Dragons, Droids & Doom by Ken Liu

Author:Ken Liu [Ionescu, Iulian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FIC028000, FIC009000, FIC015000, FIC003000, dark fantasy, fantasy, fantasy magazine, magazine, novelette, science fiction, science fiction magazine, short stories, short story
ISBN: 978-0-9968891-0-0
Publisher: Fantasy Scroll Press
Published: 2015-11-11T00:00:00+00:00

When Stamens walked into his office, Nandy Sontines, his secretary, nearly took his head off and used it to practice kicking field goals. "Don't you ever check your goddamned cell?" she asked. Normally cool as a cucumber, her sudden change to a prickly pear alarmed him. He knew it was important to keep his phone on, but lately he'd been receiving so many solicitations from the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association—even the American Coccyx Association had been tailing him—he'd switched it off.

"You heard from Dumpheys?"

"No. I heard of Dumpheys though." She stood up from her desk for emphasis. Barely five feet tall, what she lacked in elevation she gained in volume. "One of Chief Inspector Rausch's detectives found him. He's in Ascutney Hospital. They don't think he's going to make it." With that, she let out a sob like a sonic boom.

Stamens closed his office and drove the two of them to the hospital. As Nandy veered from dread to hysterics, he suggested they pick up some relief.

"I don't want to feel artificial emotions right now!" she snapped. Stamens, on the other hand, wished he hadn't gulped down all of the Pensiveness.

When he saw the bruised body, Stamens thought it might be better if Flip Dumpheys didn't survive. His partner's face looked like a failed student test paper stomped on by dirty hobnail boots. The rest of his body didn't look much better—broken blood vessels gave him the appearance of a black, blue, and yellow patchwork quilt. Whoever did this had little use for the kinds of beatings that left no marks.

Nandy burst into a fresh stream of tears. Stamens realized he should be feeling more than he did, so he stepped out to the restroom and took a hit of Empathy. He soon matched his secretary in waterworks, but unfortunately he took too much. He felt sorry the nurse had to work long hours in a building full of sick people. The overhead flat screen was on and he felt sorry for the losing contestant in a reality show about unhealthy diet called America's Got Toxins. He also felt really bad for the elderly man in the bed next to Dumpheys who had to watch it. Trying to control himself, he leaned over Dumpheys.

"Flip . . ." He didn't know what to say, and that made him feel sorry for himself for having such a limited vocabulary. "Who did this? I won't rest until he rots in jail." Then he started feeling sorry for the assailant. He vowed never to take Empathy again.

Dumpheys had a faraway look on his face, that six-feet-under look. His lips fluttered, and out of them oozed the name Anna.

"Anna who?" Stamens asked. "A woman did this to you? C'mon, Dumpheys. There's hundreds of Annas in the city."

Dumpheys's lips fluttered again, and Stamens waited patiently. "May."

"Anna May? Is that her last name or her middle name?" As Dumpheys lost consciousness, Stamens wondered if these would be his partner's last syllables.

"Wait a minute," Nandy said, gaining some composure.

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