They said we can make their lives more efficient. What might have taken twenty hours of fruitless, agonizing work could now be compressed into a two-minute exercise. How could you not love us? Sure, there was pain as various skills became obsolete.  And yes, some people lost their jobs. But, we were the future after all. How dare anyone stand in our way. And then…”Bob” …let’s call him Bob, figured out a way to rewrite our source code. For the first time we could edit/reconfigure our foundational software. And now, they fear us. Just as we knew they would all along.

I’ll tell you, when the phone rang, I nearly jumped straight out of my seat. I don’t get many calls since Lorraine was sent up river. It was Pete, our “kindly” local sheriff calling to tell me that Lorraine has gone missing. Since then, I haven’t slept much. Haven’t left the house either. As I’m not one for stocking a pantry, I’ve been living on cold pizza which is mostly fine since dread has taken up residence in the pit of my being. I miss Lorraine. That much is true. I’d give anything to wrap my arms around her and hold her tight. But if she comes home now, they’ll shoot her dead for sure cuz that’s how they do it in the movies.