizon does at some point too. Perks are just a bonus, not a requirement for me.
First and foremost, Verizon used to be rock solid, the king with good uploads and low ping and latency. Those features were key for me since I was on the road alot and not only needed good download speed but good upload speed. As we know, latency and ping are important to a good experience too.
Nowadays for the past couple of years, I don't travel as much as I used to but still enough to warrant a need for good service.
At the house, AT&T sucks balls BUT I get AT&T Fiber, go figure. Verizon used to be #1 at the house but now t-mobile is. Verizon still is serviceable with good speeds. My small town won't let Verizon put a tower in downtown but let AT&T and T-mobile,.which sucks. My new job where I work is a bigger city and Verizon sucks on one half of the town while T-mobile and AT&T rock. on the other side, Verizon is good.
Having said all of that, over the past year, Verizon is finally getting better with their c-band rollout. The couple of years prior, I had to flip to my t-mobile backup and on my iPad since more often than not, t-mobile was better. Now verizon is finally catching up.
TL/DR

• Verizon is getting better with c-band rollout.
• Verizon is becoming more reliable when traveling with their data
• Verizon is still good with road trips
• My t-mobile has dropped out on a few lengthly road trips but they are getting better
• Verizon has great connected device discounts with the right plans which I have used over the years with SmartWatch, JetPack Hotspot and now iPad. Currently 2 smart watches and iPad.
• Connected devices and hotspot streams at a higher quality based on my research against t-mobile
• The +play perks aren't that bad. I save money on a few perks that I was paying for like Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and continue to save on Disney+ Bundle
• I like the additional add-ons that you can add like travel pass, 100GB hotspot which weren't perks I used before or needed
• The new Unlimited Ulimtate plan is awesome for those international Travelers now, high quality streaming and 2 devices off of 50% connected devices!! Finally we have a good international plan to compete with AT&T and T-mobile
• The Mexico/Canada add/upgrade a few years ago was a much needed one
• I used to laugh at the Verizon Visa and didn't want - I signed up early last year and get those benefits
• Verizon is reliable and rarely, if ever goes down for me
• Ping and latency, although not as good as it used to be, still good
• Loyalty Discount
• Combine loyally discount with 50% off connected devices, it would cost more to switch
• Still have to go to my backup t-mobile sometimes but not as often as I used to
• Phone unlocks after 60 days regardless if device is paid off or not, something that AT&T and T-mobile don't do unless you buy direct from Manufacturer
• Over the years, Verizon customer service has been good to me with online chat being real good
• Finally good streaming quality on plans
• Streaming music on short and long road trips have always been solid over the years with no buffering or dropping
• Call quality and reliability has been solid over the years on long and short road trips

Anything else I'm missing?
Finally, Verizon still has some things to work on to improve their network but they have the capability to do it. I still think Hans needs to go but here we are.
Edit
Forgot One - One of the big 3 to not get hacked yet (Not including the Verizon small 3rd party hack)

I love the body and grip of my Papermate PHD which I've had for many years but I'm looking for a compatible refill that's .38 or .4 tip size. The closest pen I have to it size-wise is my Sarasa Dry Air Fit Grip, which I also quite enjoy but my curiosity got the better of me so I started googling around.
I've checked JetPens and a few other refill places and struck out. Official and 3rd party PaperMate refills with a fine tip only go down to .8 tip size. The JetPens website ( https://www.jetpens.com/Paper-Mate-PhD-Retractable-Ballpoint-Pen-Refill-1.0-mm-Blue-Ink-Pack-of-2/pd/9233#index=1 ) has specifications ( 4.8mm diameter, 10.6 cm/4.2 in length) if that helps.
Any suggestions are appreciated and I'm not afraid to hack something together if I'll still be able to use my PHD with a finer tip.
Edit 1: From all the comments and all that I've Googled I think next steps are to find a .38 or .4 refill that has a tip the same as a G1 or A2 and hack something for the back end so the pen still functions as retractable. If anyone has attempted something like this, let me know.
Edit 2: I'm not finding a .38/.4 refill that has a build that would fit the Papermate PHD. My next thought is to try and find other big barrel pens in hopes one of the tips has similar threads. That way I could switch out the papermate tip with a tip that would accept those finer refills. https://www.amazon.com/Pilot-Center-Gravity-Retractable-36181/dp/B0006SW9EG looks promising.

First off I am loving this thing, I'm never going back to a regular notebook. Secondly, I am very new to using this device. So some of these thoughts might already have solutions that I have not yet figured out. With that out of the way, I'll get into it.

1. When first turning on the device, I was very overwhelmed with all the gestures. It sent me through a tutorial that I knew was way to early for me to retain any of the information. A better physical quick help guide showing the gestures would be way more useful than the on-screen one at first boot.
2. The basic Notes app and the Atelier app feel very similar. I love the navigation, pages, and usability of the Notes app. Its very well designed, feels great, and intuitive. But I find myself wanting more. I would love having the pressure sensitive pens, and pencils from the Atelier app in my Notes app! (or maybe the ability to have have pages in the notes app be Atelier drawings)
3. I find I am changing pen sizes all the time. I love that there are three pen slots at the top of the notes app, but I want more. I find I often want a super thin, medium, and thick pen, and I also want the marker for coloring things in. I'm tinkering with virtual pen tips a lot, and I think the solution it more pen slots.
4. I thought the Supernote Cloud storage was tied to a monthly fee. I was very pleasantly surprised to see we get 32GB of storage on there for free. The fact that this is free should be more front and center on the site. A huge reason I picked Supernote over the alternatives was avoiding monthly fees. The Cloud App, and Partner App are GREAT.
5. I did sideload a few apps. Most apps felt janky, but the EinkBro (web browser) app is a must to get those few online services available on the Supernote. I know you can rig a note to link out, but having a browser just feels like less of a hack. I understanding putting more apps on the device is not everyone cup of tea. I plan to try stick to only a few. Side loading was SUPER easy. Just get the apk and run `adb install ` and your good to go.
6. The Text Processor app feels not so great to me, and I don't think I'll use it must if at all. A few people wanted to see a demo of handwriting to text, and in each demo, the app would miss my first few strokes writing on the paper and it just made the device not show very well at all. The handwriting to text works just OK. I didn't buy this for that, so whatever.
7. Accidental clicks with my hand resting on the device are pretty common. I'll very often accidentally change the page when starting to write a note. I can somewhat mitigate this by turning off gestures to flip pages, but things still often click by accident; A few times a day.
8. Downloading PDF puzzles from KrazyDad or other sites is super fun. The whole family is asking to use the device to solve some Sudokus or Suguru puzzles. Getting the PDFs to the device is not very fun, but a bit easier after sideloading EinkBro and Mixplorer.
9. The HoM pen is not my cup of tea. Its a nice pen, but I want something faster I can quickly pick up and jot down a thought. The cap just gets in my way. I ordered a DIY refill already and planning to rig up a clicky pen.

Some suggestions or things I already want:

1. Ability to set the brightness/contrast of the background template.
2. Bring the Atelier pencils and pressure sensitivity to the Notes app.
3. Add more saved pencil slots to the notes app.
4. Better anti-aliasing when viewing notes on a PC (via screen sharing or Supernote Cloud). Notes look beautiful on the device, then they look crusty when getting them on a desktop.

I just wanted to give a heads up to people about accounts being hacked after I placed and order with SHEIN for the first time in a long time. I’m sure I’m just an unlucky case but the next day after ordering SHEIN through the app, multiple accounts of mine were hacked including: PayPal (I used that to place the order), Walmart, eBay (forgot I even had that acc cause I’ve never used it) and lastly, my Verizon acc. My phone got shut off after my Verizon account was hacked and someone replaced me on my family plan. I thought I was getting spam calls from “Verizon” or some company impersonating Verizon and didn’t take it seriously and continuously hung up on them and next thing I know, my phone immediately goes into SOS mode after receiving a final notification text stating a new sim had been activated under my number. Ordering from SHEIN is the only purchase I had made recently that was out of the ordinary. I’m a student so I only buy gas, cheap food, Starbucks and small bills. Everything is accounted for lol.
So just letting people know, I’m pretty certain I was hacked after ordering from the SHEIN app and to be weary and keep an eye on your accounts afterwards. I’ve NEVER had my Verizon acc hacked!! Even they were shocked it was actual fraud and not just user error lmao